Received my Queen Swing-guard and couldn't be more disappointed.

T

tmix

Joined
Jun 28, 2006
Messages
90
I have wanted a swing-guard for some time now, so I finally broke down and ordered one. I thought Queen cutlery was a known commodity as I have purchased two of their other knives for friends in the past. The fit and finish was great. Nothing extraordinary, but what I would expect for a knife in that price range. I was very excited to see the package on my door yesterday, buy it was soon replaced by disappointment. The knife has numerous issues that I just can't overlook. One of the bolsters is cut improperly and not flush with the micarta. There are gouges or near the pin holes on both of the guards. The locking bar liners have dings in them and when open and locked the locking bar is sits below the liners near the blade and above the liners at the lock button cutout. The micarta wasn't sanded evenly and I swear the blade locks open slightly crooked. It looks and feels like a cheap flea market knife. I paid $85 for this thing and my $50 Case Trapper has much better fit and finish. I'm out of town right now or I would post pictures.

I ordered from GP Knives. Their service has been great so far. I plan to contact them on Tuesday to take advantage of their return/exchange policy. Maybe I will get a
single or two-blade hunter instead.

Has anyone had these issues with Queen recently? Should I not order another one?

Here are the photographs as promised. I found some other things I'm not crazy about.

This is the guard pivot that looks like it was riveted by a blind man.
Here are some bolsters that stand out to me.
This is the locking button with the blade in the open position.
The stainless spacer has a gap between it and the liner. Not sure how else to describe it.
You can see the uneven micarta sanding here. (To be fair, I looked at my Case Trapper and the yellow material isn't even on both sides.)
This is pretty self explanatory and sharp, too!
This is the locking bar liner "ding areas". I'm not sure how else to describe this.
This is one I just noticed. Take a look a the blade right behind the grind line towards the edge of the blade. That's a crack in the steel. The following picture shows how the crack continues through that part of the blade. You can barely see it, but its there.

Am I being too picky?
 
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I own only two Queen knives and both are great but I have read numerous complaints like yours. Do a search and see for yourself.
 
I have bought three Queen knives recently. All from the 2015 catalog. All three are excellent knives with good fit and finish. The only issue is the railsplitter. It has one scale that is not sized correctly and is a bit small. It has some gaps between the bolster and scale. But each knife came very sharp and well constructed. You should check to see when your knife was made, it may be from a bad year.
 
Considering that Queen makes knives for other brands, their quality control should be better. That said, we're talking about knives in the + or - $100 category. There are inconsistencies. Those of us that buy from GEC and Queen learn to live with it and send them back for another.
 
GP knives is a BF dealer member, which is why references to it are not being removed
 
I only buy "old" Queens. EyeDog seems confident the knife should be returned. That may be Queen's
Standard Procedure for all I know.
 
Would be useful to see some pix nevertheless....

I feel the dealer should take it back and send you a replacement, if he has no replacements then you contact Queen.

Thanks, Will
 
I, for one, would like to see it repaired. (I have a soft spot in my heart for swingguards.)

Captain O
 
Queen had a rough spot that seems to have ended a couple of years ago, and knives made during this time we're not up to par. The brand new knives and the old stock knives are the way to go! GP knives will make it right for you though so your disappointment will not last:thumbup:
 
I've noticed threads as well that Queen has had some issues, but as of late, has been improving maybe. It strikes me as odd that the knives they've made on contract for other labels always seem better f & f wise than their own.

I would expect your dealer to accept the return. I've purchased from them before and they've a good reputation. I certainly would return it myself with that many issues. One, maybe two, small things I perhaps could live with, but yours is a poor example for sure.

Sorry to hear of your bad luck.....
 
Ernie1980 said:
Queen had a rough spot that seems to have ended a couple of years ago, and knives made during this time we're not up to par. The brand new knives and the old stock knives are the way to go! GP knives will make it right for you though so your disappointment will not last:thumbup:
Click to expand...

What Ernie said....

