Queen muskrat?

[dan97526]

Gentlemen,

I have two Queen knives, a mini-trapper and a muskrat. Both were bought new. The trapper has become one of my all-time favorite knives and my edc in the short time I've had it. The quality of this knife is outstanding.

The muskrat is a decent knife, but not in the trapper's league. While the trapper snaps open and shut like a bear trap, the muskrat lazily walks along with little resistance and weakly snaps into place. It feels like there's the idea of a half-stop there, but nothing anywhere near as positive as the trapper. All in all, I'm disappointed with the muskrat. It's nicely fitted and finished, a very attractive knife; but the trapper led me to expect something more in terms of quality.

Did I get one that slipped past Queen's QC, such as it is? Or is this to be expected from Queen muskrats? I was a little surprised by the single-spring construction. Seems a little cheesy, considering that the late, lamented Schrade and Camillus muskrats used two springs and cost half the price.

Despite this, the little trapper has made me a Queen fan for life.

Your thoughts?

Thanks,

Dan

 

[knifeaholic]

I have owned several of the newer Queen muskrats in D2 with the single spring and they have all had tremedous snap. I assume that you have tried oiling yours?

Send it back to Queen, definitely, or to a Queen dealer.

 

[bill2000]

I own a red stag Queen City muskrat and two Schatt & Morgan muskrats. All have fine snap and were sharp out of the box. Fit and finish is excellent on all. If you're not satisfied take it up with Queen or your supplier.

 

[dan97526]

Sent it back to Queen, reluctantly. I didn't like putting a mark in the red column of one of the last remaining American pocket knife companies, but this knife was substandard. Hopefully, I'll be much happier with its replacement.

 

[navihawk]

This interests me because I want a Queen or Schatt one of these days. I did the same thing with a small Case hunter.They fixed it instead of replacing it and it came back not any better. It looks like they put graphite into the joints. I happened to take it out the other day and soaked it in mineral oil then oiled it. Made it better. It snaps nice now but there is still a little half stop feel on one of the blades.

 

[dan97526]

I will be highly disappointed if they were to send me this one back. In addition to the lazy action, the blades interfered with one another to the point that the tang of one bent the tip of the other. Yes, I had to do my part to bend the tip, shutting it against my thigh; nevertheless, if the blades weren't seriously misaligned I never would have had the chance. One can't hold one blade back against the liner with a fingertip while shutting the other, which is how I had to do it to ensure there was no further damage. That's a damned efficient way to get cut.

If they send it back, I'll give serious thought to the question of whether or not Queen deserves my future patronage. If they hold to their guarantee of satisfaction, I will publicly praise Queen to the skies and buy all the Queen cutlery I can. I expect the latter, given Queen's reputation. I will certainly post an update to this thread.