Traditional Safe Queens?

[T. Erdelyi]

Gus, Bob and John, I give you guys a lot of credit for having the resolve to not carry those beauties, I know I couldn't do it. Every time I get a minty type of knife I gotta carry it and even when I'm careful inevitably it gets a scratch or a stain at which point it's full blown pocket carry. I'm actually relieved because I can now use it how it should be used, as a tool and tools get scratched and show signs of use.

I give you guys a lot of credit and I do appreciate the beautiful knives you guys keep posting, thanks.

 

[5K Qs]

Hey guys and gals, any one got a traditional thats so nice or so expensive that you keep it pristine and save as a fondle piece? I just started so i guess its my stag #48 :thumbup: but im sure some one heres got something way nicer and more expensive!

No safe queens for me. Knives are a pretty low-budget hobby for me (I allow myself $20-$30 per month so far). I've rarely spent over $30 for a knife; most of my knives cost under $20. So I don't have expensive knives whose value must be protected. But I've accumulated quite a few knives, and as others have mentioned, I like to use as many as I can. (Besides, I don't even have a safe, other than the trunk of my car.)

...
Like many, I didn't intend to or even think of owning safe queen knives when first becoming an owner of a pocket knife, but as a collection grows, there does become a limit to what you can use day to day and carry without feeling like you are losing your pants as you walk down the street.
...

As 555 so perceptively points out, the urge to use my ever-growing number of knives has become a fashion challenge! I typically carry 10-12 knives at a time these days, and have to crank my belt REALLY tight. But I've got a rotation figured out where each knife gets carried for at least a week out of every couple of months, so we're all happy!

I definitely DO enjoy seeing the knife photos posted by people who have a much different approach to a knife hobby than I do, such as those of Gus and John above. Absolutely stunning collections, and I'm so glad I found BF where I can experience knives like those vicariously! :thumbup::thumbup:

And I have to congratulate T. Erdelyi on his single safe queen. My first knife was a Colonial Forest-Master just like the one he pictured, except mine didn't come with the compass, chain, and magnifier; what a great set!! Interestingly, my Forest-Master is the only knife I own that I've considered NOT carrying; even though it's pretty beat up, I'd hate to lose it now, after having it for about 55 years! Here's a photo of mine. (The bail is not original; I lost the bail sometime in the past, and when I got interested in pocket knives again in Jan. 2014, I made a new bail from an S-hook intended for my toilet tank.)

- GT

 

[mrknife]

All of these Old Timers are "safe queens," but not because of the price paid. It's been 11 years since the last USA Old Timers were produced, many of these are much older than that, and Schrade won't be making any more.

Similarly, all of my Great Eastern knives are locked away. As are all of my Queen knives. And Case knives. And vintage knives. And custom hunters. And Buck knives. And Canal Street. And Boker, Bark River, Marbles, Blackjack...

I did pick out one Opinel to be a traditional user. And one Victorinox from the collection.

nice!!!! i remember seeing an original schrade single blade trapper going for 105 on the bay or best offer. must be nice! sadly i have the cheapened version of the tiny old timer 12OT from china

 

[MTURBO]

I have a few safe queens..or for me "shelf" queens that I will never bring myself to using..just for looking at.
More and more I am collecting less expensive knives that I can pass down, give away or use and abuse without the horror of getting a scratch on them. Easier on the nerves also.

 

[jc57]

I have ended up with a number of unintended shelf queens just due to having accumulated more knives than I can realistically use. I figure at some point I will want to downsize so why mess up the ones with the highest resale value if I haven't used them yet? Basically a case of delayed buyer's remorse.

 

[Peregrin]

I have ended up with a number of unintended shelf queens just due to having accumulated more knives than I can realistically use. I figure at some point I will want to downsize so why mess up the ones with the highest resale value if I haven't used them yet? Basically a case of delayed buyer's remorse.

This is about where I am at. Over the years I've figured out what I like to carry and have let the rest languish. My kids will have fun splitting them up or selling them I imagine. I do gift them with a knife on darn near any gift-able occasion and sometimes for no apparent reason at all.

 

[bozack]

Safe queens, I have them. From custom straight knives to limited edition and numbered Al Mars, to my collection of Snakewood GEC's.


I would like to use them all, but I have so many. And some are just too special to use. Like my Dalton Holder custom.

 

[MTURBO]

This is about where I am at. Over the years I've figured out what I like to carry and have let the rest languish. My kids will have fun splitting them up or selling them I imagine. I do gift them with a knife on darn near any gift-able occasion and sometimes for no apparent reason at all.

LOL! Same here! I feel like Elvis sometimes. Someone will say "hey nice knife!" And I'll say "here ya go son, it yours." Gives me a kick every time!

 

[abcdef]

I got into GEC early, and have quite a few. Some day they I will sell the majority.

