Tuna Valley Cutlery- Easy Open Tear Drop

D

Duper

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Any strong opinions for or against this Tuna Valley knife? They can be found at a few online vendors like Knifesshipfree. I did not find much out about this particular pocket knife here on the forum. The one specific thread I read quickly branched off topic. I read somewhere these knives are high quality items produced under the watchful eye of one of the Queens Cutlery owners.

I like the idea that they are 154CM steel. I like the size to weight ratio. I like the stag I have seen and I do not own a stag handled knife so there is a curiosity factor there. Almost 4 inches closed appeals to me as well. The price however gives me quite the smack as I have to convert to Canadian and it would run me well over $240.00 CAD shipped. I could pick up 2 Vipers or 2 Case Swayback gents at that price point and still have cash in hand.

I think they are a recent production model so any input would help. Fit and Finish, Quality?

,,,Mike in Canada
 
the Tunas I have handled have all been top-notch F/F, its a small sample but talking to the reps at the Eugene show they make a point of putting out quality. Noticeably better than Case, but not necessarily better than GEC
 
I only have 1 Tuna Valley and it was a gift from my son . It is a Gunstock and the overall quality and F&F is first rate . Only you can judge whether or not the price is reasonable or not . I personally would rather have the 2 Vipers .


Harry
 
Nice looking knife! I have been looking at these as well for the same reasons as you...
 
I own one of these knives. It is very very high quality. Although it came out of the Queen Cutlery factory, it is definitely better quality than any Queen knife I have ever handled. I spoke with Ryan Daniels recently at a show, and he said that his wife personally handles every knife in final inspection before they are packaged for sale. I really like this pattern as well, it's a nice large single blade knife.

 
I have one, imgur won't let me show it to you, which is fine because I trot it out for pics way too often. I'm sure people are tired off seeing it by now. It's one of favorite knives, I just have a hard time carrying it because it's so nice. The steel is exquisite, fit and finish are on par with GEC, the stag is just... wow and the handle fits me like a glove. So yeah they're OK. :D I'll say it again, if I had to choose between one of these TVs and an GEC 85, I'd take the Tuna Valley every time.
 
Tuna Valley is a brand I would love to buy. I love the patterns, sizes and steel. The only thing that prevents me from buying one is that I really dislike stag handles..... Call me crazy, but I have to have symmetry. The buffalo horn example here is amazingly beautiful, but every time I look at Tuna Valley, all I can find is stag. :mad: I'd say they're otherwise worth the price. Everything I've ever heard says they scream quality.
 
Another thing I like about the Tuna Valley knives is that every pattern they make is made in a short limited run, and they claim they will never again make that same pattern/blade combination again in the life of the company. They always make 50 burnt stag, 50 amber stag, 25 buffalo, and 25 mammoth ivory knives for each run. Ryan Daniels told me they expect to start making 25 of the timekeeper handles now also for each pattern.
 
So they will never again, in the life of the company, make a teardrop in Stag or Buffalo? Or A teardrop with a spear?
 
draggat said:
Tuna Valley is a brand I would love to buy. I love the patterns, sizes and steel. The only thing that prevents me from buying one is that I really dislike stag handles..... Call me crazy, but I have to have symmetry. The buffalo horn example here is amazingly beautiful, but every time I look at Tuna Valley, all I can find is stag. :mad: I'd say they're otherwise worth the price. Everything I've ever heard says they scream quality.
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This is EXACTLY my opinion as well! I've scoured the net looking for a TV teardrop that's NOT stag, and came up empty. If I could fine one in any other cover material, it would be mine....

Also, I only have one Tuna Valley, but it's a 4-blade "Cuban" frame made by GEC. I've not had or handled a Queen made TV.

Rookie82 said:
Another thing I like about the Tuna Valley knives is that every pattern they make is made in a short limited run, and they claim they will never again make that same pattern/blade combination again in the life of the company.
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Huh?? :eek:

Ramrodmb said:
So they will never again, in the life of the company, make a teardrop in Stag or Buffalo? Or A teardrop with a spear?
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Yes, same question here.

I've never read that statement before, but if true seems a little counter-intuitive to running a business. Can anyone provide a verifiable reference where they heard/read about this?
 
Ryan and Ken Daniels said they want to keep collectors interested and always guessing what will come out next. They plan on never re-releasing an exact knife that was already made previously. So no, they will never again release a single blade spear point teardrop of that size. However Ryan did say that he can't say for sure what may happen 20 years down the road, if they run out of patterns to make. But currently their intention is to never release the same knife twice.

