So what's up with Queen

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davek14

Joined
May 30, 2009
Messages
2,417
I just made a suggestion on a Queen knife on another thread and found the knife was discontinued and cost quite a bit more now.

I guess I'm severely out of date here.

So, Queen changed owners...how long ago? What are everyone's impressions now? What news? What up?

This is the traditional forum so I know this can and will be done calmly and informatively. ☺
 
Article is written by a GEC dealer, Queen's newest competitor.

Their website is a good place to start. They have a new collaboration with Ruple. They recently put on their site a bunch of historical info. Personally, i believe they are finding their path in a deliberate manner.
 
I've had a couple of the curly Zebrawood models and amber stag bone ones. I like them. Still not sold on the D2 but I like their designs.

I have had issue with joints working loose over time, a problem I've not had with many other makers. However, a quick tap or two with a ballpeen hammer and you're good to go.



Here's a peanut. Beautiful wooden covers on this.
 
Yes, Mike is a GEC dealer but he also offers Queen products, Case and many others so has a unique perspective and well informed opinion on the quality control of the different makers. He also states he has faith in the current ownership of Queen and I have faith in his judgement. I think he is spot on with the "has made some of the best knives and some of the worst knives" comment as I have experienced the hit & miss nature of Queen's quality control. Although some of my favorite knives are made by Queen I am somewhat reluctant to buy one that I or someone I trust has not examined first. I recently purchased 2 S&M's that had excellent fit & finish and walk & talk which was encouraging but not long before those I purchased a Queen that had blade wobble out of the box.

Here are a couple of my keepers to add some photos to this thread.

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I've thought pretty highly of Queen, but may wait a bit now before I buy more. Thanks for the comments. More opinions would be appreciated as well.
 
I'm pretty good at sharpening knives but the last Queen that I owned simply would not take an edge. I used all methods and materials trying to get it sharp.
 
I agree with Mike and respect his opinion. I also have faith in the Daniels family to take Queen down the quality road.
 
I dont really have a whole lot to add other than the fact that I prefer Queens D2 to to other steels from other makers. My main carry is a Queen Cattle king stockman and a fixed blade skinner for hunting. I have a couple other examples from Queen and im very satisfied with the fit and finish of them all. One word of caution, their blades come very dull and require reprofiling in my experiences with them. If you're set up to reprofile d2 you'll be fine. Diamond stones work best imo.
 
All the Queen knives that passed trough my hands needed some serious reprofiling before i could call them acceptable. Those were two serpentine jacks and a canoe.
 
I could never understand why some makers ship knives that are butter-knife dull. Of course, some people will say that's fine, and it's really up to the user to put the edge on to their preference. I completely disagree. IMO it's laziness. A knife is a cutting tool, and should have a good, sharp, effective edge out of the box. If someone chooses to modify that, fine; but a knife should still be immediately functional. Otherwise, it's similar to selling a brand new car with the tires deflated, or with an empty gas tank.

My personal philosophy is: If they (the manufacturer) aren't going to try hard enough, then why should I?

Jim
 
I would agree with perchjerk on Queens D2. Some definitely need some thinning out at the edge but once you are there they perform very well and have excellent edge retention.
 
I have one slimeline trapper #11 in zebrawood. I like the knife a lot. The F&F is good, with one problem. The edge was ground very unevenly from the factory. I don't mind reprofiling, which I did with most of the edge. However, the first quarter inch or so from the heel was ground so poorly that there was nothing I could do with it. I would have had to take off way too much steel to make it worth making it right. It's doesn't affect the function of the knife, and the placement of the problem is ideal in that it's right where it's a pain to sharpen and use anyways. It did bother me a bit though. My dad carries the knife daily, and he loves it. Eventually, the blade will wear to the point that the entire length can be properly sharpened, but with their D2 it'll probably be long after we're all buried and forgotten. :eek: I'm happy with the one I've got, but I'd probably be hesitant to buy another sight unseen.

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I bought a queen small jack about the same time I bought a gec white owl. I liked the gec a lot more and used it instead.I ended up giving the queen to an friend . A couple of weeks later I asked to see it and the shield fell off and the blades had some rust on them (d2). He might be a little hard on his knives considering d2 is semi stainless. I've given a few gec to other friends , the shield never fell off but the blades were rusty.
I really don't feel like it fair to dog queen over one example but I haven't bought another.
 
I only own one Queen knife, a #51 jack in birdseye maple.
To the best of my knowledge, my knife belongs to the good times in their history, and I haven't experienced their bad products so far. What I know for sure, is that my Queen has great F&F and that D2 is a very good steel for a slipjoint, although not too easy to sharpen.
I guess it will take the new owners a bit more time to improve their products and reputation, as for any factory (including GEC as well). It seems like they're following a path, and I hope it's a good one :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
I only have one Queen made knife and I'm not really sure when it was made but it is very nice. I really like the zebra wood they use. Walk and talk isn't as good as my GEC's but it's still a fantastic knife with excellent fit and finish.

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I make a pilgrimage to Titusville (from Texas) every year. (Stay at the caboose motel, it's awesome!) I always stop at both Queen and GEC. Queen has a beautiful old building, and just inside the door a small sales room. The folks who show you the knives are nice enough, but you can't get past the sales room... I'd love to see how the knives are made... I always hope I'll find something that I like there, and so far for the past 3-4 years at least, I've been disappointed. I generally like the size and shape of Queen knives, and absolutely love the keystone shield, but the quality has really been lacking. I've even gone so far as to point out problems with their knives, but the sales person always just smiles and puts them back in the case. I really want them to succeed, but they really need to step up their quality.
 
Just for your information, the current owner and founder of GEC was employed at Queem Cutlery for 30 years more or less before founding Great Eastern Cutlery in 2006. Notice any similarity in the patterns?
 
James Y said:
A knife is a cutting tool, and should have a good, sharp, effective edge out of the box. If someone chooses to modify that, fine; but a knife should still be immediately functional. Otherwise, it's similar to selling a brand new car with the tires deflated, or with an empty gas tank. Jim
Click to expand...

I completely agree Jim and you are 100% correct. A knife must be sharp from the factory, it is not the buyers job to put an edge on a knife but rather to maintain that factory edge. Some companies get, not lazy, but rather cheap when they turn out thousands or millions of knives.

I have never owned a Queen but few knife companies make it past a change in ownership these days. I am not talking about father to son but companies like Camillius and Lone Wolf who only bought marketing rights to the name and not the entire factory complete with original staff and tooling. I suggest you stick with original Queen knives and the older models at that.
 
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