New knife from Queen?

Lots of talk of the mountain knife store moving brands they obtain to off shore production. I'm sure there are some, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. Regardless of one's personal opinion of quality, justice, or the American Way, Colonel Coon is still made in the USA - first by Queen, then by Bear. Cripple Creeks are made in the USA by GEC. Rough Ri(y)ders were always made in China. Which traditionally American made knife brands have they obtained the rights to that they moved off shore?

I don't know, but I don't think there is any reason to assume anything at this point.

I hope they do something good with Queen. If they're made by Bear, that's alright as long as they're not just rebadged and the price is commensurate with the quality.
 
mbkr said:
Lots of talk of the mountain knife store moving brands they obtain to off shore production. I'm sure there are some, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. Regardless of one's personal opinion of quality, justice, or the American Way, Colonel Coon is still made in the USA - first by Queen, then by Bear. Cripple Creeks are made in the USA by GEC. Rough Ri(y)ders were always made in China. Which traditionally American made knife brands have they obtained the rights to that they moved off shore?

I don't know, but I don't think there is any reason to assume anything at this point.

I hope they do something good with Queen. If they're made by Bear, that's alright as long as they're not just rebadged and the price is commensurate with the quality.
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As for the last part there, they were avoiding saying who made them. Someone asked in the comments but they wouldn't say, they just said again that it's made in the USA.

We all are pretty sure it's Bear & Son, but I find it strange they won't say.
 
L.H.S said:
As for the last part there, they were avoiding saying who made them. Someone asked in the comments but they wouldn't say, they just said again that it's made in the USA.

We all are pretty sure it's Bear & Son, but I find it strange they won't say.
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I was the one that asked by email and got the response of "..it may be, but maybe not, I'm not real sure and I might be wrong, but it sounds right." I'm paraphrasing.
 
Thanks L.H.S. Trademark defense explains a lot, and replaces the need for other speculation.

The knife doesn’t really need defending or defining given it was rushed out. If it was outsourced, it was just good it was done locally.
 
mbkr said:
Lots of talk of the mountain knife store moving brands they obtain to off shore production. I'm sure there are some, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. Regardless of one's personal opinion of quality, justice, or the American Way, Colonel Coon is still made in the USA - first by Queen, then by Bear. Cripple Creeks are made in the USA by GEC. Rough Ri(y)ders were always made in China. Which traditionally American made knife brands have they obtained the rights to that they moved off shore?
.
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Off the top of my head, there's "Marbles".

These old brand names are owned by Frost Cutlery, made in China or Pakistan and sold by SMKW:
Miller Bros.
Bulldog Brand
Honk Falls
Valley Forge
E.C.Simmons

Here's a link to an interesting compendium of ownership. A little out of date, but still interesting reading.
Who owns who?
 
r8shell said:
Off the top of my head, there's "Marbles".

These old brand names are owned by Frost Cutlery, made in China or Pakistan and sold by SMKW:
Miller Bros.
Bulldog Brand
Honk Falls
Valley Forge
E.C.Simmons

Here's a link to an interesting compendium of ownership. A little out of date, but still interesting reading.
Who owns who?
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How about Colt? Are they owned by that company now too?
And then there is the awesome Schrade Brand that went overseas. Bad knives now.
 
JohnDF said:
How about Colt? Are they owned by that company now too?
And then there is the awesome Schrade Brand that went overseas. Bad knives now.
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It's complicated. :confused:

From the list I linked to above:

Colt:
Product notes: For a time, Smoky Moutnatin Knife Works was licensed to produce knives under the Colt name. They produced a series of Case/Colt knives as well as traditional and modern folders and fixed blades. Production of the non Case/Caolt knives was off shore, primarily in China. Most Damascus fixed blade knives were produced in Pakistan. The Colt SMKW collaboration ceased in 2016.
Remington:
Product notes: For years, the USA made knives were normally made by Camillus (until 2007) The current USA production is believed to be done by Bear & Sons. Global production appears to be done in in the off shore factories used by SMKW and/or Schrade. Remington, Bear & Son, and SMKW will neither cofirm or deny this production information.
Winchester
Product notes: Most Winchester knives are out-source to PRC however some higher priced models are out-source to USA makers. You can usually tell by the price. American made Winchester knives approach $100 in MSRP.
 
Corso said:
I sent the only Bear & Son Cutlery knife I bought back it was very badly made

shame realy as I'd always wanted a single blade peanut
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Me too. Only new knife I received with several large stains on the carbon blade. A shame because it was a beautiful looking single bladed barlow.
 
r8shell said:
Off the top of my head, there's "Marbles".

