Queen and GEC

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ecallahan

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I have been trying to piece together who produces what. Could you please tell me if this is correct.

Queen Cutlery - manufactured in Titusville PA in a separate facility/ ownership from GEC. Includes Queen, S&M, and Robeson knives.

GEC - manufactured in Titusville PA in a separate facility/ownership than Queen. Includes Northfield and Tidioute brands.

Did I get that correct? Any other brands produced at those locations?

Thanks. This has been bugging me.
 
You are correct with what you listed. There are additional lines that each has produced through the years but you've covered the high spots.
 
And just to muddy the waters a little, there's Northwoods Knives - some of which are made by GEC and some are made by Queen.
 
You have it mostly right. Queen makes Queen, S&M, and Tuna Valley knives. GEC makes Farm and Field, GEC, Tidioute, and Northfield. They both make knives as special orders for many different labels such as Robeson and Northwoods and many others.

The Queen line is Queen's basic line and mostly uses D2 steel. S&M is their higher end line and they use many different steels. Tuna Valley is their top of the line, and they mostly use 154. Tidioute is GEC's basic line and it uses 1095 steel. Their Farm and Field line is their worker line, and it also uses 1095 steel. Their Northfield line is their top end line, and it also uses 1095. The GEC line is their stainless line and it uses 440C.

Bill Howard used to run the Queen factory. He left that job to start GEC with a business partner named Ken Daniels. After a couple of years Bill bought Ken out of GEC, and Ken subsequently bought Queen. So, the owner of GEC used to work at Queen and the owner of Queen used to own GEC.
 
Off the top of my head...

Both Queen and GEC have made knives branded Tuna Valley (now only Queen makes them) and Bladeforums

Queen also makes/made knives branded Moore Maker, Winchester, Primble, Trestle Pines, Maher & Grosh....

...and GEC also makes/made knives branded Redneck Farm Tool, Farm & Field Tool, Schrade, Ulster, Champlin, Bulldog, Good Old Days, Krack-a-jack and Smith & Sons

---some of those brands have been made by multiple manufacturers and only a few examples were made by GEC or Queen. This is not a complete list. There are some missing examples.
 
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Wow. Good to know. I like Northwoods models and wondered who produced them. I guess Queen and GEC both do.
 
Queen in the past has also made pieces/parts for Colonel Coon, Cripple Creek, Case, Keen Kutter, and a few others. Without any credits though.
 
Cory Hess said:
The Queen line is Queen's basic line and mostly uses D2 steel. S&M is their higher end line and they use many different steels. Tuna Valley is their top of the line, and they mostly use 154. Tidioute is GEC's basic line and it uses 1095 steel. Their Farm and Field line is their worker line, and it also uses 1095 steel. Their Northfield line is their top end line, and it also uses 1095. The GEC line is their stainless line and it uses 440C.
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This is a little misleading. The difference between northfield and tidioute is cosmetic. The Northfield verison of a pattern is simply a different trim than the Tidioute version of the same pattern. Saying "Northfield is top end" suggests better quality and materials, which to GEC's credit is not true -- none of their products sacrifice quality for price.

Northfield trim can include stag/elk handle covers, lined/threaded/pinched bolsters & endcaps, cut swedges and long-pulls, polished blades, etc. Those extra cosmetic details, whether you find them desirable or not, add time to the manufacturing process hence the price difference between tidioute and northfield of the same handle material. Also, tidioute models can still have some of the trim options seen on northfield versions. For example: both brass and steel liners/bolsters have appeared on tidioute and northfield models.
 
jrawk said:
This is a little misleading. The difference between northfield and tidioute is cosmetic. The Northfield verison of a pattern is simply a different trim than the Tidioute version of the same pattern. Saying "Northfield is top end" suggests better quality and materials, which to GEC's credit is not true -- none of their products sacrifice quality for price.
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This is from GEC's website: "Only the most premium of our traditional pocket knives receive the UN-X-LD branding." UN-X-LD is exclusive to their Northfield line. Queen and GEC are set up the same way. Queen doesn't skimp on their Queen line any more than GEC does their Tidioute line. However, they both present one line as a basic line and the other as a higher end line.

I personally favor the Tidioute and Queen lines, as most Northfields and many S&Ms just look gaudy to me. However, I was trying to convey the intentions of the manufacturers without injecting my personal opinions into the matter. If you want to call Bill Howard a liar, that's between you and him. :p
 
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jrawk said:
This is a little misleading. The difference between northfield and tidioute is cosmetic. The Northfield verison of a pattern is simply a different trim than the Tidioute version of the same pattern. Saying "Northfield is top end" suggests better quality and materials, which to GEC's credit is not true -- none of their products sacrifice quality for price.

Northfield trim can include stag/elk handle covers, lined/threaded/pinched bolsters & endcaps, cut swedges and long-pulls, polished blades, etc. Those extra cosmetic details, whether you find them desirable or not, add time to the manufacturing process hence the price difference between tidioute and northfield of the same handle material. Also, tidioute models can still have some of the trim options seen on northfield versions. For example: both brass and steel liners/bolsters have appeared on tidioute and northfield models.
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Not trying to nit pick, but Elk is only found on GEC (stainless) versions. Not on any Northfields.
I would agree that they are the same quality of workmanship in regards to fit but, in some instances, better quality materials and finish can go into the Northfields. IE: Stag & high polish.
 
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The workmanship is not the same quality. The Northfields are considered to be finished better. The better materials, worked bolsters, mirror polished blades, etc. are all considered a higher level of finish. They function the same, and have the same fit, but the finish is most definitely different. When we evaluate the quality of a slipjoint it's not uncommon to speak of fit and finish. Tidioutes will never be equivalent to Northfields in this standard because the Northfields, by definition, have a higher level of finish and therefore are of a higher quality. You can sugar coat it all you want, but they're not the same. It's funny that nobody is arguing that the Farm & Field is equivalent to the Tidioutes even though those two lines are just as similar as the Tidioutes are to the Northfields.
 
I have a Queen and an S&M that should be arriving over the next couple of days. I'll be quite interested to see any differences in F&F between the two. I'll post my findings in this thread.
 
Well, I've honestly NOT found any differences in the quality of finish&fit between Northfield and Tidioute. I have two 83 lock backs next to me as I write, a Tidioute in Sage Bone and a Northfield in Sambar Stag. They open and close the same, their level of fit is the same as is the finish. The difference in my perception, is that the Northfield has a long pull and swedge (swage) and ringed bolsters. The Tidioute is less ornate but not less in quality. Certain types of bone are the preserve of a Nothfield run, as is Stag. They also may have ringed/pinched bolsters, but so do the Acorn shield stainless knives. Their finish is identical to their Tidioute and Northfield cousins, the blade steel and style are different. Tidioute seems to have a preserve on Ebony whereas Northfield uses Blackwood (usually) but you can't say Ebony is a more basic or inferior wood to Blackwood. Certain shields are used by Northfield and not Tidioute and vice versa, for identity purposes.

It's an appearance /style thing to me at least.:cool:

Thanks, Will
 
^ I agree with Will. The Tidioute is less ornate but not less in quality. As the old saying goes, "You can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig."
 
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