Queen Cutlery Company Closes

neal70 said:
I wonder if this will effect Tuna Valley brand knives as well? I don’t know where or who was producing them for the Daniels. Dag nab it!!!!!!!
Thanks, Neal
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Tuna knives from 2013-2017 were all made at Queen, since the name is owned by the Daniels. But they still own the name, and can choose to still have the knives made by GEC, or Case, or Bose, or anyone who is willing. Not that I think that will happen, but it is an option.

Personally, I think Queen isn't done yet. My hope is that the Daniels, and their newly trained master cutler, and maybe a choice few of the best/knowledgeable employees refine their process and start again in 3-6 months. They have the machines, the tooling, the building, the suppliers, the dealers all line up and ready to go. If they can get their debt issues under control, and cut out a lot of unneeded upper management, they can be making knives again for the 2018 year.
 
Sad to hear and a bit funny considering I just purchased a Queen last night it was an old stock which have been told should be far more reliable quality. I am looking forward to it and it is a bit funny to think my first Queen might be my last and only.
 
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This is sad news, they were the only larger US knife company that I can think of that worked with a wide variety of steels for their production line and special orders. I wonder who companies like Tuna Valley will turn to now for their orders. One of my favorite all time traditional knives is the Queen Canoe with D2 blades:thumbsup:
 
A sad day indeed. A Queen barlow was my first knife given me by my grandfather when I was 7 years old. Now 74 y.o. and still have that knife. Have a few other Queen knives including a more recent barlow in walnut with D2 - great knives. I hope this is a temporary reorganization and that they can continue somehow. Very sad to see a great company that's been around for over 100 years go under :(

Rich
 
Man that really hurts too many brands are associated with queen so its like loosing 4 us knife manufacturer. Queen ,S&M, Tuna Valley, Trestle Pines just to name a few. I miss the robeson line as well. But its been gone. What a shame. I have a few newer queens and havent had any issues with them. I think the worst part is we wont have the variety of steels they used anymore.
 
I would have a different username if not for Queen Cutlery. Their Railsplitter pattern caught my attention very early in my knife collecting days. I guess I won't be running into Ryan Daniels at the knife show anymore. And that D2 steel. I sure am gonna miss these guys.

For a decade or so many of us have been saying that Queen needs to buckle down and do whatever it takes to save the company. Maybe this is what it takes. I hope they pull through.
 
black mamba said:
I'm glad I stocked up when I could.
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:thumbsup: Hang onto them. I am glad to have the ones I do, and the ones I never got around to getting, let the hunt begin, I'm sure they will pop up eventually.

The other day I was trying to list what is left of US traditional knife manufacturing, I only came up with five companies, now four. Really, for any variety there's Case and GEC... That's a pretty small pond...
 
sitflyer said:
....The other day I was trying to list what is left of US traditional knife manufacturing, I only came up with five companies, now four. Really, for any variety there's Case and GEC... That's a pretty small pond...
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There is also Bear & Sons. But I think you know that as I re-read your post and you mention 2 of the 4. There is quite a lot of diversity when you consider what is available. But for consistent quality, GEC wins hands down. I would not be surprised to see the pricing bump up a bit.

Tuna Valley is not really a company. It's a trademark owned I believe by the Daniels. When he was with GEC, GEC made them.

When there is demand and a void, it will get filled.
 
The wording of their announcement doesn't sound to me like they are closing the doors and gone forever. It sounds more like perhaps they are going to restructure their debt, or go through a bankruptcy, but still attempt to get things rolling again.
 
Rookie82 said:
The wording of their announcement doesn't sound to me like they are closing the doors and gone forever. It sounds more like perhaps they are going to restructure their debt, or go through a bankruptcy, but still attempt to get things rolling again.
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I believe that may be the case. To stop the bleeding, they close the doors. If you are having cash flow problems, it impacts everything including paying employees and vendors/suppliers.

They can open doors again perhaps as a smaller company with quality production as their objective. I feel sure that was their objective anyway, but it was not achieved based on what I know.
 
The mention of restructuring debt and furloughing workers, as opposed to laying off, indicates the company will attempt to remain viable. But the owners will undoubtedly pursue or at least investigate a sale option. That could mean foreign ownership, which would be a real disappointment. Let's all hope for the best- that a venerable USA made tool brand remains as such. If it turns out to bring an improved product, that's icing on the cake.
 
I hate hearing this as I like Queen knives. If I known this I would have kept bidding higher on a Cocobolo Mountain man LB that was on the auction place ending monday night. It was a beauty. I do like those big lockbacks and the Cocobolo line was my favorite.

I sure hope GEC goes back to the 42lb and 65lb well some day in some dark woods. I'd buy several like I should have with the Queens when they were being made.

Joe
 
I sure hope they manage to somehow come back into play. If not, then I hope the brands are not then sold and made overseas... Just would not be what I'd want to see :(
 
A sad day indeed, although my experience with their QC was not the best. I don’t want to see another American cutlery company close its doors.
If they try to make a go with a smaller company, employing their most skilled workers with an eye towards turning out high quality knives, that sounds like Canal Street, which couldn’t stay afloat.
 
Ratbert said:
If they try to make a go with a smaller company, employing their most skilled workers with an eye towards turning out high quality knives, that sounds like Canal Street, which couldn’t stay afloat.
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Indeed, GEC already fills this niche quite well.
 
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