- Joined
- Oct 16, 2002
- Messages
- 139
I just got this knife in the mail last Thursday, however I've had a chance to use it for a few days and while camping over the weekend. More or less it's a single clip blade slip joint made with D2 steel. It's 4 inches folded and has a blade just under 3 inches. I believe you have a choice of handles (wood, Derlin, MOP, and stag/bone), the one I got is stag/bone. The bone on the knife I recieved was fairly nice, it does have a crack in it which bothers me a bit, but I'm just going to live with it. When I first got the knife it appeared sharp enough, it wouldn't shave clean, but would remove some hair. A few min. with a ceramic stick at 16 degrees fixed that quickly. I've heard many people state that the edges on Queens come too obtuse, maybe they do, but this one came perfect for me.
The fit and finish appeared alright, except for the crack in the bone, everything else appeared acceptable, not perfect. There is no blade play, the back spings are just about perfect, everything appears to line up fine. When I first received the knife, there was a burr on the brass liners along the back spring. This burr was removed from normal use and me playing with the knife by the end of the first day. The burr did bother me for a day, but turned out not to be an issue. When the blade is closed the blade is not exactly centered, but it doesn't rub against the liners either. When the knife is held up against a light, some light can be seen between the liners and the back spring, but not much. There is one thing that bothers me more than the crack in the bone, the shield fell off! I don't know much about slip joints, only that I like them, but I don't see this as a sign of quality. I was able to locate the sheild and I may glue it back on, or I may make my own to replace it (with a grinded/polished nail head). If I had all these problems with one of my Spydercos or Benchmades I'd return it, but for some reason it appears that qaulity is much harder to find in slip joints.
Anyway, the knife design itself is perfect for my EDC needs. I work in an office and don't do much heavy cutting, just those random things that happen through out the day (a loose string, opening a bag/package, ect.) The blade is friendly looking enough that I don't expect it would raise any eye brows. I did take the knife camping over the weekend and it handled food prep and whittling just fine. The blade held an edge for a reasonable amount of time, not much longer than I would have expected from my SAK though, maybe I'm just expecting too much out of the D2. If I had to go into the woods and I could only have the Queen utility or a SAK, I'd take a SAK. Overall this is nice looking, reasonably priced, slip joint that reminds me of my grandfather. I wouldn't put the quality any higher than that of a SAK, but it sure looks nicer. I hope that this knife can hold on as my EDC, but I fear I might go back to my SAK soldier. Anyway, I'd buy another Queen, I plan on picking up the Mountain Man lock back soon, but now I know not to expect perfection.
That's it, I'm not much of a reviewer, but I hope this can be of some help or interest to some of you.
-Dan
The fit and finish appeared alright, except for the crack in the bone, everything else appeared acceptable, not perfect. There is no blade play, the back spings are just about perfect, everything appears to line up fine. When I first received the knife, there was a burr on the brass liners along the back spring. This burr was removed from normal use and me playing with the knife by the end of the first day. The burr did bother me for a day, but turned out not to be an issue. When the blade is closed the blade is not exactly centered, but it doesn't rub against the liners either. When the knife is held up against a light, some light can be seen between the liners and the back spring, but not much. There is one thing that bothers me more than the crack in the bone, the shield fell off! I don't know much about slip joints, only that I like them, but I don't see this as a sign of quality. I was able to locate the sheild and I may glue it back on, or I may make my own to replace it (with a grinded/polished nail head). If I had all these problems with one of my Spydercos or Benchmades I'd return it, but for some reason it appears that qaulity is much harder to find in slip joints.
Anyway, the knife design itself is perfect for my EDC needs. I work in an office and don't do much heavy cutting, just those random things that happen through out the day (a loose string, opening a bag/package, ect.) The blade is friendly looking enough that I don't expect it would raise any eye brows. I did take the knife camping over the weekend and it handled food prep and whittling just fine. The blade held an edge for a reasonable amount of time, not much longer than I would have expected from my SAK though, maybe I'm just expecting too much out of the D2. If I had to go into the woods and I could only have the Queen utility or a SAK, I'd take a SAK. Overall this is nice looking, reasonably priced, slip joint that reminds me of my grandfather. I wouldn't put the quality any higher than that of a SAK, but it sure looks nicer. I hope that this knife can hold on as my EDC, but I fear I might go back to my SAK soldier. Anyway, I'd buy another Queen, I plan on picking up the Mountain Man lock back soon, but now I know not to expect perfection.
That's it, I'm not much of a reviewer, but I hope this can be of some help or interest to some of you.
-Dan