Iff (nerd speak for if and only if) you want a dealers opinion continue (if not skip rest of post).....
The question can only be answered in general as it depends on when the Queen knife was made. They have went thru a very rough spell from, say 2010 until very recently. Starting around the time of the first Heritage series Queen had a marked decline in fit / finish on their knives. They had a couple of bad designs before that, but as far as just getting lazy on finishing a knife it all set in at once. And this continued until just a few months ago in my opinion. The last few batches (as in, last 45 days) I have gotten in have been very nice f/f and impressive factory edges. The ACSB and CZ have maintained a relatively sweet f/f, but the new/re-introduced patterns over the last couple years have been hit and miss. GEC early knives were a little rougher, but it has been more of a consistent improvement with them as compared to an up/down momentum.
One problem is that unless a Queen pattern was just made in a single run, the customer really doesn't know when it was made. I had a couple of large batch buys (because price increases were looming) from 4 and 6 years ago, that I am still selling out of instead of buying recent stock. And I have Schatt & Morgan knives that were tucked away for 12 years or so. So, trying to pin any given knife to a production timeline would be very complicated.
Now, specifics. Queen is not as bothered with an open backspring as GEC; so don't expect Queen's to be watertight from any era. Queen seems to get most of their bone from Culpepper, at least the old ACSB came from there; although it's appearance has been a little more rough (seeing router swirls a little). But I agree it is my all time favorite bone. GEC used Culpepper a little early on and called this jigging brimstone or carved pumpkin (lighter dye). I wouldn't expect significantly different feel between the mountain man and GEC lockbacks, as the same guy probably engineered both. Both will have a slight amount of play fairly consistently. They get their heat treat at the same place; so expect excellent heat treat from both. GEC spends a little more time on pins, so expect smashed (flattened and separated a little) pins on Queen smooth slabs; not a functional difference - just cosmetic. But you will see sunken pins a little more on GEC if that bothers you.
So, generally, the f/f on GEC knives is higher. But there are little things that each individual will prefer one over the other. And GEC's tend to run a little higher in price, in my opinion, respective to the f/f. But in comparing the "value", I would say they are very close if you pick your pattern carefully.
I try very hard to suppress personal opinion when I write posts like these; but if you feel you are getting that vibe - my apologies up front. I know the people at both places and consider them all my friends. But many times I feel as though a dealer has a different perspective, although it has been expressed many times on this forum that they should just keep it to themselves
