Queens #99 Scout knife...

After seeing those pics of Buzzbait's bone handle, I'm second guessing my choice of horn.
 
I've been wanting a Scout-style knife...I ordered a Buffalo Horn D2 from KSF last week...should be here soon I am hoping!

I met K. Ryan Daniels at Blade. He handled a warranty issue for me on the spot (after giving me some very customer friendly no-nonsense options)...they are passionate about customers. I have faith and keep buying their stuff...I can weather the storm to keep a good company in business.

Plus, D2....I need moar.
 
OK.. It got here. First impression: good heft, but lighter than expected, The hafting leaves some to be desired. A little crude, but definitely by hand. There's no machine consistency anywhere on either handle. Will need a flushing. All blades are gritty. My blades seem to be nested fairly well. I don't see any discernible rubbing.

But, one thing I haven't heard, that caught my attention right away, was how thin the blades are. In order to fit them all in the allotted space they have been ground wafer thin. The screw driver is so thin I'd be very curious as to what screw it would actually fit to turn. The width of the blade doesn't match the thinness of it. And, it won't surprise me if the bottle opener penetrates the bottle cap, when in use. The awl is very sharp and thin. The can opener, if it doesn't break, off should shear a can top easily. The bolsters, liners and bail are very stout. Mine has no obvious gaps in the liners and the pins are flat and smooth.

Overall though, compared to what I've read here, I think I got fairly good example. Time will tell how she works out.
 
I've noticed several comments about gritty action. It has been my experience that if a Queen knife has gritty action, a good flush and lube job yields little to no improvement. The grittiness appears to be caused primarily by the rough surfaces of the tang, not dirt and grime.

What kind of results are you folks getting? Does the action smooth out for you with a little elbow grease?
 
My sleeveboard came with pretty gritty movement. After flushing it and working it back and forth a couple dozen times it smoothed out. It's not silky, mind you, but it's on par with my GECs. The rest of mine came pretty smooth to start with, so I can't really give a solid answer other than that one knife.
 
Railsplitter said:
I've noticed several comments about gritty action. It has been my experience that if a Queen knife has gritty action, a good flush and lube job yields little to no improvement. The grittiness appears to be caused primarily by the rough surfaces of the tang, not dirt and grime.

What kind of results are you folks getting? Does the action smooth out for you with a little elbow grease?
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Mine is still gritty. It's definitely the rough finish on the tang. It's visually quite obvious.
 
Some of my blades came gritty and rough, and others were smooth. Good news is they are getting better with use.
 
nugun55 said:
But, one thing I haven't heard, that caught my attention right away, was how thin the blades are. In order to fit them all in the allotted space they have been ground wafer thin. The screw driver is so thin I'd be very curious as to what screw it would actually fit to turn. The width of the blade doesn't match the thinness of it. And, it won't surprise me if the bottle opener penetrates the bottle cap, when in use. The awl is very sharp and thin. The can opener, if it doesn't break, off should shear a can top easily. The bolsters, liners and bail are very stout. Mine has no obvious gaps in the liners and the pins are flat and smooth.
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I agree about the thin-feeling stock and grinds. But the only other Queen I have is the Whittler 48 whose main blade stock is fat enough to use both springs, so I thought maybe I was just too used to that.

My returned Scout should arrive back there tomorrow, so I should get the replacement about 4 business days after that. Cant wait to test the cap lifter. ;)
 
I flushed the knife out with water & WD-40, dried it well and put copious amounts of gun oil on it. After letting it soak awhile the blades were better, but not smooth. Another thing I notice is the main blade and cap lifter are loose about half way from close to half. Feels like there is little to no spring pressure at that point. I have to say comparing this knife to my $10 Rough Rider Scout, I think I would take the Rough Rider on a camping trip. I would not recommend this knife to anyone, especially at the inflated price. It's display piece not a tool. YMMV
 
I too really like the look of the Scout but it's a Queen, and I will not buy a new one without handling it first (and I have no idea where I might be able to do that, so..).
I would gladly pay a $100 bill for a nice knife, especially with 4 blades/tools, but after reading this thread I am glad I have kept my stance on Queen where it is.
As far as I am concerned this must be the quality they want to build at Queen. They have been doing it for years and nothing has changed.
So I am not surprised. Saddened, again, but not surprised.
 
Well I tried to be optimistic. This will make 3 for 3 on my last Queen purchases that were returned. Shame on me.

Scales at the bail are very messily shaped, super gritty, blade rub, mis-drilled pin hole beside a pin, cracked scale. I sprayed it all out with silicon to wash the grit out with limited success, still super rough to open. It's bad :(

I'll stick with GECs. Haven't had a bad one yet. If only they did D2 blades.
 
I dunno...the SAK has been made a long time. A scissors will be added into the Farmer!

S&M's ( also a Queen) Scout has good reasonable good reviews...just a tad small for true multi purpose at just over 3".

GEC may have known of Queens effort and has concentrated on it's own two blade Scout...which should be very successful, but Queen isn't doing itself any favors with the F/F and generally only fair craftmanship. hit and miss just doesn't cut it for a $100 knife. I'm gonna give them a chance with the workhorse barlow...and really hope they get it together....strange that the remaining Scouts are priced even higher.

I think so many in BF want them to be consistently good...not even great just yet.

I ordered a RR scout and should see it tomorrow...
 
Help. I cannot seem to manipulate the can opener. Not much of an index to grab the lid. Any tips.
 
I am considering to get the Queen scout for a friend, but given all the smaller and bigger issues I will probably look elsewhere. Pity - it really looks great.
 
Buzzbait said:
eschwebach said:
Buzzbait said:
Like I said earlier, 4 tools is a lot to cram into one folder without something messing up.
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Although Victorinox manages to do it consistently without issue. ;)
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You don't know that. My 5 Pioneers, 3 Farmers, Electrician and 4 Cadets could be a fluke. Same goes for my 5 Wenger SI's. :D
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I’ll have to agree re Victorinox’s consistent excellence. My several 93mm alox models just don’t have these problem described in this thread regarding the QCC #99. The Vic 93mm alox models have thicker tools too. And you can get a Vic 93mm alox for 1/4 to 1/3 the price of the Queen. $100 for a scout pattern is a lot of money!
 
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One odd thing about the Queen scout is the small size of the spear blade. My much smaller Camillus Cub Scout knife actually has a larger blade than the full-sized Queen.

It's too bad that this knife has so many issues. Nobody has managed to surpass the AG Russell/Camillus Premium Scout since it was made, and that was manufactured 14 years ago.
 
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