Queen D2

yablanowitz

yablanowitz

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Joined
Apr 14, 2006
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Here we go again!:D Got two new knives in the mail today, a Queen Amber Bone Texas Toothpick and a Queen bonestag large stockman, both in D2.

I wonder if anyone has ever explained to Queen that D2 works just fine at 40 degrees inclusive instead of their forty degrees per side? I've spent the last two hours on a DMT X-coarse, reprofiling the clip blade of the stockman. I can't wait to do the toothpick :rolleyes:

The real question is, should I leave the factory edge on the spey blade in case I need to castrate a Cadillac? :D
 
Tell me 'bout it. I wish they would work on putting
a better edge on those things out of the factory.
It takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r to sharpen.
 
To be honest, I have not yet purchased a Queen D2 knife because of the bad things I keep hearing about their factory edges. I just don't want to plunk down my hard-earned cash on a knife that I then have to thrash with my Sharpmaker for hours. And I'm not about to spend $80+ to buy Spyderco's diamond rods. My wife would kick my arse! :D
 
i have got heaps of queen`s d2 knives , but to be honest i bought them to collect not to use . thats why i have spydercos and sogs. i buy the classic patterns because i liek to collect them , however i`d like to think i could also use them if i wanted to , so i guess an accute edge angle i couldn`t use wouldn`t be all that great. they are quite nice knives though , i like em. i stropped my queen d2 #26 to razor sharpness , i tried this on my cocobolo stockman , and it didn`t want to know about it , nor did my mooremaker sodbuster . so i guess it varies from knife to knife. i`ll keep buying them however
 
Thanks for the info, yablanowitz, I was considering one of those Queen Stockmans (Stockmen?).

Hours of reprofiling hardly seems in the spirit of a friendly, good old fashioned, soothing slippie.

They are, especially that Amber Bone, purty though.
 
Send your most extreme-in-need slipps to Mike at BRKT and they'll convex your blades for ~ $10 a knife. To me, this is worth it when I have many new D2 Queens to reprofile. YMMV.
 
Oddly enough, the last few I received had reasonably sharp edges on 'em.
The only one that was a major task was the RAT Ram's Horn (Cattleman) folder.
Frankly, I think these knives are a bargain considering the scale and blade material being offered.
 
My canoe's edge was fairly obtuse but the total reprofiling time for a 25 degree (included) bevel with 30 degree microbevel was probably 45 minutes for both blades, and that's moving up the DMT grit scale and final polishing included. Take care to ensure that you are keeping a very consistent angle--I find that doing serious removal work is much easier if you use a sawing motion against the sharpener--moving the knife back and forth across the surface like a bow across a voilin. You're much less likely to rock the blade this way, and the consistent angle means you have to remove less metal. D2 is tougher to grind than many steels but an X-coarse DMT will make it its girlfriend pretty quick.
 
I've been one of the harshest critics of Queen's D2, and still am. I'd like to get one of those RAT rams horn folders, but am holding off because I don't want to be disappointed. It's not just the time it takes to sharpen. It's spending $80 on something and having it be in a condition in which (imo) it should not have left the factory. Nor should I have to send it away and pay someone else to sharpen it. Nor should I have to go out and buy $50-100 worth of diamond hones to use the knife I just paid $80 for. (Yes, I do own diamond hones, but it's the spirit of the thing.)

There's a Queen apologist over on the "other" forum who will tell you that Queen "does the best they can" and puts a "working edge" on a knife. I'd like him to see some of the non-edges I've received.

Also contrary to others, it took me hours to get an edge on my first Queen D2 (a toothpick). I could get a somewhat toothy edge on it at 15 degrees per side, but as soon as I tried to get a polished edge it "went away". No sure if it chipped off, rolled, or what, but it went from almost usable to a state in which it wouldn't cut butter. I didn't have a loupe at the time, so I couldn't see what was going on. And this was on a Sharpmaker. I found that it would maintain a polished edge at 20 degrees (per side).

I did purchase one Queen D2 knife that came sharp - very sharp! It's that CSB fixed blade #92 that I posted the other day. So they are capable of putting an edge on D2. And I've gotten other Queen and S&M knives that have been fine. Though some of the S&M ATS-34s I've gotten have been dull as butter knives, too.

It's really too bad. At the prices they charge you'd think you'd be able to use their product out of the box.

