How's Queen's QC these days?

I

irona

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May 24, 2016
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I'm thinking about jumping on a Queen Workhorse Barlow, but I haven't always heard great things about Queen's QC. Is it still as bad as it was?


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Hmm, I had one long ago. it was acceptable. Do keep in mind though, the workhorse line is meant to be used and carried (some would say all knives are)






prepare for uneven grinds. this will be a knife you can throw in your pocket to use and what not. its certainly not the prettiest
 
Had a few in the past that were not the best f/f.The two # 69 I now own are very good indeed.
 
mrknife said:
Hmm, I had one long ago. it was acceptable. Do keep in mind though, the workhorse line is meant to be used and carried (some would say all knives are)






prepare for uneven grinds. this will be a knife you can throw in your pocket to use and what not. its certainly not the prettiest
Click to expand...

Hows it feel in hand?


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Amusingly enough, my workhorse barlow is the best, most well-made specimen I've ever received from Queen. Everything is flush and centered, with no wild gaps or funky grinds to be found. It also came screaming sharp.

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The Queen knives I have received recently have all been great. Some needed some adjustments because the blade was hitting the back spring. Other than that they are very good knives.
 
bozack said:
The Queen knives I have received recently have all been great. Some needed some adjustments because the blade was hitting the back spring. Other than that they are very good knives.
Click to expand...

How do you adjust that?


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irona said:
I'm thinking about jumping on a Queen Workhorse Barlow, but I haven't always heard great things about Queen's QC. Is it still as bad as it was?
Click to expand...

"...as bad as it was..." If Queen has better QC now their knives must be perfect :) Queen sells a lot of different knives with different levels of fit and finish, different "price points" and many sold under contractors names. In my experience with Queen products, I have never had to send one back. The most I've ever done was to thin out an edge. I like their designs better than GEC, particularly their swedges and thin blades and handles plus their use of a premium steel (154CM, BG42 and D2) puts them ahead in performance for traditional knives. Queen's Schatt and Morgan is their premium line and for pre-current management, their "President's Choice" knives are real pretty, but their basic working line is a good knife as well.
 
I have been seeing very good things from Queen. The Workhorse line, however, is NOT what to judge it by. That line is designed to be as low labor as possible to meet a price point.
 
Thanks everyone. Real quick- are their knives made in America?


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Yup. All Queen's knives are American made. I have several and I recommend giving one a try.
 
I have a couple left. I always enjoy seeing Ryan, Courtney and Ken at shows. I promised Ryan I would come to the Titusville show, but I couldn't. I have several pre Daniels knives, and several post Daniels knives. I still have several Heritage knives, which I have pestered Ryan about constantly, now he tells me hello, shakes my hand and tells me no Heritage knives :D ! Two of my best Queens are my Dan Burke barlows, the big one and the little one, I just traded the little one to a local knife shop. I've got a Mountain Man slipjoint that is nice, an ACSB stockman that was a gift, and one of the nicest knives in my collection, a stag scout knife from their Tuna Valley line. This one has excellent fit and finish.

I've gotten some stinkers, pre Daniels. I believe all of my Queens are pre Daniels, but I was told that the improperly heat treated springs were mixed with properly heat treated springs, and it is a huge batch (got that from a Queen collectors club member, not the Daniels). The Tuna Valley is obviously Daniels era. The spring on one of my Heritage jacks sits very low, and on another Heritage jack its going low too. My Heritage stockman is great, except the grind is way off, I've had it sharpened a couple times. On the other end, I got a Heritage jack, which was immaculate, and a cattleman that had the snap of an early GEC with almost the same quality.

Obviously, not all of their knives are going to be of the quality of the Tuna Valley I have. But I like the improvements. I want to get one of those giant stockman again.
 
irona said:
Hows it feel in hand?


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Click to expand...

it felt ok, but I no longer have it. Its been passed on in a GAW. I've had to modify some of my Queen/Schatt&Morgan knives. Some came just fine, but others Ive had to adjust the kick. My workhorse barlow was another one of those I had to adjust. The blade would sit a little high, so grinding the kick would prevent the blade tip from catching on things. My heritage jack was another that had to be modified.
 
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I have 4 Queen knives in my possession that were purchased straight from the factory at their Historical Society Gathering a couple of weeks ago. I have to say that I'm very impressed with all of them. I've been a fan of Queen for a while, but these examples are definitely a step above what I was seeing in the past. The Queen City #49 Cattle King may be the finest stockman I've ever owned. Also, Ryan Daniels is second to none in customer service. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Queen product. If you aren't satisfied they'll bend over backwards to make things right.
 
Purchased a couple of queen stockmans earlier this year. Sent both back for a refund. Poor fit and finish IMHO. I will not buy a queen ever again.


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The only issue I've had with recent Queen purchases is uneven primary grinds, and this extends to all the Queen sub-brands and offshoots. Trestle Pines, S&M, etc. The Mark side is usually ground perfect. But the pile side is usually wavy or ground too shallow leaving the blade thickness behind the edge double what it could have been if the grind angles matched on both sides. Queens biggest strength to me is in their handle construction and cover material. Liner to bolster to scale, fit and finish is typically superb. Maybe slight gaps between the spring near pivot but that doesn't bother me much. Queen springs are always very snappy with great walk and talk.
 
I don't have extensive experience with Queen, but from what I've seen, I would put it on par with Case. I've had some terrifically finished knives from Case - just as good as GEC. But therein is the problem, comparing them to GEC. If you want to love Queen, love for what they offer. A useable knife made from good materials in America. I've also seen Case knives that I wouldn't want to pay for because of their fit and finish, but that doesn't mean the wouldn't do what they're supposed to do - cut. It just means that I prefer something pretty that feels a certain way. I would love to have blade steel from the 154 family on a GEC knife, but it ain't in the works. I don't use my knives heavily or extensively throughout the day, they're just there for when I do need them (still is often enough to justify having them), and for me to admire and appreciate. So, because I'm aware that I want to feel a certain way about the knife, I pick the form over the blade steel.
 
I think that part of the reason for such a wide variety of reports, from exemplary to substandard, is the recent changes in Queen's ownership/management. I have had several Queens made under previous regimes that didn't live up to expectations. I've also owned a couple made since the Daniels family took over that had some issues. However, on the whole I'd say that they've made great strides in improving their product. For those that are reporting problems with Queen knives can you specify which knives it was that you had issues with? It would be interesting to know whether these were current production knives or ones that were several years old. Saying that you bought them this year doesn't really help, as I bought a Queen this year that was manufactured in 2009 and sold as new.

For myself, the five 2016 Queen knives I have are on par with any production folder currently being offered. They're at least the equal of the GECs I've purchased this year. I had good luck with 2015's offerings as well. I'm a private collector and as such see a small sample size, but from what I've seen I would say that putting Queen at the level of Case would be a mistake.

I will say that the bevels on the last couple I picked up weren't great. Not the primary grinds, but the final bevel. I don't see this as a flaw, as I was able to get them to where I wanted them fairly quickly. The two worst culprits were 1095 steel though, had they been D2 I might have seen it as more of a problem. Now that they're properly sharpened they are great slicers.
 
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