queen Stockman, thinking about one

Mad_Maxx

Mad_Maxx

Joined
Nov 29, 2007
Messages
2,519
so,
I'm a biiig stockman fan, I have a few GEC and CASE stocks I'm very happy about, ranging from 3,5 to 4,25" in lengh
one I've never tried is the queen 4" stockman, only have a queen canoe which came sharp but with a little thick edges (thicker than case or most gecs), with no play and defects, others like the Cousin and congress were horrible, THICK grinds, no edges at all, too much to work on...

my Q's are, how is the 4" stockman? does it come with thin ground edges? or pretty usable ones? do the recent ones come out better? or well? should I invest 100$ or so in one?
how does Queens D2 go with food? have experience with D2 and food but not Queens D2 ( I know CV, 1095 and SS from the slipjoint world)

thanks
Maxx
 
The last batch of Queen D2 blades I got in had edge angles ranging from 50° to 85° included, which in my opinion falls somewhere between "cold chisel" and "blunt instrument" on the sharpness scale. My D2 #9 stockman ended up getting the blades thinned down on a belt sander to get an acceptable edge (it was beginning to look like a Scandi grind by the time I got a 30° bevel on the clip blade). Unless they've improved dramatically in the last three months, I doubt you'll be happy. It is also possible that A) I'm too particular about my edges or B) they have the drunk, one-eyed, day labor, apprentice janitor sharpen the knives that are going to be shipped to me. The trouble with the second theory is I don't seem to be the only one getting those edges from Queen.
 
queen cutlery is overpriced and overhyped IMHO... the D2 whittler i got was BLUNT - i'd go for a Buck Stockman - made in USA and much, much sharper out of the box...
 
Like the others have said, they come really dull. I don't have the stockman, but I have a Queen trapper in D2 and Schatt & Morgan in 1095 (owned by Queen) jack knife. Both needed a lot of sharpening before they could be carried. Queen needs a close look at who is sharpening.
 
You could be right Jack. I never did see a warning "Items in package are sharp". :D

Seriouly, I should add, the fit and finish of the S&M (Heritage Series) was not quite there. The run up, the part of the blade that comes against the spring, had burs and was sharp. It may be picky, but not what I would expect. And the trapper's nail nick is very high on the blade, almost on the spine. Again it may be picky, and it is partially my fault for not looking closer.
 
I have a Queen stockman that I was very fortunate to win as runner up in Duncan's giveaway. It has B E A U T I F U L amber bone scales. I've sharpened all the blades on it myself. The sheepfoot and spey blades are a bit thinner than the main blade and the bevel on the main blade is a little bit wider because of the extra blade thickness (sounds similar to yablanowitz's experience). I think the grind is much more of a factor than the sharpening of the edge. The sheepfoot and spey are better slicers because they are thinner. The main blade is a better chopper. The thickness of the grind seems to vary some with the pattern and production. For example, the thickness of the blades on the stockman is similar to my Schatt & Morgan Sowbelly but my Winchester sowbellies are ground thinner. I have a Robeson on the same frame as the Queen stockman that has a slimmer main blade. The Dan Burke small barlow and 2010 forum knife had super thick blades -- much thicker than the stockman. And on the opposite extreme, I have a "classic" whittler that has an amazingly thin main blade that is a suuuuper slicer.

The Queen stockman is in my pocket right now.

queen-stockman.jpg

IMG_6902.jpg

IMG_6933.jpg
 
I've been carrying mine mostly for the last couple months.

CZ9-2.jpg


Yes, you will probably need to reprofile the blades with diamond hones, but once done, they hold an edge for a VERY long time and are a joy to use.

I'm sending you a PM about where to get one for a reasonable price.

Maxx, clear out your PM inbox, my message would NOT go through.
 
I have two Queen 4" stockmans. One in D2. One in 1095. Both came with the infamous Queen butterknife edge. On both knives, the main blade hit in the center of the blade causing a flat spot until I removed enough steel by sharpening that the blade no longer hit.

That being said, once I got the edges fixed they are nice knives with good fit and finish and nice snap on the the blades. But the edges on both were pretty much a fail right out of the box.
 
I wouldn't mind the cold chisel edge angle so much if the blades were ground thinner. The worst part is the blade being 0.050" thick at the back of the bevel once you get it down to a reasonable angle. I expect to sharpen a new knife to suit me, but having to finish grinding the blades is annoying.
 
Found Queen carbon to be obviously less tricky to fix than their D2. Quite thin blades on the QCCC range, the Heritage is thick stock though. Some of my D2 HAS arrived OK and it's alright to keep it in shape, but others have been shameful& need a ton of work(that I'm not that good at). Maybe Queen owns shares in sharpening stones and systems.....:D:D D2 does stain from food use, is greyish and a bit blotchy (better if the blade is matte rather than orange-peel polished) doesn't impart flavour though.