Its a shame this got aired here first - IMHO I think you have gone 'off' way too early - GP should have been the first to know about the issues you have with the knife. (And I am certain they will replace it or refund)
Sh&%* Happens: sometimes things slip through the system, knives sit on shelves for months years, no-one bothers to check the box before it is shipped. Humans make genuine mistakes now & then.

If you get no satisfaction from GP (Very Unlikely) ... go direct to Queen.
You don't say how old the knife is, was it made prior to the current owners of Queen taking over? Things got a bit raggety at one stage towards the end of the previous owners stay at the helm.

I have had a personal experience along similar lines. I was shipped a knife by a US dealer (who shall remain nameless) got no satisfaction from him ....
So I contacted Queen Cutlery direct. The lengths they went to, to fix the problem was was sensational!!! Ryan Daniels is a real Gentlemen and is so very proud of the Company's reputation that he personally stepped in to assist. Keep in mind that there was no way of knowing if the knife was made during the time they have been in control.

At the Queen Cutlery Web Site all the contact information.... emails the lot.... for all the head honchos is proudly displayed. Try finding that info for some of these other Companies.
The Current owners at Queen genuinely stand behind their products.
 
As far as when the OP knife was made, as far as I recall the swing guard and others in micarta were introduced a year or more after the Daniels family took over Queen. Queen's standard product knives do not have year stamps.
 
Got a S&M large toothpick. Terrible quality. Never considered anything from queen again.
 
Brumby53 said:
What Ernie said....

Its a shame this got aired here first - IMHO I think you have gone 'off' way too early - GP should have been the first to know about the issues you have with the knife. (And I am certain they will replace it or refund)
Sh&%* Happens: sometimes things slip through the system, knives sit on shelves for months years, no-one bothers to check the box before it is shipped. Humans make genuine mistakes now & then.

If you get no satisfaction from GP (Very Unlikely) ... go direct to Queen.
You don't say how old the knife is, was it made prior to the current owners of Queen taking over? Things got a bit raggety at one stage towards the end of the previous owners stay at the helm.

I have had a personal experience along similar lines. I was shipped a knife by a US dealer (who shall remain nameless) got no satisfaction from him ....
So I contacted Queen Cutlery direct. The lengths they went to, to fix the problem was was sensational!!! Ryan Daniels is a real Gentlemen and is so very proud of the Company's reputation that he personally stepped in to assist. Keep in mind that there was no way of knowing if the knife was made during the time they have been in control.

At the Queen Cutlery Web Site all the contact information.... emails the lot.... for all the head honchos is proudly displayed. Try finding that info for some of these other Companies.
The Current owners at Queen genuinely stand behind their products.
Click to expand...


I don't know why you think this thread was premature. I never badmouthed Queen and didn't utter a single negative word about GP Knives. I would have contacted GP the day I received the knife, but it was after 5pm on the eve of a holiday weekend. This thread was started to find out if others had seen these kind of issues and to see if my expectations were too high. When I return home, I will post pictures of the knife so everyone can judge how off-base my complaints might be. If the pictures show I am being too picky, I'm prepared to take my lumps, and/or eat crow.


I'm glad to know that GP knives has a good reputation and a fair return/exhcange policy. That's part of the reason I chose to buy from them. It is also comforting that Queen will likely do whatever is necessary to make things right. It appears that I have received a new, old stock knife that slipped through someone's QC along the lines. Its irritating thave to go through the return/exchange/repair process, but stuff does happen.
I can't say I'm really wild about the idea of sending the knife off for repair and waiting for it. I'm an American, Dangit! I want instant gratification! :)

Thanks for everyone's replies so far.
 
I know you wanted the swingguard. (I want one too.) I also know that your'e strong enough to wait a little longer for the knife you want. Call Queen and have the knife repaired. The rectification should be well worth the wait.

Captain O
 
I've had a total of 4 Queen branded knives from their questionable period and they were all pretty good. I have 3 Schatt and Morgan's and all of them had pretty noticeable blade wobble, the tangs being ground thinner than the springs. S&M's the premium line too.... go figure. At any rate, I had two of them customized and fixed in the process and the 3rd isn't too bad so I left it alone. Nice knives otherwise. They seem to be the only company making the XL styles.
 
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