How did I miss the memo...

yablanowitz

yablanowitz

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Apr 14, 2006
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on the Queen Workhorse series? Cruising a dealer website last night, thinking I should order myself a birthday present, I found new production Queens with 1095 carbon steel blades and Winterbottom delrin handles just like they used to make. I had to order a 4" stockman just to see how it compares to the old school pieces I love.

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I've been looking at these for weeks now, and since you posted this I better stop looking and buying before they're gone.
I like the congress and stockman. Would like to see one in a mountain man or folding hunter.
 
I've seen these on a couple of vendor sites, but was a bit on the fence due to the delrin scales. After seeing your photo things might be changing. Would love to see some more images of a stockman. If the steel is good and build is right, why be a scales snob :)
 
I found them the same way you did Jack. No warning or anything. I was on the edge of ordering one several times since and now... once again. Thanks for the reminder memo :thumbup:
 
The only thing I see different is the Swendin (?) bolsters on the old workhorse. Can't wait to see your stockkman when it arives.
 
Pretty high. That old one has a 1984 to 1990 tang stamp, so it has a few years on it, and more than a little neglect and abuse. The secondary spring is a little soft, but still has good snap, the main is strong with excellent snap, and the blades don't rub together. The main and spey blades touch the outside liners at rest, but enough pressure to snag the nail nick for opening flexes the blade away from the liner so it doesn't rub there, either. There are no gaps between the springs and liners, scales and liners or scales and bolsters. The tiny bit of lateral play in the blades is more likely due to rust and wear than fitting issues. I don't think there is any trace of original finish left on this one, but I'd guess it was pretty decent when the knife was new.
 
I have the Stockman and Congress on the way.

Plan on making them part of the Work Knife EDC's.
 
Woah wait a minute. I don't mean to get off topic here but, I recently acquired one of my great grandaddy's pocket knives that he carried. It is a beat up folding hunter, but had no manufacturing stamp or anything on it. Interestingly enough, it looks just like that Queen Folding hunter on the top left of that picture, but without the lanyard hole. Is it possible that this knife is a Queen?
 
thesouthernguitarist said:
Woah wait a minute. I don't mean to get off topic here but, I recently acquired one of my great grandaddy's pocket knives that he carried. It is a beat up folding hunter, but had no manufacturing stamp or anything on it. Interestingly enough, it looks just like that Queen Folding hunter on the top left of that picture, but without the lanyard hole. Is it possible that this knife is a Queen?
Click to expand...

Quite possible. There have been periods when Queen didn't use tangs stamps, just blade etches and other times when they used no marks at all.

My new Queen knives arrived this morning, and I took a few pictures before I start in on them.

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Fit is decent but not outstanding. The blades have about as much play as the old one, which means not enough to bother me and enough to make others throw a fit. I don't much care for the raised pins, and I think they could have been done better, so I'll probably refinish them myself.

I still wish Queen would either hire someone who knows how to sharpen or stop trying completely. I got in three new Queens - this Workhorse, a D-2 Cattle King and a D-2 Mountain Man. I had a notion to measure the factory edge angles and record them to see if I'm just being too critical. Tell me what you think.

The Mountain Man was the sharpest of the bunch, with a nice, consistent edge bevel of 45° included. The Cattle King was more what I've come to expect from Queen, The clip blade starts at 50° by the tang and ends up 70° and lopsided at the tip, the sheepsfoot is 25° on one side and 35° on the other for a total of 60° and the spey is 35° on one side and 40° on the other for a total of 75° included. The Workhorse was a bit worse, starting at 45° included at the tang and running up to 80° at the tip with lopsided bevels and a flat edge on the clip blade, 30° on one side and 40° on the other for 70° total on the sheepsfoot and 75° on the spey.

Of course, given the length of time between handing someone one of my knives and handing them a BandAid, maybe that's a product liability consideration.
 
Interesting. But not too sure about those raised/external pivots on the bolsters though....
 
I saw this thread at work a while ago and I raced home to see if my order had arrived... no dice. I should get it (single blade mini trapper) Monday.

I halfway expected a dull edge but I'm still holding out hope that it's not too thick. I really dislike that. I see a few differences between the old and new. Curious about the second liner on the pile side Queen looks to have added this. I like the nail knick location on the old clip but have no thoughts about the exposed bolster pins.

Would it be possible to peen them if needed to tighted up the blades? What i mean is, do the exposed bolster pins have any practical advantage over smooth bolsters other than cost cutting?
 
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That second liner gives extra clearance so the spey blade doesn't rub on the liner (the inside layer is cut out inside the blade channel). The pins can be peened to tighten up the blades, which I did before grinding them off. The domed heads would resist slipping better, making the knife less likely to loosen up, but I carry a mini-prybar so I'm not too worried about that little problem. It took some TLC, but I think it will make a good user. We shall see.
 
Those do look really great, I dont mind the domed pivot peening. Just makes it easier to tighten things up if it does happen to come loose! I do like the winterbottom delrin too, seems like it'd be good grip with rigging gloves on at work.
 
Oh Jack,

Dog-gone-it now you're a make'n me go and look too.. I think I'm a little worried now because if'n they've got the old #62 Easy Open pattern I am going to order several -- The hell with the mortgage payment deadline.. I'm off to look!


Anthony
 
Well, I reckon the mortgage money is completely safe now!. :( No one at Queen appears to have the good taste and good sense to once again produce an American classic like the vintage model #62 EO folding skinner... Ho-Hum.


Anthony
 
My first Queen was was the amber bone slimline trapper. It was a bear to sharpen but truly a quality knife and a pleasure to use. The problem for me is that it's just too long for EDC so it lives in the kitchen.

Thanks to Jack's Memo I just received a new Queen workhorse mini trapper and boy am I impressed. Maybe I've been lucky so far but I've liked all Queen built knives so far and this is no exception. At 3 ½ closed it's perfect for daily carry. This is the pattern I've been looking for. Trim and tight it sits well in the hand or pocket.

Straight out of the box the joints had oil and the F&F was a bit more than I expected. There is no blade wabble and was very nicely centered. This one has half stops! The spring is flush is all three positions and very consistent through the arc with great walk and talk. It reminds me of the build quality of a Shrade Walden stockman. This is a solid knife. The raised pins on the bolsters are a non issue for me. In fact, I don't even notice them.... ok I just noticed them. I like them.

The blade came sharp out of the box!... I know right? There is (was... still is) a considerable variation in the bevel from tang to tip but it was ready for business right out of the box. My only issue is that it is a bit on the thick side. It's not a true slicer like my GEC 33 but it's good enough for most needs. It does need work.

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