These old brand names are owned by Frost Cutlery, made in China or Pakistan and sold by SMKW:
Miller Bros.
Bulldog Brand
Honk Falls
Valley Forge
E.C.Simmons

Here's a link to an interesting compendium of ownership. A little out of date, but still interesting reading.
Who owns who?
Click to expand...
I was curious, specifically about SMKW since a couple posts implied that, based on their past, any brand SMKW got would probably be off shored and I couldn't think of any, but I don't know exactly who owns what. I bookmarked the list. Thanks for that :thumbsup:

It almost seems like multiple people own the same names, i.e. Winchester is a Bluegrass Cutlery brand and they're made in the US and are pricey. Then there are a whole bunch of Chinese Winchesters out there that compete with Rough Ryder. Remington's the same way, some made by Buck and pricey, and a bunch made in China and cheap.

Just have to wait and see what SMKW does with Queen.
 
I received my pilot run Queen today. First impression......meh. I suppose for 40 bucks it’s okay. At arms length it looks good. The nail nicks are all but worthless. My blades don’t rub but aren’t exactly centered. I really dislike that the back springs aren’t flat when the knife is open. I’ll be gifting mine to a neighborhood kid I’m sure
 
5K Qs said:
John, not everyone shares your opinion on the Chinese Schrades. Here's a comparison Frank @knarfeng once posted that you might find interesting:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...-reviews-and-overviews.1344265/#post-15449786

- GT
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I appreciate your input, as always, GT.
I can only judge them based on examples that I've received and handled personally.
One stockman I had, the blades would actually close on top of each other. you had to force the blade over before you could close it.
The other one I bought was a middleman jack and the blade wobble was really bad on the main blade. Small sample size, but I quit there.
I've posted about those two knives before and included pictures of the defects.
 
I know I continue to post negative comments about two Chinese made brands, Schrade and Rough Ryder.
Trust me, I refrain from posting it more than I actually do post it. It's just that I've received some extremely bad examples from both companies. And it's all been documented with pictures so that you all know I'm not just being a jerk because it's a Chinese company. I've also posted good experiences with Chinese made brands, so I don't really hold anything against the country of origin. Example... You want a good Chinese produced knife with consistent quality? Look at the Boker brand knives that are built there, they are good consistent quality. Same goes for the AG Russel knives I've handled, they seem to be well-built. Just my two cents.
 
I am not sure if I missed them previously but the April catalog from the Smoky Mtns has 7 Queen knives offered, all under $20 each.
Without the "Q" coin shield I dare say they would be indistinguishable from some old RR patterns. Queen City is also represented and appear to be of the same origin.
Having myself had a terrible experience with Queen/Ontario I am not surprised at their fate, but it is a little sad.
At least with the Schrade they kept the USA patterns anyway.
Oh well.
 
FLymon said:
7 Queen knives offered, all under $20 each.
Without the "Q" coin shield I dare say they would be indistinguishable from some old RR patterns.
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The funny thing is...
They are being posted on eBay, people are confusing them with original Queen knives, and buying them for original Queen prices. :eek: :D :thumbsdown:
 
FLymon said:
I am not sure if I missed them previously but the April catalog from the Smoky Mtns has 7 Queen knives offered, all under $20 each.
Without the "Q" coin shield I dare say they would be indistinguishable from some old RR patterns. Queen City is also represented and appear to be of the same origin.
Having myself had a terrible experience with Queen/Ontario I am not surprised at their fate, but it is a little sad.
At least with the Schrade they kept the USA patterns anyway.
Oh well.
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I saw that same catalog. I'm a little disappointed with them for doing that to Queen. Same thing they've done with Marbles.
I wasn't overjoyed to see Schrade made in China, but respected the fact that Taylor Brands kept to the traditional Schrade designs.
 
I can't dishonor the Queen name by buying a China made one. Yep, look like rebranded RRs. Nothing against Chinese knives, just loved REAL Queen knives.
Rich
 
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JohnDF said:
You want a good Chinese produced knife with consistent quality? Look at the Boker brand knives that are built there, they are good consistent quality.
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I'm beginning to think this must come down to the individual examples we all have in front of us. I've been dissatisfied with all five Boker Plus modern folders/fixed I've received that were made in China. I own over ten Rough Ryders and been disappointed in one of them. Just a situation where some are good, some bad I guess.

For comparison I've bought five made in USA Case knives and three were lower quality in fit and finish than my Rough Ryders.
 
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