Queen City Stockman Questions

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sheajs

Joined
Sep 3, 2002
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I have a question that I am hoping some of you could help me answer.

I recently purchased a new Queen City Premium Stockman. I have owned a few Queen stockmans in the past and have always been pleased with the strength of the backsprings. However, the backspring on this knife seems pretty weak. All three blades do snap open but they don't necessarily snap closed. In other words, the spey and sheepsfoot blades have to be folded almost all the way back into the knife before the spring pulls it the rest of the way in. I hope I have explained this correctly.

Also, the blade which is supposed to be 1095 came really dull out of the box which as I have read is not uncommon. I tried to sharpen it which proved to be difficult. Is there any chance the knife may have been mis-labeled and is actually D2?

I was wondering if that is normal or if you guys think I should try to contact Queen and send it in. I appreciate any thoughts anyone can offer regarding this.

Thanks,
sheajs
 
I don't have Stockmen in this series, but I do have a couple of the Teardrop Jacks (used to have an English Jack but it had so many 'issues' gaps, play etc that I had to return it) These Teardrops have fine snap, walk&talk and they get very sharp.

The grinds on your knife might be poor from the factory, hence difficulty in sharpening. Test it with some acidic fruit or onions, if it's carbon it will colour. D2 takes a lot longer to change and is a lighter colour.

Your knife sounds like it has unsatisfactory snap for real use, I would return it (this is a nuisance and should not have to happen but this seems quite frequent with some Queen knives these days)

Regards, Will
 
Do you have a photo or more info about the knife...What year was the knife made? Is this one of the club knives?
 
willgoy said:
(...) The grinds on your knife might be poor from the factory, hence difficulty in sharpening. Test it with some acidic fruit or onions, if it's carbon it will colour. D2 takes a lot longer to change and is a lighter colour.

Your knife sounds like it has unsatisfactory snap for real use, I would return it (...)
Click to expand...

^This. Exactly.

I'd just send it back.

Edited to add:
As mentioned, the difference in steels is easily determined by checking how or if it stains. 1095 will stain/patina/rust very quickly, especially if exposed to anything acidic for an hour or two. Vinegar (also found in mustard, pickle juice) is a good way to test it. Easy to smell the interaction between them, too; very 'metallic' smell, when the acid touches the steel. D2 is just barely on the threshold of being truly stainless, so any discoloration will be much more subtle (slight darkening), and will take much, much longer to form.
 
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Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this issue. I just ran the vinegar test and it is definately 1095. Supratentorial- I am not sure what the year the knife was made. I am assuming it was recently manufactured. The model number is QC9S and It was listed as an "SMKW exclusive." I think I will contact them and make arrangements to send it in.

sheajs
 
I have other Queen made stock knives of the same #9 pattern but haven't seen one from that particular exclusive run. My examples of the #9 stock knives have good walk and talk. Will stores take a return after the knife is used? If not, you might send it in to Queen.
 
I have a Queen City 4" stockman in 1095 which was also an "exclusive" from a famous old knife shop.

I found the blades to be poorly ground to the extent that it was like the bevels on each side did not meet in the middle. Walloping wide edge. I could darn near use the edge as a mirror to see myself. Took a LOT of work to get an actual cutting edge on it.

Kind of gappy on the back springs too. Springs were acceptable pull, though. Not hard to manipulate, but had plenty of snap.

If I had it to do over again, I'd not buy the knife. And I don't say that very often.
 
I bought the same knife from SMKW and have no issues with it. I also bought 5 other paterns in stag from them and none of them have any issues what so ever. I would suggest you send it back to SMKW and get it fixed. Good luck in your decision.
Harold
 
knarfeng said:
I have a Queen City 4" stockman in 1095 which was also an "exclusive" from a famous old knife shop.

I found the blades to be poorly ground to the extent that it was like the bevels on each side did not meet in the middle. Walloping wide edge. I could darn near use the edge as a mirror to see myself. Took a LOT of work to get an actual cutting edge on it.

Kind of gappy on the back springs too. Springs were acceptable pull, though. Not hard to manipulate, but had plenty of snap.

If I had it to do over again, I'd not buy the knife. And I don't say that very often.
Click to expand...

I'm especially fond of the old "black box" Winchesters that Queen made but almost all of my Queen-made knives have poor edges... very few exceptions. On most the edges needed new bevels. I'm beginning to think of them sort of like the Ikea of knives... some work required. ;)
 
I know several people don't mind putting an edge on a knife when it doesn't come with one. Some folks will put their own preferred edge on a knife that comes perfectly sharp. That still doesn't mean anyone should be required to take that step to have a useable brand new knife in my opinion. If we could make a pile of all the knives that come with no edge or sloppy grinds and leave it in front of a manufacturer's door I wonder if it might make an impression.
 
I agree that it shouldn't be... but I expect it of the modern Queen knives, Case knives until recently and some of the older GEC knives. On the occasions when I've been lucky enough to find a vintage knife (pre 1970) with the factory edge, it has usually been satisfactory... much better grinds too. Some seem to be a full grind all the way down to a single molecule of steel. :p I'm not sure if good factory edges were more common in the "olden days" though... Did they stop caring about the edges in the 70s? Is this due to production of knives for display rather than use? I have some '70s sodbusters that originally had basically no factory edge bevel whatsoever and those certainly weren't made for display... I also have some 70s Case knives that had nice edge bevels (great grinds also) though they weren't hair popping sharp... oxidation of carbon steel over 40+ years could be the reason or maybe they just weren't hair popping sharp from the beginning. Over the past couple of years, Case and GEC have made good efforts to improve their edges. I'm not sure why Queen hasn't improved. It's unfortunate since they have made some very cool patterns (under their own name as well as other brands) and have produced some of the best jigged bone handles.
 
I like Queen knives, overall. I am one of those who sharpens a new knife as soon as the package gets opened. I even don't mind sharpening Queen D2

However, I think I was particularly unsatisfied with that knife because I didn't think the fit and finish were acceptable given the price point. It had "stag" scales and because of that, plus the rather exorbitant "shipping and handling" fee from that large, well known, non BF member knife vendor, the bill came to ~$110. Like I said. I wouldn't buy that particular model from that particular vendor again. However, I will be buying more Queen knives.
 
Queen city = Queen Cutlery?

I have bought 3 Queen Cutlery large toothpicks for friends as wedding presents and they all came very sharp ( More than BM sharp, Less than Spyderco sharp). I bought myself a Cattle King and it came with at LEAST 45 degree bevels per side. I have it sitting in front of me with my DMT diafolds out right now.
 
i normally profile everything as soon as i get it as well, but i do think its poor QC as im sure were not the norm when it comes to the average knife buyer. its an area Queen needs to look at.

however, once i profiled and sharpened it (small stockman in D2), i have to say i think its one of the best users i have and that puts it in some good company.
 
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