New Queen Sodbuster in Linen Micarta has arrived!

Here a a few pics of the Bullnose side by side with the Queen

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i-kLbcv3Z-L.jpg


As you can see, the Bullnose is a tad longer than the Queen and a bit wider, they are about the same in handle thickness. The Queen is pointer than the Bullnose and comes in D2 over the 01. Personally I prefer the 01 since it patinas up nicely and is a bit easier to sharpen. Both are fine knives and you won't go wrong with either purchase.
 
Planterz said:
Yeesh. Is the blade centering on the Queen as bad as it looks in that picture?
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I never noticed it until you pointed it out but yes, it is pretty off center. I don't get to hung up on off center blades, as long as they are not rubbing. This is about as close as you can get without rubbing the liner. I'll report on the other that should be here in the next day or so and let you know if that points to a trend or maybe just a fluke. Trevor~
 
I'll get some pics up tomorrow, but my Queen soddie has perfect centering. The one I have has a bit of a gap and a bit of a raised spring in the open position. I don't mind as its gonna be a worker bee.....although when my dremel arrives we'll work on it. I really like this knife!!!

Peter
 
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I just got mine the other day for my collection. I thought the quality was great and the micarta is beautiful. +++
 
Pjake,
Same with mine - are you planning on shaving some of the spring off to flatten it out?
 
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GEC's implementation of this design is perfect in my eyes, but MAN would I ever love a version with micarta like that.
 
Sturubu said:
Pjake,
Same with mine - are you planning on shaving some of the spring off to flatten it out?
Click to expand...

Yup....ever so lightly shaving some metal (off the bottom end of the kick...not so sure of the terminology) to get it to lay flat. It won't take much. Here is the shot re: blade centering. I really like this knife! More than I would ever imagine.

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Peter
 
So there are both locking and traditional non locking micarta sodbusters in this release?

The locking model I bought was very nicely finished, and even sharp. It was nice not having to reprofile this D2 first thing before use. I could get used to that. :)

Overall though I do love that O-1 blade and the edge it takes but Queens D2 is still very nice as these things go. I'll take either over regular 1095, and Case CV, both of which I do like. 440C, and 420C just aren't for me though. Too little work for a masochist like me who enjoys clean, and sharp non patina-ed tool & alloy steels.

Joe
 
Following a recommendation from Trevor for a D2 blade my Queen finally arrived after a significant wait so I figured I woud add my 2c here in the form of first impressions. I will add some more once I've had time to give the D2 workout.

Changes: from the pictures posted there are a couple of small design changes from the first production run. First the shield is bigger, about 5/7th of the handlewidth. Personally I don't have a problem with shields as long as they aren't blank but I know some of you out there do. Second, they have used a different micarta and the linen grain is not as obvious.

Sharpness: mine was also nice and sharp out of the box as the others have reported. From reading on Bladeforums I understand this has been a crapshoot for Queen knives in the past so hopefully this is an issue they have attended to.

Walk and talk: there was quite a bit of production grunge in the machanics of this knife when it arrived. The walk was awkward and very gritty. I took a few minutes to clean it with some alcohol then added mineral oil and the grittiness has gone. However the walk is still kind of awkward: It has a very loose sort of half stop. As I open it there is a very stiff point at about 45 degrees then it eases out until 120 degrees when it goes stiff again until it snaps open from about 170. The talk seems fine from my limited experience.

Stay and play: Stay is decent, backspring is firm without being a nail breaker. There is no blade play - very nice!

Fit and finish: Blade is not centered, mine looks just like Trevor's pic. This is because the blade is clealy not straight when open in my sample. The backspring protudes very slightly when open and is flush when closed. There is a very slight gap on the front side of the backspring. The edges are all smooth. The back cover on mine has a small (1-2mm, 1/16th") crater right next to the center pin. It looks like it might be a manufacturing defect in the micarta.

Overall: this is a very handsome knife that I expect will make a great EDC. I'll check back in after I've beaten it up some ;)

Ste
 
Thanks for the detailed info Ste, very interesting that they changed some things. I would love to see a pic if you get a chance! Thanks, Trevor~
 
Nice review and I feel lucky for unable to get it at the first run after reading your review.

It may be safe to me to assume that the only thing making this knife as costy as Bullnose is its handle materiel, which however still seems slippy .

Pls someday somebody makes a SFO of micarta Bullnose.

stemgj71 said:
Following a recommendation from Trevor for a D2 blade my Queen finally arrived after a significant wait so I figured I woud add my 2c here in the form of first impressions. I will add some more once I've had time to give the D2 workout.

Changes: from the pictures posted there are a couple of small design changes from the first production run. First the shield is bigger, about 5/7th of the handlewidth. Personally I don't have a problem with shields as long as they aren't blank but I know some of you out there do. Second, they have used a different micarta and the linen grain is not as obvious.

Sharpness: mine was also nice and sharp out of the box as the others have reported. From reading on Bladeforums I understand this has been a crapshoot for Queen knives in the past so hopefully this is an issue they have attended to.

Walk and talk: there was quite a bit of production grunge in the machanics of this knife when it arrived. The walk was awkward and very gritty. I took a few minutes to clean it with some alcohol then added mineral oil and the grittiness has gone. However the walk is still kind of awkward: It has a very loose sort of half stop. As I open it there is a very stiff point at about 45 degrees then it eases out until 120 degrees when it goes stiff again until it snaps open from about 170. The talk seems fine from my limited experience.

Stay and play: Stay is decent, backspring is firm without being a nail breaker. There is no blade play - very nice!

Fit and finish: Blade is not centered, mine looks just like Trevor's pic. This is because the blade is clealy not straight when open in my sample. The backspring protudes very slightly when open and is flush when closed. There is a very slight gap on the front side of the backspring. The edges are all smooth. The back cover on mine has a small (1-2mm, 1/16th") crater right next to the center pin. It looks like it might be a manufacturing defect in the micarta.

Overall: this is a very handsome knife that I expect will make a great EDC. I'll check back in after I've beaten it up some ;)

Ste
Click to expand...
 
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