You could also look at Böker's stockmans too, they're tidy and sharpen well.

Regards,
Will
 
I agree with most of what's been said above - you sometimes get a sharp one but most Queens are seriously lacking in sharp bits. That said, if you persist with getting the edge sorted, they are are rewarding knives to own - generally well constructed of quality materials. The edges are not hard to maintain once sharp and I have not found corrosion to be a problem.
 
Don't even think about Queen unless you are prepared to sharpen the knife before use.
But on the other hand, are not going to sharpen your new knife to how you want it?
Poor on Queen ...

If you are prepared to sharpen it
Then you will get a very good bone-handled D2 stockman for just over $50
and read all the positive feedback that folk are posting here
I really enjoy using my #9


No taste on food from D2
And a very slow grey patina on their polished blades and almost no patina on their satin blades

I use the DMT Aligner jig, I start with E. Course, and spend most of my time with that.
Then go thru course, fine to E.Fine
Then I strop
About 1 hr to 1 1/2 hr work to get to razor sharp
And I maintain it with only stropping it, I almost never sharpen then again
And that using them for outdoor woods stuff

There is a #9 carbon Stockman in delrin availiable called the Workman series
Queen carbon blades are thinner than their D2
And the carbon is an excellent steel


This is a 3 1/4" small stockman in delrin in D2
Razor sharp

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PM box has space now

thanks for the replies guys
I'm acutally a picky person, I like thin ground blades/edges, I can sharpen but Hate to reprofile and a thick grind si something I accept on a large blade or particular one, not a slippie
my canoe is a little thick but shaves out of the box

I'm unsure if buy one or not.. (my dealer sells them for 100$...., any lower price advice is wellcome)
Maxx
 
Well, I thought about getting a Queen.

But when hearing / reading that there are so much tolerances especially because of the grind. I think for the money I´ll gonna get a good GEC. Haven´t ever owned a knife in D2 steel, so I would be interessted. Just for the steel.

Kind regards
Andi
 
I am kind of a Queen fan, got a few of their SFOs and special lines. So take anything I say with a grain of salt.

It seems to me, and I am FAR from a subject matter expert, that most brands have recurrent problems. Just seems like the same companies have more than their share of the same problems... well at least in my experience which is limited. Queen has poor edges and more times than they should come with loose scales. Bokers that I have handled and owned had way more than their share of loose scales and I have a couple (which is very high for my limited stash) with one carbon and one stainless blade on the same knife. Not sure how that happened. And Case has their problems... GEC? Love them but of the ones I own they have more than their share of blade tension problems. Knives put together so tightly that the tang rub almost inactivates the spring. The main blade on the GEC knife I carry most days was a complete train wreck. Rough edge and too tightly put together. I honestly had to put ground pumice and oil in the joint and work it for a couple hours before it got a smooth snappy opening and closing. And to top it off the blade had a finishing mar that should have put it in the 'seconds' category. The patina hides it and all is fine but I had to work on it a bit to make it function decently.

Kind of reminds me of the questions always asked on hunting sites: "What gun is more accurate out of the box?"

Truth be told there is no answer for that question. Some companies make a more accurate rifle ~on average~ but the differences in individual examples far outweigh the overall trend. There are no guarantees, you put down your money and you take your chances.

Just my not so expert opinion. :p

Will
 
Will, I think you hit the nail on the head. No company is going to make perfection every time. I only have one Queen, and from the stories here, I bought it knowing I would have to re-profile the D2 blades right out of the box. I did, and it is probably my favorite knife now. The main spear blade is a bit thicker than other slipjoints I own, but not overly so, and with the edge I have on it now, I can't really tell a difference in slicing ability. It is still a full flat ground, thin (compared to non-traditionals) D2 blade. And the pen blade is a thin little demon of a cutter.

I am less picky than some on the forums, I know. I have seen threads devoted to the "horrible issues" of a new knife someone bought and "had to" return, and thought "looks pretty nice to me." I personalize all of my cary knives, so I guess I just expect to work at them a bit.

Ken
 
I'm with you Will

I have like 30 trads and owned and sold at least the same amount if not more
every brand or every pattern of a brand can have its own problems, not even gec is immune, case xxs have problems sometimes but they all CUT

one thing Ilike about them, wich is hard to find in more modern knives is the thin edge end thin blades, the are knives that cut and they do it well
having a knife that is 2mm thick with a 0,8-0,5mm edge is too much, it simply doesn't cut, I had a black country cousin that thad the edge maybe 30% thinner than the blade itself...,almost unground

just a couple thoughts
Maxx
 
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