Queen 2015

[Rockon75]

I'm sorry to here that you had a bad experience.

I have been fortunate to have not had a major issue with any queens/schatt's that I've picked up. I won't say that they are as finely put together as my GEC's, but there is nothing that consistently stands out against them. And I do have some that are just as well put together as the GEC lineup. As a matter of fact, I find a great value for what you get with QCC products. I so want the new owners to succeed and grow. I want this so that there may be variety in who we have to choose from when seeking out which side of Titusville's Main Street our next knife will come from. I will continue to support the new QCC as well as GEC. I don't think I did bad on this one for the extremely reasonable price.

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[Dean51]

I was going to post this pic in What did your knife do thread but this might be a better place.
Got this Queen #69 Barlow in the mail yesterday, took a couple quick pics to show both sides.
No problems at all with walk & talk, spring is flush. Overall finish is good.
It does have the same issue as my walnut Railsplitter one pin is not round.
It was actually sharp enough to use out of the box. Re profiled to 18 per side, with no problem.
I saw some other pics online of Queen Barlows with the same pin issue, I do wish they would work on that issue.

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[jc57]

My Queen knives (all three of them) are new old stock. No real problems but the backspring sits a little proud on my green Micarta Country Cousin. Haven't bought any of the recent production runs.

 

[thawk]

On a good note, I just picked up a Series IX Schatt & Morgan from the Keystone Series. A very nice Gunstock Jack that appears to have no flaws I can find. This includes perfectly centered blades, good action, and sharp.

Too bad when you hear of problems with a new knife. It's not good for business getting bad reviews here in the forum.

 

[silenthunterstudios]

I am chomping at the bit to see Courtney at the Mason Dixon show the end of April. I am hoping to get a larger camp knife and maybe a few Tuna Valley blades. I like that they are using high end steels.

 

[nugun55]

This S&M Barlow #69 is new. I was a little disappointed in the stag. The blade appears to be tumble polished. (which I'm not a fan of either.) But, overall fit & finish and blade pull is great. I have no complaints with that.

 

[Cory Hess]

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending some time with Courtney Daniels at the Badger Knife Club Show. I have to say that she was very friendly, and answered all of my questions. She was great with my kids, and when she saw how interested they were in the knives on her table she dug around underneath a little and came out with a queen knife to give each of them. I didn't know about it, but they have a Queen Kiddo Knife Program. She signed and dated the box for each of them. All three of us were blown away by this, and my son was eager to show off his new knife to everybody we saw for the rest of the day. My daughter got a Queen Steel #96 doctor's knife and my son got a #14 yella peanut. Here's a picture of Courtney and my kids displaying their new knives:

They came in these boxes:

Here's some closer pics of the knives:

And of course Papa couldn't go home empty handed.
I snagged the one buffalo horn Ruple trapper they had at the show:

The fit and finish of this knife is better than any other knife I own. I'm not going to say it's flawless, as there are always things here and there with a production knife, but it's a step above even the GECs in my opinion. Queen really did a knockout job with these knives. As a bonus, it even came with this cool case:

Overall, I was very happy with the quality of knives they had at the show. Courtney won me over, and converted me from somebody that looked at Queen a lot and was hesitant to hand over my money to a Queen fan. I'll definitely be doing more Queen shopping in the near future.

 

[nugun55]

That's really cool and I'm sure made those kid's day. I really like that buffalo horn, too. Nice knife.

 

[black mamba]

Congrats, Cory, on your great experience! The horn on the Ruple is gorgeous, and a trapper is a very useful pattern.

 

[dpowers311]

Last year at a gun and knife show my son and I met Ryan Daniels and he gave my son a small toothpick. I will try and dig up a picture to post.

Dave

 

[cairndude]

After reading Dean51’s generally favorable comments above on the Queen walnut Barlow for 2015, I decided to go ahead and get one myself.

First of all, the Queen Barlow is actually 3-1/2” closed (not 3-1/4” as listed on the Queen product page), the same length as the GEC Boys Knife/TC Barlow.

Overall build quality is above average: better than some of my GECs but not as good as my best GECs. Pull is around 5-6, similar to my GEC #15s. The spring is nearly perfectly flush in the open, closed, and half-stop positions.

The blade has a nearly imperceptible amount of side-to-side blade play when open, and is slightly off-centered when closed. The movement had considerable grittiness right out of the box, and it took a double flush of Break Free CLP to clean the gunk out of the pivot area. There is still some residual roughness, but it's smoothening out nicely with use.