-- Sam
 
Oh, I make no argument that the edges shouldn't be vastly (and consistently) superior from the factory, just that they are well worth your time/effort to refine, as these D2 blades will hold an edge far better than the grand majority of slipjoints out there, with their 420 and 440A steel blades. Even those that have the carbon steel blades, 1095 or some variation thereof, tend to run them way too soft in my opinion.

I guess I'm not as put out by the Queen edges because out of waaaay too many knives that I've picked up over the years, I can think of exactly two that I didn't sit down with immediately and reprofile the edges. Even those factories who tend to produce very even edge grinds (Chris Reeve, Spyderco) put out thicker edges than I like. So, I personally have long-since given up the notion of getting a knife that I'm going to like exactly the way it comes. Queen could certainly come closer, though, no question.
 
I was just a little miffed over the fact that I actually own a few cold chisels that are sharper than the clip blade on that stockman was when I got it. That rascal is razor sharp now, though ;)

If I had to pick a flaw for a new knife to have (and they ALL have at least one ;) ) poor edge is the one I would pick, just because it is the easiest for me to fix.
 
yablanowitz said:
If I had to pick a flaw for a new knife to have (and they ALL have at least one ;) ) poor edge is the one I would pick, just because it is the easiest for me to fix.
Click to expand...

Right you are. And by the way--this is certainly not the first time I've noticed it, but yours is easily my favorite avatar on these boards. Don't have a larger version of that picture by any chance, do you? :)
 
I must be lucky. I have 2 Queen stockman knives. A #49 and #9. I didn't like the factroy edge but it only took 30 minutes a knife to get the edge to the aggressive edge that D2 likes. I used the Spyderco diamond rods in the 20 deg slots of the sharpmaker then the brown and white rods. I don't go to the ultrafine rods for D2 as I like the edge to be sligthly aggressive.

The only problem with D2 is that it can corrode. I found a spot of corrosion on the castrating blade of the #9 after some time in my pocket in all weathers. A bit of 1000 W&D, some metal polish and the rust was gone but not the pit. That is a scar of life and I don't try to polish back to factory.
 
t1mpani said:
Right you are. And by the way--this is certainly not the first time I've noticed it, but yours is easily my favorite avatar on these boards. Don't have a larger version of that picture by any chance, do you? :)
Click to expand...

Yes, the one I "borrowed" (I think it was from zenheritic either here or on the Spyderco factory forum).
 
Sorry about the thread drift there, back to topic...
The sheepsfoot blade on my new stockman actually wasn't too bad, just took a few minutes to get it tolerable. I don't really know if that should make me more happy or less. If they can get it right on one blade, why not the other two? Maybe because of the straight edge? :confused: Or maybe they know I like to sharpen knives :D

Oh, well. I'm off to grind the toothpick ;)
 
The knife that originally got me into slipjoints was a queen in D2. The blade came from the factory plenty sharp, and after a few passes over a carbide "steel" stick, it was the sharpest knife among the other cub scouts, and stayed sharp. This was several years ago, and I have since managed to lose the knife.

I must say that I'm rather dissapointed to hear that few people have had an experience similar to mine.

Oh well- reprofiling the edge on a Queen slippy will be the perfect way to get some practice in with benchstones.
 
I have heard that the reason for obtuse edges on good knives is so that you can show off your sharpening skills.

Another reason I have heard is that since everyone sharpens by hand a little differently, this allows the blades to be set to your individual sytle.

A third reason I have heard is that this allows only those folks who have skills to have very sharp knives.

Personally I think it is "just they way they have always done it" with slip joints.

That said, my last Queen (a red bone whittler) came with a sharp edge. It could actually shave. I think they are making an effort and listening to customers.
 
cmd said:
I have heard that the reason for obtuse edges on good knives is so that you can show off your sharpening skills.

Another reason I have heard is that since everyone sharpens by hand a little differently, this allows the blades to be set to your individual sytle.

A third reason I have heard is that this allows only those folks who have skills to have very sharp knives.

Personally I think it is "just they way they have always done it" with slip joints.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I don't buy it.

Every single Case I've gotten has been shaving sharp out of the box. So have the German brands (Boker, Eye, Bulldog).

If other makers can provide a sharp $35 (or even $25) knife, why can't Queen do it with a $50-80 knife? I know they can, since I have an example of such.

I'm just not willing to make or accept excuses for a company that can't be bothered to deliver a tool in a condition in which it can be used. As I said before, it's disappointing to open your "new toy" only to find "some assembly (or sharpening) required."

-- Sam
 
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