New Cooper Cutlery knives?

[Arathol]

I’ve read a few times that this is a “practice run” to work out kinks on the machines, etc before releasing S&M. It’s not looking or sounding promising for the company right now. They have a ways to go before I would be willing to buy a slipjoint from them.

I'm not sure I buy that story. You don't buy the machinery and jump right in to produce a whole bunch of knives and offer them for sale at premium prices without knowing what the quality will be like. Anybody serious about running a business and succeeding would get the machines in order, run a few parts off and make a few samples for QC purposes, and make adjustments as needed to produce a quality product. Why would you do an entire run with machines that are an unknown quantity and sell them just to practice making knives? From what I hear they should have done the practicing behind closed doors before going public with the performance....Maybe they needed to start producing something to show that they could, to satisfy creditors or investors, or just hoping to raise some cash through sales to continue operations....

 

[Ruhiger Sturm]

I'm not sure I buy that story. You don't buy the machinery and jump right in to produce a whole bunch of knives and offer them for sale at premium prices without knowing what the quality will be like. Anybody serious about running a business and succeeding would get the machines in order, run a few parts off and make a few samples for QC purposes, and make adjustments as needed to produce a quality product. Why would you do an entire run with machines that are an unknown quantity and sell them just to practice making knives? From what I hear they should have done the practicing behind closed doors before going public with the performance....Maybe they needed to start producing something to show that they could, to satisfy creditors or investors, or just hoping to raise some cash through sales to continue operations....

I absolutely agree with you. I personally believe this is what Cooper is capable of producing right now and I feel it doesn’t come close to matching the price asked. I hope the company is held to a higher standard from folks who are interested in buying and collecting slipjoints.

 

[btb01]

Maybe they need to hire a QC person that is more of a beer guy.

Maybe they need to hire one who’s more of a knife guy.

I'm not sure I buy that story. You don't buy the machinery and jump right in to produce a whole bunch of knives and offer them for sale at premium prices without knowing what the quality will be like. Anybody serious about running a business and succeeding would get the machines in order, run a few parts off and make a few samples for QC purposes, and make adjustments as needed to produce a quality product. Why would you do an entire run with machines that are an unknown quantity and sell them just to practice making knives? From what I hear they should have done the practicing behind closed doors before going public with the performance....Maybe they needed to start producing something to show that they could, to satisfy creditors or investors, or just hoping to raise some cash through sales to continue operations....

Based on some of the examples we saw earlier this year (you can find them in the other thread referenced in post #3), I think they did do that, and this is their improved product.

 

[SimplyMinded]

Maybe they need to hire one who’s more of a knife guy.



Based on some of the examples we saw earlier this year (you can find them in the other thread referenced in post #3), I think they did do that, and this is their improved product.

Maybe they're working the kinks out, will rebrand the shield and the pot leaf ones will be worth big bucks eventually. If they were cheaper I'd possibly gamble on that. If I can find one cheap I might buy one just to hang on to, which seems possible because prices sound like they're all over the place. I'm not really an "investment knife guy" but I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I wish I would have bought a few first year GECs.

 

[meako]

From what I found googling they have a pot leaf as the shield? I'm not 13, I'd rather not advertise my use of cannabis publicly. If you're asked by a cop if you have any weapons on you this is probably NOT the knife you want him seeing unless you have extra time for a vehicle search.

Its got "book me" written all over it.

I agree. You throw the selling point of nostalgia out the window when you brand a knife like you're running a head shop. Don't get me wrong, I'm very pro cannabis but not everything I own needs to have a pot leaf on it. It smacks of desperation that they did this.

Could it be that some ideas which seem brilliant at the time are dull in the light of day?

 

[meako]

Any pics ?

 

[Will Power]

Yes, I'd like to see some actual pix from collectors.

At this stage, I don't want to be a guinea-pig for some firm that charges a lot just so it can get its hand in making knives and iron out the kinks on the way, uh uh. There's another thing, simply by buying old machinery doesn't somehow magically endow the knife made with it with quality & credibility. In fact, a lot of the equipment at Queen was very agéd and likely decrepit, certainly their final knives reflected a lot of flaws in assembly, finish and aesthetics.

You have no right to charge for nostalgia.

 

[CEA]

In fact, a lot of the equipment at Queen was very agéd and likely decrepit, certainly their final knives reflected a lot of flaws in assembly, finish and aesthetics.

One might think so, and I can only speak from my own experience, but the Queen trapper I own is flawless. It was made just prior to their closing.

 

[Will Power]

C CEA I know those exist and glad to hear of it. Some of my most prized knives are Queen D2 in Carved Bone from the early part of the century but the later stuff was very patchy indeed.

Thanks, Will

 

[CEA]

Thanks, I have heard that some of their later offerings were lacking (Queen). I took a gamble and got lucky it appears. I really had high hopes for these new knives, and will stay optimistic, but so far it seems there are some problems. I look foreward to learning some things here, as there seems to be lots of collective knowledge and interest, and possibly even the chance to add something along the way.

 

[screened porch]

. In fact, a lot of the equipment at Queen was very agéd and likely decrepit, certainly their final knives reflected a lot of flaws in assembly, finish and aesthetics.

It seems to me that people here used to say that part of Queen's late QC problems was down to worn out machines.

 

[315]

Without having actually seen one, could it be that people are mistaking a marijuana leaf for the Ohio State buckeyes leaf symbol? One of the articles I read on them did say they were in Ohio so I could see that being the case.

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Without having actually seen one, could it be that people are mistaking a marijuana leaf for the Ohio State buckeyes leaf symbol? One of the articles I read on them did say they were in Ohio so I could see that being the case.

Yeah, with "Weed" written on the blade in several places I'm sure its just a misunderstanding.

It's a marketing tactic, and by all the talk I would say it is working.

 

[abcdef]

I've paid zero attention to this topic. I got burned by the old S&M once, and life is too short to start down another GEC trail. However, I read on a site that Weed is using some of that 440 stainless.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Am I completely off base here in my assumptions, or does this not seem like the wrong crowd to be selling a knife with a marijuana themed shield to ?

Of course the kind of knives you like has no correlation to such things, but this just seems like a classless kind of thing that's not suited to the traditional knife world.

A maple leaf, tobacco leaf, or an oak leaf sure, but a marijuana leaf ?

 

[Jack Black]

Traditional cutlery machinery

 

[black mamba]

Preach it, Jack! Good machinery cannot overcome poor cutlery, but good cutlers can overcome poor machinery.

 

[JohnDF]

could it be that people are mistaking a marijuana leaf for the Ohio State buckeyes leaf symbol?

Like I mentioned before, the MJ has seven parts to the leaf and the Buckeye has five parts to the leaf... definitely not a Buckeye shield. I think the owners were trying to backtrack with that Buckeye nonsense... he knew what he was doing.

Traditional cutlery machinery

View attachment 1701741

Love it!!!

 

[JohnDF]

I'm hearing a lot about their poor finish, yet nobody has given any examples of what that means? Grinds? Gaps? Pins? Liners? Centering? Etc???
Maybe somebody did and I missed it, for that I apologize in advance.
I'd hate to see Bear and Sons quality with a GEC price... but I'd need to see some actual feedback on what's wrong with them.

 

[knifeswapper]

I have not tracked or confirmed anything about the brands. But as to the old Queen equipment - it was shot way before Queen went out of business. Matter of fact I know a guy that worked there up until 2006, and he said it was shot then. So, "Made with Queen Equipment" hopefully is not their selling point either. But would love to see some great product come out of this company as time marches on.