Queen Mountain Man

kamkazmoto

kamkazmoto

Joined
Sep 14, 2002
Messages
4,135
I have a thread in another part of BF asking about stag handled pocket knives. One of the knives suggested was a stag handled Queen Mountain Man with 1095 carbon steel blade. Anyone have an opinion of Queen in general and this knife in general. I read about the bad edges but how is the Fit and Finish and general quality of Queen knives.
 
Not much for "traditional pattern" pocket knives I like....but this one is awesome. I can't say much about the long-term quality....but the one I handled looks and feels great.
 
pic:

3l-qc-mtman-redstag1.jpg
 
Where did you get the edge thinned and how much did it cost. Please PM me if your not comfortable talking cost on an open forum. Thanks
 
i have a Queen mtn man in 1095 and stag which i got from Cumberland. yes it is an attractive knife with a good feel in the hand. however edge grind is poor (that's o.k. as i can remedy that) and there is blade play. i think it is inexcusable for a knife of this price (i paid about $120) to have these problems. esp. blade play, everytime you cut something, the blade wiggles, so it's not enjoyable to use. i have 10 Queens (including S & M, F & W) and quit buying them after this as 3 have blade play and all have lousy edge grinds. as i live in Canada, sending them back merely adds significantly to customs hassles and more taxes being paid. there are many threads here with the same complaints about Queen knives. i have no idea why Queen does not pay attention and address these production issues. roland
 
Sword & Shield, would you like to trade ? i could throw in a Queen whittler in bone stag, no blade play in it. roland
 
I owned a MM(not stag) for about a day, a Cumberland 1095. Design was awesome, a beauty of a knife - and big. The material looked great, locked up solid, fit and finish were top notch except for the lateral blade play -as bad as a Pakistani 110 knock-off. I expected more for what is to me an expensive knife. I exchanged it for a Moore Maker Whittler(Queen). Again a beautiful knife, again not what would expect for a knife of that price. Kept it and am working out the kinks.

I'm sticking with Case and Boker for now.

tjg
 
Beautiful knife. Awful fit & finish. Even with such a well-named vendor like Cumberland, you're taking a risk. I took. Twice. I got a wiggling blade. Twice.
Good luck.
 
I have a number of Queen knives, including the Mountain Man. Fit and finish is mostly pretty good, there are a few examples with gaps between the liner and backspring, and a couple of slightly loose blades. My Mountain Man does have a small amount of lateral blade play. I like it a lot, it is a great design.

If you don't need a locking blade, try a folding hunter:

http://www.cumberlandknifeworks.com.../product/5e34186c25888f779415afab5a75673e.jpg

Good strong spring on that one, solidly built.

I really like the D2 blades. Yes, they are a bear to reprofile because they sometimes come with thick edges, but once you have them thinned out they are great. Of all my Queen knives (I think my count is 10), 4 have needed to be reprofiled.
 
I love the look, the feel, the springs, the ambience of Queen knives. I absolutely hate the wiggle and the edge, and when I sent my Mountain Man back in to them to be tightened, they did a poor job (it did get a hair tighter), and they said they sharpened the edge, either their bad sharpeners, or I can't tell the difference. I own four Queens, and will buy more, but I am sticking with slippies from them only. I still have my Mountain Man, and while I am anal retentive about blade play, I have learned to live my MM. I am going to put an edge on it myself, or give it to a local maker to put an edge on. I was going to send all four to Mike Stewart to be reground and sharpened.

I consider Queens cocobolo line to be my favorite traditional line right now, but I can't believe that they let their products leave the factory without a super edge. Some have mentioned that in the old days, companies would not put an edge on, they'd let the new owners put the edge on they desired. Well, if Spyderco and Benchmade can put out thick blades with super edges on them, whats stopping Queen? Is it more desired for the buyer to put the edge on?

I feel terrible saying these things about Queen, but that is the truth IMHO. Great springs, great materials (D2 and 1095 currently, I have a bone handled trapper with 420HC), but their edges are not for those used to professional edges, and their blade play leaves a little to be desired. My MM was opened a few times right out of the box, solid lockup, and then went in the knife roll, where it sat for a year, until I read an article about it in Tactical Knives. Took it out, looked it over, and it was extremely loose. I don't know, I am torn with this company.
 
the post above reflects my experience exactly. nearly all my Queens are waiting to be sharpened, which in a 3 bladed knife in D2 takes a long time (even 1 blade like on Mtn. Man takes me 2 to 3 hours (or more) to re-profile and then put a good edge on it). most of these knives have been waiting for over 1 year because i don't have that much spare time. i like the aesthetics and ergonomics of Queen knives, but almost never buy any more because of their insignificant edge grind and blade play. why is it that Queen refuses to acknowledge or address these serious problems ? roland
 
You'd think that a company like Queen would have more pride in their product then to let "shaky" blades pass QA.

$100+ knives should lock up like Fort Knox.

What's even worse is that no one at the company pays any attention to internet forums like this where they could get useful, immediate, and knowledgeable, feedback on their products.

Sad, very sad.

Syn
 
I just talked to someone from Queen Customer service. I told him about this thread and he said that they were unaware of the problem and will look into it. I asked him to please comment on their findings on this thread. Let's see what happens. BTW you guys are right, they don't have anyone that monitors this or apparently any knife forum :(
 
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