Queen Cutlery Company Closes

Sad news when and U.S. manufacturing company has to shutter operations, especially when they make cutlery!

Wonder if this has some tangled tie-in to GEC's decision to move away from the TIW labeling.
 
This is good news to me. A couple years ago I vowed to never buy another Queen until someone else owned the company... hopefully this will play out in favor of that. I have told every "knife person" I have come across to run the other direction, so this is part my fault. I don't really feel bad.

I appreciate the idea of a family business, but when you stamp DFC on your blades and one of the DF curses you out for asking a simple question after the DF production supervisor doesn't know how your knife was produced, and the DF president doesn't give a crap because they are is family and if they said F you; then F you, well, people aren't going to want to walk around with Daniels Family knives in their pockets, especially not if they cost 80 bucks and don't even have remotely even ground blades.

...all I did was ask if they did their primary blade grinds freehand. Honestly, it was so bad it HAD to be done freehand, which would have been totally fine by me but Ryan wanted to get super defensive for some reason, so I'll never know.
 
This a very disappointing to hear. Queen made knives have a place in my childhood, my grandfather talked about them with reverence and there are a few stories about them and with them that I cherish.

Growing up in PA they have a special place in my heart, to become such a well known cutlery company from humble beginnings, lasting as long as they have through decades of trying times and adversity. I hope that this isn’t a permanent closing and that they can actually turn things around.

I was gifted a Queen folding hunter when I got my first job, my parents celebrated my accomplisment with that prize and I loved it. The keystone shields that have adorned many Queen knives call to me as that old factory lies just a few miles from my hunting camp.
 
I wouldn't get bogged down in any speculation of why / how / what next. There is only so much money to pour into a company that is losing market share; and then it is done. The employees were notified previously so I am impressed that the news did not hit sooner.

I hope that the brand / facility can be picked up by someone that can make a go of it. But any such entity would seem to be starting behind the 8ball.
 
Sad news, but not unexpected. Lowering quality while raising prices nearly 100% is a sure way to become unsustainable. Queen/S&M was one of the oldest, continuously running manufacturing companies in the U.S., and at one time a bastion of quality. I just today received a 1998 S&M teardrop that is as well made as any production traditional knife I've ever handled. Hopefully someone can restore them to their former glory.

8xIGVQA.jpg
 
black mamba said:
Sad news, but not unexpected. Lowering quality while raising prices nearly 100% is a sure way to become unsustainable. Queen/S&M was one of the oldest, continuously running manufacturing companies in the U.S., and at one time a bastion of quality. I just today received a 1998 S&M teardrop that is as well made as any production traditional knife I've ever handled. Hopefully someone can restore them to their former glory.

8xIGVQA.jpg
Click to expand...

neat!!! ive always liked their tear drops, was hunting for one but didnt like how their new runs have come out recently.
 
Never a good thing when a US company closes its doors. The knives that I have, that were made by Queen are great knives, and well made. I wish the employees and the brass the very best.
 
I've never owned a queen, but I had avoided them due to what other knife collectors had to say about them. I did a quick search for news on Queen and an interesting article from April of this year came up: http://knifenews.com/queen-cutlery-automatic-knives/

Perhaps that effort was something of a last ditch chance to attract a different niche market to offset the one they had been losing.
 
JB in SC said:
Queen had real QC issues over the last years. At the price point, it was doomed after GEC upped their game.
Click to expand...

indeed, and hearing how poor their customer service was, i took matters into my own hands. I once received a s&m coke bottle that had a protruding blade. Decided to file the kick down myself instead of risking the return to manufacturer
 
I have another interesting Queen story. Here is a factory bone sample I picked up off the bay a few months ago. Made within the last year, it shows what Queen was still capable of producing. Interesting, very tactile bone jigging, beautifully polished D2 with good even grinds, consistent 5 pulls with smooth action and good snap.

aiaomIa.jpg


Even by GEC standards this knife is worth $100 (if GECs are). But it was a factory sample, most likely produced by the best cutler they had left, in order to make the best impression. They lost so much of their workforce to GEC, that the consistent quality just wasn't there anymore. Traditional knives are just too heavily handmade. And remember, the Daniels were more on the sales side of things when with GEC. Bill Howard is the real knife guy, and has continued to train the cutlers at GEC. Queen had no such experience to rely on.
 
If I recall correctly, the Daniel's Family were tire salesmen before purchasing the Queen brand
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top