Northwood Knives, any Experience?

Slider817

Slider817

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Mar 26, 2010
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I wanted to try the peanut pattern, and for while now I have been looking at Northwood knives, any experience with their knives?

Also, looking for other peanut options, I like the higher end stuff, GEC, Queen etc. I have had some Case knives recently that the Quality has been a bit spotty, but how do their peanuts stack up (the new Case Rancher CV and Stag is gorgeous.

PS one of my few strong preferences with my knives is that they are not that hard to open, no nail breakers for me, I just sent my new GEC Dogleg Trapper in for repair because I could barely open it, I know people like that, but i feel like my fingernails are ripping off.


Update: I Purchased a Peanut, Pics & Opinion below
 
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This is a good question. I've recently been thinking of getting a Northwoods stockman. From the looks of them I think they're made by Queen.
 
Northwoods are great knives. Most of them were made by Queen. Some made by GEC. The Stockman was made by Queen and is very nice.

In the past, like with Queen, their sharpness has been spotty (ok, mostly dull!) that is changing going forward, but all of the Stockmans out there are that way.

:)
 
I have been unimpressed with Northwoods knives. I have had a few Northwoods knives, including a Peanut pattern, and while the handle material and "heft" seemed very nice, the fit and finish were unacceptable. There were excessive gaps between the liners/springs, uneven, dull grinds, and even bent blades. This may have been my isolated experience, so I don't want to discourage your interest, especially if you don't care as much about cosmetic issues. Also, I would imagine that there is a huge difference in quality between the Queen and GEC manufactured pieces.
 
I only own two Queen knives and so far they are "2 for 2" in F&F excellence. I found an on-line source for the Northwoods 4" stockman and if the quality is at least as good as what I've already experienced I will be pleased.
 
I've been more than pleased with fit, finish and sharpness on my Northwoods D2 muskrat. It's a real keeper.
 
I've got two Northwoods knives, both by Queen. One is a large stag-handled stockman (identical in pattern/size to the Queen #49 Cattle King), the other is a 2-blade Folding Hunter, also in stag, and same pattern/size as Queen's Folding Hunter. Cosmetic differences from the Queen are: different tang stamp (Northwoods), no etch on the blades, and an 'acorn' shield on each. Otherwise, they're Queen all the way. My only real disappointment was with the stag scales on the stockman. One side had a deeply 'sunken' character to the stag, which I didn't much care for. Don't know if that's typical of the stag scales on the stockman, or if it was just a fluke. Otherwise, I think they're both very nice knives.

Regarding the mention of pull. One thing I've really grown to like about the Queen Cattle King (I have one of those, too), is the blade pull is as close to 'just right' as it can be. No nail-breakers, but still inspires confidence. The Northwoods version is comparable. The pull on the Folding Hunter is stiff, but I expect that on a 'big' knife. I'd be worried if it wasn't.
 
I have a Scagel model made by Northwoods. I don't know how representative it is of the rest of their line.
Pretty good fit and finish. It was pretty sharp out of the box--I would say sharper than most Queen and Case models that I have purchased (with the exception of the Queen/Burke and Case/Bose collaborations).

I would not hesitate to buy another.
 
I have a peanut in stag of nice quality

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My Peanut just arrived, thanks for all the input, I decided to go with the Northwood Knives Peanut.
photo3-1.jpg
 
In terms of fit and finish, the knife was a bit lacking in some aspects, the main blade had a decent bur on it, and the blade was a bit scratched, not that that was a big deal, a couple of minutes on a DMT Diafold got it in excellent shape, and this is a user, so scratches are no big deal.
As you can see in the pics, the bottom bolster is not straight (not sure how to describe this, but look at the pic.
And it's not that flush on the half stop (not that I care), but I think the Stag is first rate and overall I am very happy with the purchase.

However, there are many positive aspects too the knife including the F&F that I detailed below

Thanks for all your help
photo2-3.jpg

photo1-4.jpg
 
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I must say though, one thing that really impresses me about this knife is the spring tension, it's the perfect balance between easy and hard, and has a very mice snap, it opens quite smoothly, I think there will be more Nirthwoods in my future.
Not a nail breaker, but the tension inspires confidence.
 
Slider817 said:
I must say though, one thing that really impresses me about this knife is the spring tension, it's the perfect balance between easy and hard, and has a very mice snap, it opens quite smoothly, I think there will be more Nirthwoods in my future.
Not a nail breaker, but the tension inspires confidence.
Click to expand...

That's very good to hear. I'd mentioned earlier, how much I liked the pull on my Cattle King & the Northwoods equivalent. Sounds like maybe Queen has figured this out, and that's no small feat. :thumbup:
 
I traded for an Indian River Jack here on the forums and really like it. It's a thin knive overall, single blade and with the big open nail nick. Sure does open easy.
 
Also, I would like to add that the Gorgeous and very high Quality Stag scales are mated perfectly to the handle with no gaps, and there pins are smooth and flush with the stag, a very nice and high end finnish, that I have not seen on many knives. Really a very high quality knife
 
I have found Northwoods peanuts to be better quality than most manufactured peanuts. I took some pictures to show the comparison between Northwoods peanuts and Case Select peanuts. I think the Case Select peanuts are the best Case makes.

This picture shows the 4 peanuts being compared. Starting from the top is a Northwoods ivory, Case Select blue bone, Northwoods MOP, Case Select candy stripe.

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I always like to compare the back spring to determine quality. And the first backspring picture of the blades closed will give a good idea of how the blades will match to the backspring when open.

Closed blade backspring Northwoods ivory vs. Case blue bone.

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Open blade backspring Northwoods ivory vs. Case blue bone.

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Another good comparison for quality is how the blades center. Both Northwoods knives center and both Case Select knives almost rub against the liners.

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In my opinion the Northwoods knives are definately higher quality than the Case Select knives. The fit and finish is better, the snap is better, and they also come sharper from the factory. I do like the Case Select peanuts with the swedged blades, but when comparing quality the Northwoods peanuts win.

I attached this Dan Burke black lip pearl just because I think it is a good example of a high quality manufactured knife.

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