Not sharpening a new and VERY Queen #9 Stockman

[navihawk]

Yeah, I think we're all beating a dead horse.

 

[sappyg]

Second, if you buy it sight unseen and it isn't sharp then send the knife back to queen for them to sharpen; they have good customer service.

whew....... long thread.... read every post...

the question i have is does queen warranty the factory edge? sure i understand workmanship and materials but if the precident has been set that the blades are dull then is that warranty issue. half way through the thread it dawned on me... 'why not send the knife back for profiling'?

i say this b/c i have a knife blade (from another maker) that i can not get sharp to save my fanny. that i have sharpened it (or boldly attempted to) should a new blade still have a sharp warranty? personally i wouldn't have the heuvos to send that knife back to for that reason due to it's age.

i'll bet if queen got 50% of every knife made back to be profiled under warranty to problem would go away right quick. i understand TU a knife out the box but not reprofiling.

keith

 

[Sword and Shield]

People have been bellyaching about queen edges for at least the 13 years I have been reading on-line knife discussions. The "dull edge problem" hasn't hurt the company yet, no matter how much forumites think they know about the knife business.

With queen knives you've got four options.

First, don't buy the knife on the internet, buy it in person so you can get the edge you want. Many knife stores will sharpen your knife as part of the purchase price.

Second, if you buy it sight unseen and it isn't sharp then send the knife back to queen for them to sharpen; they have good customer service.

Third, LEARN HOW TO SHARPEN AND USE THE RIGHT TYPE OF STONE!! You can sharpen a butter knife if you know the basics and have reasonable equiupment. Now if the knife doesn't stay sharp, then you know you have a steel/heat treatment problem.

Fourth, if one, two and three are not possible for you...then don't buy queen.

Oh wait, there is a fifth option, bring it to your friendly knife sharpening store and let them hog on a new edge with their belt or grinder. Mine charges $6 for a pocket knife, but the guy at the gun show charges $5.

Responses:

1. No brick and mortar stores here sell Queen, at least that I have ever found.
2. If a car needed an alignment from the factory, would you accept this? It's still their job to do it before it leaves, even if it is only a 10-second job.
3. I know how to sharpen. Diamonds, my belt grinder, you name it. However the edges are often so poor on a Queen that it's not a lack of knowhow more than it is doing something they should have done, like establishing an edge bevel.
4. I generally don't. My knife budget is small, and Buck, Case, older Schrades and Camillus generally don't need major work out of the box.
5. Good luck finding one- there aren't any here.

 

[brownshoe]

S&S,

2. "If a car needed an alignment from the factory, would you accept this? It's still their job to do it before it leaves, even if it is only a 10-second job." Everybody accepts warranty repairs on cars. Don't know about you, but I've bought 4 new cars, they all needed warranty repairs...maybe I'm stupid, but I still buy the same brands

As far as the rest, it seems you like option 4...DON'T BUY QUEEN. Cool.

BUT, you are missing out on some great patterns. You are also missing out on the "wonder" steel D2, one of the better non-stainless available in a production slipjoint. As stated before, with the right equipment, it takes 15 minutes (personally with my hand hones 30). Also what's not been said here, is that many queens, if not most, have a servicable edge.

 

[Sword and Shield]

S&S,

2. "If a car needed an alignment from the factory, would you accept this? It's still their job to do it before it leaves, even if it is only a 10-second job." Everybody accepts warranty repairs on cars. Don't know about you, but I've bought 4 new cars, they all needed warranty repairs...maybe I'm stupid, but I still buy the same brands

As far as the rest, it seems you like option 4...DON'T BUY QUEEN. Cool.

BUT, you are missing out on some great patterns. You are also missing out on the "wonder" steel D2, one of the better non-stainless available in a production slipjoint. As stated before, with the right equipment, it takes 15 minutes (personally with my hand hones 30). Also what's not been said here, is that many queens, if not most, have a servicable edge.

I still buy Queen now and again, but not new from the factory. I'd rather buy a used one that someone has already worked out the kinks on.

Really, I'm not a huge fan of D2 as it is. I can't get that perfect edge on it- my convexed and polished #11 will shave cleanly, but even when using stropping compound the edge is still a bit too toothy. If they offered 1095 alongside D2, I'd be all over it.

 

[jsn]

Inspired by this thread to get my queen in a bit better shape than it came in, I reprofiled it last night. I am not a very skilled sharpener, and the D2 really pushed my patience.

I used a really crappy plastic-backed diamond "stone" to do most of the work because my stone would have taken months to remove that much material. I was freehanding it, but trying to shoot for an ~18 degree primary bevel. Then finished it on a stone for the final edge a bit steeper.

It looks like absolute crap, but is nice and sharp now

Before working on it, the bevel (I hope that is the right word) was maybe 1/16" from the edge to the unsharpened blade, now it is more like 1/8". It was a bit shocking to see what an ~18/20 degree edge looked like compared to the stock edge. It looks (and cuts) like a completely different blade.

Jason

 

[Blues]

The bright side, Jason, is that you got it sharp, it should stay sharp for a good long time, and now that it has some battle scars on it you won't mind putting it to use.

So, all in all a pretty good ending despite the poor level of sharpness as delivered. Congrats! :thumbup:

 

[jsn]

Absolutely. I am a bit perversely pleased with how terrible it looks while still being sharp, and this experience has made me want to improve my sharpening skills.

As they say on the interwebs, "this thread is worthless without pics"

You can also see my quest to remove the etching on the blade. Why do so many companies do that?

Jason

 

[555]

I don't want to dump on any brand but this is the honest truth. I have wanted a Queen for a long time and the only thing that has stopped me is the seemingly endless string of complaints from frustrated owners who receive dull blades from the factory. Hopefully either Queen or I will eventually get past this issue.

Reading posts about Queen D2 kept me away from the Brand also.
Now owning over a dozen Queens in D2, I'm not only a fan, I'm hooked on how well their steel holds an edge. I really think it's one of the best steels out there.

So you have to sharpen a knife. What knife doesn't need sharpened when used daily.
IMHO

 

[GregFL]

Inspired by this thread to get my queen in a bit better shape than it came in, I reprofiled it last night. I am not a very skilled sharpener, and the D2 really pushed my patience.

I used a really crappy plastic-backed diamond "stone" to do most of the work because my stone would have taken months to remove that much material. I was freehanding it, but trying to shoot for an ~18 degree primary bevel. Then finished it on a stone for the final edge a bit steeper.

It looks like absolute crap, but is nice and sharp now

Before working on it, the bevel (I hope that is the right word) was maybe 1/16" from the edge to the unsharpened blade, now it is more like 1/8". It was a bit shocking to see what an ~18/20 degree edge looked like compared to the stock edge. It looks (and cuts) like a completely different blade.

Jason

Like many others I was nervous about Queen's D2, but DMT's Aligner Kit with diamond stones will sharpen it at a variety of angles in a reasonable amount of time. I'm sure that a Lansky or Gatco will do the same. Here is my Queen Trapper that has different bevels on each blade both of which are scary sharp. I've free hand sharpened for years, but I now use my DMT on almost all my knives. Simple to use and it works.