It keeps the knives unique and truly "limited". And also stimulates the collectors to try and find one of the limited knives made. I like the idea of "make it once and never again." Part of the fun of getting one and collecting them.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. I just have to get my head wrapped around the price.

,,,Mike in Canada
 
Hi mike im also living in Canada. I was sad when I saw that I missed out on the gec #85s so when I saw this knife for sale in the Buffalo covers I was very excited. I ordered one that day. It showed up 10 days later and the first thing I noticed was the white pattern going through the covers. It was awful it looked like someone gave a kid a paint brush and ask him to paint lines on it. Then I saw there was a small crack on the easy open grove of the handle. Also there was another small crack up the top on the other side by the bolster. That was bad enough but then when I looked at the blade it was exactly how a rather famous YouTube reviewer had described as Queens major issues as far as F.F goes. The swege was perfect on one side but the other was all wavy then down by the tang one side was just fine the other was barley there at all. Sorry for the poor description im new to alot of this but I do know a dud when I see one. The thing was that video was made over a year before that knife was ever made. Im sure the other knives that members have described are fine I mean anyone can get a lemon. Its just seeing the exact same thing wrong with my knife that was a common problem with this companys lower level knives really was a disappointment to me. Like you I paid well over 200 after all was said and done. Of course I sent it back and the guy that sold it to me was very good about it. The thing was I had heard alot about the issues with Queen knives before but I thought Tuna Valley was going to be better. Not the one I got!!
 
A funny note regarding the buffalo horn. The Daniels said originally with the horn, they had to scour suppliers to find consistent solid dark horn, with very little or no white swirls at all. People didn't like their horn having any colors within them other than black. They said lately within the last 10-15 years that has changed, and horn with more white swirls within seems to be in higher demand. Now they are scouring suppliers to find horn with as much color variation as possible to use on Queen / Tuna Valley knives. Funny how people's tastes change.
 
Rookie82 said:
... I spoke with Ryan Daniels recently at a show, and he said that his wife personally handles every knife in final inspection before they are packaged for sale. I really like this pattern as well, it's a nice large single blade knife.
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t.willy said:
Hi mike im also living in Canada. I was sad when I saw that I missed out on the gec #85s so when I saw this knife for sale in the Buffalo covers I was very excited. I ordered one that day. It showed up 10 days later and the first thing I noticed was the white pattern going through the covers. It was awful it looked like someone gave a kid a paint brush and ask him to paint lines on it. Then I saw there was a small crack on the easy open grove of the handle. Also there was another small crack up the top on the other side by the bolster. That was bad enough but then when I looked at the blade it was exactly how a rather famous YouTube reviewer had described as Queens major issues as far as F.F goes. The swege was perfect on one side but the other was all wavy then down by the tang one side was just fine the other was barley there at all. Sorry for the poor description im new to alot of this but I do know a dud when I see one. The thing was that video was made over a year before that knife was ever made. Im sure the other knives that members have described are fine I mean anyone can get a lemon. Its just seeing the exact same thing wrong with my knife that was a common problem with this companys lower level knives really was a disappointment to me. Like you I paid well over 200 after all was said and done. Of course I sent it back and the guy that sold it to me was very good about it. The thing was I had heard alot about the issues with Queen knives before but I thought Tuna Valley was going to be better. Not the one I got!!
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The wife must have been mad with RD when t.willy's knife went out of the shop :-(. Sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience Trev.
 
Yeah it was a bummer rajan.But like I said anyone can get a lemon. Especially buying on line.Im just thankful that my Dealer was cool and not only had no problem with letting me return it. He paid the return shipping cost as well. I do realize he would feel some responsibility were it came from his place. However his is one of the very few if not the only knife sites that ship free to Canada. So taking that into consideration I really was impressed with him picking up the return cost as well. A real stand up guy.
 
Rookie82 said:
Just a heads up to those interested, a new batch of these Teardrop knives are nearly finished, and will be going to to dealers soon for sale. You can preorder one now if interested. These have the "time-keeper" style handles and etches.
http://api.ning.com/files/at*Kdka4s...bLTlVVlfbWDL6kFF*4NZsa/teardroptimekeeper.jpg
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Thanks for the update. I can see how some people would like these, but they're a little too 'busy' for me. The filework looks nice but I'm not a fan of those covers. I have to admit, I don't think I've seen anything quite like these before.
 
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