 

[22-rimfire]

My only safe queen knife is a Northwoods Madison Barlow (single blade) with elephant ivory scales. I have that particular knife in jigged bone also, so I am not really thinking of using the white one. All the others that have not been used are simply knives that I haven't gotten around to using versus a conscious effort to keep them pristine.

As far as using goes, I carry a large vic sak every day. It tends to block many slippies from going into my pocket due to the redundancy of use.

 

[black mamba]

To me a safe queen has almost nothing to do with price paid, but with rarity and irreplaceability. I have production knives that I paid less than $75 for that are safe queens, and customs of up to $500 that I've carried. My collection of GEC #53 Cubans is mostly safe queens, but I have duplicates of one each in 1095 and 440C to carry.

User 2011 Cuban in smooth ram's horn

Safe Queen version of same knife

Another safe queen is this Fight'n Rooster prototype, mint in box, from 1978. I have dozens of stockman patterns of all sizes, so no reason to carry this one.

This Schrade Walden #881Y is unused and mint in box from 1975, so again, a safe queen.

GEC only made 9 of these #48 Traditional Trappers in ram's horn, so it's a safe queen. I have one in elk stag for a user.

 

[555]

To me a safe queen has almost nothing to do with price paid, but with rarity and irreplaceability. I have production knives that I paid less than $75 for that are safe queens, and customs of up to $500 that I've carried. My collection of GEC #53 Cubans is mostly safe queens, but I have duplicates of one each in 1095 and 440C to carry.

I agree, like the days when hardware store finds were still easy to obtain , not expensive, just sitting around new in boxes, knives no longer made, from companies not as they once were, for example.

 

[2Dead]

Beautiful collection Gus!!

I didn't start out with the intention of keeping safe queens. I've pretty much tried to buy knives that I would actually use. Eventually though, you end up with knives that probably won't be used just because of how many you have as opposed to knives you won't use just them to keep them safe queens. I've tried to let go of knives that I know I won't use but I still have a couple that I'm keeping. It's not necessarily that they're the most expensive but there's something about them that I just can't bring myself to use.

Here are a couple as examples. This #73 I won in a giveaway from a friend but it is very rare and I'm sure wasn't easy for my friend to give up. This 1 of 3 of the first and only time GEC has tried to use Desert Ironwood, one of my favorite woods.



And these GEC made JBF Champlin Eureka Jacks. I hadn't thought these would end up being safe queens but they're knives I know I just won't bring myself to use. I do like looking at them though. From the Cattaraugus Rosewood to my fattest/most popcorny stag.



These knives when new weren't that expensive. I'm sure all 3 could have been bought twice over compared to my avatar (which is in my pocket right now) but these will likely stay safe queens while I have no problems using my Erickson (which I absolutely love the bone on). Go figure.

 

[black mamba]

Trand, those are all three safe queen worthy (and very, very desirable!).

 

[wolf-man-12]

I have 2 Safes and 99% of my Knives are SQ's and one day not to far off my Son will get them all plus the Safes and all that is in there and I would say 95% will be sold and the others will go for him another Classic Car { he has 4 already and a couple of Knives that I 'gave him' !*** }

 

[2Dead]

Thanks Jeff. You're #53 collection, are they safe queens just because you have some doubles to use to or would you use a knife that you only had one of? Btw, I still have 2 of those Ram Horn #48s tucked away. There 33% of that run. I guess many of GEC that are less than 10 made would count as safe queens too. I'd probably use a regular run version before one of the more limited ones.

 

[Kitten Party]

This is a pretty neat thread. Love looking at all these beauties!

Personally, any knife I didn't carry immediately after receiving it has been sold. That being said, there is the exception to my ever increasing collection of USA Schrades. The only exception in my collection are these and I still have several user schrades.

 

[black mamba]

Thanks Jeff. You're #53 collection, are they safe queens just because you have some doubles to use to or would you use a knife that you only had one of? Btw, I still have 2 of those Ram Horn #48s tucked away. There 33% of that run. I guess many of GEC that are less than 10 made would count as safe queens too. I'd probably use a regular run version before one of the more limited ones.

Trand, I would use one carefully (by which I mean not cutting anything that would patina the blade). Several of my collection were bought used, although you couldn't tell it by looking at them, they're all 99% + condition. The ram horn #53s that I have 2 of, they only made 11, so not many of those left out there either. My avatar half congress in tortoise they only made 4, but I do carry it occasionally, as it is stainless and I'm pretty easy on knives.

 

[mrknife]

Thanks Jeff. You're #53 collection, are they safe queens just because you have some doubles to use to or would you use a knife that you only had one of? Btw, I still have 2 of those Ram Horn #48s tucked away. There 33% of that run. I guess many of GEC that are less than 10 made would count as safe queens too. I'd probably use a regular run version before one of the more limited ones.

single blade #48s?

 

[Campbellclanman]

I have probably 80% Safe Queens compared to the 20% users.