As on Dean51’s knife, some of the handle pins on mine are not perfectly circular. But overall not that bad; the pins are flush with the nicely polished handle and their irregular edges can’t be felt.

 

[kootenay joe]

How is the blade grind ? reasonably thin just above the edge ? And how sharp was it on arrival ?
Do you know what steel this is ? Previously Queen was using D2 for most of their knives but i am wondering if this has changed with the change of ownership.
kj

 

[jkulysses]

After reading Dean51’s generally favorable comments above on the Queen walnut Barlow for 2015, I decided to go ahead and get one myself.

First of all, the Queen Barlow is actually 3-1/2” closed (not 3-1/4” as listed on the Queen product page), the same length as the GEC Boys Knife/TC Barlow.

Overall build quality is above average: better than some of my GECs but not as good as my best GECs. Pull is around 5-6, similar to my GEC #15s. The spring is nearly perfectly flush in the open, closed, and half-stop positions.

The blade has a nearly imperceptible amount of side-to-side blade play when open, and is slightly off-centered when closed. The movement had considerable grittiness right out of the box, and it took a double flush of Break Free CLP to clean the gunk out of the pivot area. There is still some residual roughness, but it's smoothening out nicely with use.

As on Dean51’s knife, some of the handle pins on mine are not perfectly circular. But overall not that bad; the pins are flush with the nicely polished handle and their irregular edges can’t be felt.

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I really like these but just wish they would have stamped the bolsters with their logo and left the shield off but I guess they are just trying to be different or something. Still a great looking knife and the price is reasonable for what you get.

 

[TurkishChubs]

Yeah, a big pressed in queen logo would of looked really cool, instead of the shield. I will still pick one up though. They also have that delrin with 1095, good prices on these knives.

 

[cairndude]

How is the blade grind ? reasonably thin just above the edge ? And how sharp was it on arrival ?
Do you know what steel this is ? Previously Queen was using D2 for most of their knives but i am wondering if this has changed with the change of ownership.

I'm just a casual collector and light-duty user of traditionals, so all I can offer regarding the grind, thickness, and sharpness of the blade are that they are fine for my needs. The blade slices through medium-weight cardboard with ease, and I'm sure it will do fine on an apple or pear, too! Here's one interesting spec, though: my three single clip blade GEC #15s are all approx. 0.085" thick at the spine, while the Queen Barlow is approx. 0.070". Oh, and yes, the blade on the 2015 Queen Barlow is D2.

I really like these but just wish they would have stamped the bolsters with their logo and left the shield off but I guess they are just trying to be different or something.

Yeah, a big pressed in queen logo would of looked really cool, instead of the shield..

My thoughts exactly on the attractiveness of a stamped bolster. I recall from another thread that Queen will be making an upgraded, S&M version of this 3.5" Barlow for Northwoods, so I'm hoping that that model will have the Northwoods arrowhead stamped on the bolster just like on the larger, Northwoods Madison Barlow.

 

[Dean51]

I like the smooth bolsters on this knife and the small pinned shield. It's a nice clean and simple look.
I said only one knife this year but maybe I can find a home for the feathered buffalo horn.

 

[glocktenman]

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The fit and finish of this knife is better than any other knife I own. I'm not going to say it's flawless, as there are always things here and there with a production knife, but it's a step above even the GECs in my opinion. Queen really did a knockout job with these knives. As a bonus, it even came with this cool case:

Is that as in "Bill Ruple"?

 

[Cory Hess]

Is that as in "Bill Ruple"?

Yep, it's a collaboration knife they did with Bill Ruple. They also have a Joe Pardue collaboration folding hunter out.

 

[Peregrin]

Yep, it's a collaboration knife they did with Bill Ruple. They also have a Joe Pardue collaboration folding hunter out.

That Ruple is a fine looking knife, Cory. The Buffalo horn really sets it off.

 

[Cory Hess]

That Ruple is a fine looking knife, Cory. The Buffalo horn really sets it off.

Thanks, Gary! A compliment from you is truly an honor knowing the pieces of art that fill your pockets on a regular basis.

When we got back from the knife show I sent an email to Ken Daniels letting him know about the great experience we had with Courtney. I included the picture of her with my kids and their new knives. I just noticed that that picture is now part of the banner on their website!! I showed the kids, and they are very excited. I thought that was pretty cool.