Loose blades in Queen Mountain Mans

I

Invoice

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2006
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I was just wondering about Queen's Mountain Man's blade wobble or looseness when in the closed position. Do you find that they are very loose? Does it bother you?
I have a MM that is very loose in the closed position but locks up pretty tight. And I mean pretty tight for a MM.
I have other lock backs that don't have these problems.
If you bought one of these would it be a deal breaker?
 
It was a deal-breaker over and over again--I've wasted >$400 chasing a "good" Queen MM. The last one was so loose it rattled when closed; when open, the blade flopped around. Since I've had no luck (or response from the company) when pursuing repairs under Queen's "warranty" under the current or past owners, I gave up on the company. I look forward to buying a decent version someday when the company is bought out by one of the China manufacturers.
 
Personally, a loose blade in a closed knife but the blade tight when locked is not a big "problem". Now if it was loose when locked open or the blade was damaged due to hitting the spring then it would be no go at this price range. Ask Queen if it's something they can adjust.
 
I have both a mountain man lockback and a mountain man slip joint. Neither is loose in the closed position. The Lockback has a tiny bit of vertical play in the open position, as many traditional lockbacks do.

I don't believe I would notice if there were wiggle in the closed position only. My knife is either closed in my pocket, or open in my hand. I don't spend a lot of time with a closed knife in my hand.
 
Ditto knarfeng ^^^^above.
Plus I have 6 other Queen Knives of various patterns with no issues except one that had some chipping around the pins on bone scales. Queen were very helpful and made good with a new knife.

And Invoice, I am not sure I understand exactly what you mean by "very loose in the closed position" Are you talking side to side or up & down? Is it a new knife? Has someone messed with it since new?

Some folks are real fast to jump on the 'lets bash Queen' bandwagon - It is almost a national sport for some.
 
B53 Loose in the closed position. I asked this question because a MM was returned to me. A member was quite disappointed in the looseness of the blade when it was closed. Side to side play. I never really noticed it because it wasn't a carry knife. In the open and locked position it is quite tight for a MM.
And no I'm not part of that contingent. I really love Queens and S&M and own quite a few.
 
Some Cammilus knives are loose when closed as part of the design. For example their Remington branded banana trapper. It's a traditional lockblade that can be readily flicked open and it has a long blade. It has a different spring system for the lockback that does not hold the blade rigid when closed.

I also have a custom lockback from Bradley Knives with an integral spring/lockbar that has a slight side to side play when closed. It has a pivot system with a bushing and washers. Tha slight movement has no negative effect on knife function.
 
Guess I should clarify some things. When I wrote that the blade on my last MM was "so loose it rattled when closed", I meant that when closed, the blade could be observed sliding from side-to-side on the pivot pin, and would fall open from "edge touching the spring" to having about 1/4-3/8" of the edge exposed. Open, there was >1/4" side-to-side play at the tip; the blade would flop forward about 1/4" and back beyond the normal open position about 1/8".

Brumby53, I just wanted a good working knife. Over the past several years, I've given Queen--under two owners--repeated chances to sell me a decent working knife. Each time their product has fallen below reasonable expectations for a user, not a collectible that will never seen actual use. If that disappointment comes across as "bashing", I apologize to anyone who's sensibilities have been offended.

I've been working with a couple of collectors to gather some data on various patterns, and have had >90 Queen MM-pattern knives here to examine. Except for the typical "Queen edge", roughly 20% of them were as nice a knife as a guy could want. An additional ~30% were decent working knives. But almost half had problems with blade play when open, and around 5-6% were loose when closed, as described by Invoice.
 
coffeecup said:
Guess I should clarify some things. When I wrote that the blade on my last MM was "so loose it rattled when closed", I meant that when closed, the blade could be observed sliding from side-to-side on the pivot pin, and would fall open from "edge touching the spring" to having about 1/4-3/8" of the edge exposed. Open, there was >1/4" side-to-side play at the tip; the blade would flop forward about 1/4" and back beyond the normal open position about 1/8".

Brumby53, I just wanted a good working knife. Over the past several years, I've given Queen--under two owners--repeated chances to sell me a decent working knife. Each time their product has fallen below reasonable expectations for a user, not a collectible that will never seen actual use. If that disappointment comes across as "bashing", I apologize to anyone who's sensibilities have been offended.

I've been working with a couple of collectors to gather some data on various patterns, and have had >90 Queen MM-pattern knives here to examine. Except for the typical "Queen edge", roughly 20% of them were as nice a knife as a guy could want. An additional ~30% were decent working knives. But almost half had problems with blade play when open, and around 5-6% were loose when closed, as described by Invoice.
Click to expand...

I have experienced the same results with many Queen blades and was kind of met with the same response when I pointed out some flaws here on the forum. I figure that if you are a fan of Queen and have been lucky enough to receive discrepancy free knives then of course you will have great things to say. I want to love them. I really do. Some of my favorite designed knives, form and function, are Queen made. However, I have been burned more than my fair share and just cannot afford to buy knives that I cannot use or send the same knife back three times and finally give up and fix it myself. I have yet to find a Queen dealer in my are. If that was the case I would have my pick and could decide not to purchase at all if I could not find a suitable candidate. I love Queen, I just wish they could turn it around and quick before they lose me as a customer for good. I know a lot of people rush to defend their honor, but right is right. I will try to keep the faith!
 
One guy comes on to ask about his Queen knife...two guys respond with statements about how they are disappointed with Queen in general. Kind of seems a little one sided, thus I don't think people "rush to defend their honor" so much as to state their personal experience. There is another thread about a SFO of Queens, the overwhelming majority are satisfied and IIRC the SFO sold out.

When it comes to Mt.Man knives, I found one with beautiful maple covers. It had an imperfection that was cosmetic, I can't remember what it was. However, being the cheap bastard I am, I asked for a discount due to the defect. The brick and mortar dealer would not give me a discount, he preferred to send it back to Queen so they could see the defect. "If they don't know what's wrong, how can they fix things." If you must buy over the internet, sight unseen, when you find a defect, send it back to the dealer. That's the best way to better the world of traditional knives:)
 
OK, stupid question:

Is Queen in any way associated with the brand "3 OAKS"?

I ask because they have a "Mountain Man" lockback.

I have not inspected one in hand, since they are blister packed.
 
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