Tuna Valley?

[jrtodd46]

I've one of the gunstocks. While I found it nicely made with decent f & f, I feel the main blade is kinda oddly shaped, and the overall knife "feel" is kinda chunky in my hand. And I usually prefer a little thicker knife as I find them easier to hang onto and use. I still have it in the collection, but don't carry it.

They're well made, but if you can, I'd suggest handling one first, to verify it feels good for you in hand. May not be easy to do if where you live is like me. No knife shops to be found. You may be able to get forum members to post caparison pics for you.

Yea I noticed the weird blades on some of the models. I went with the Railsplitter because it had normal blades lol.

 

[Old & In The Way]

My one and only Tuna Valley. I like it a lot.

 

[RRaconteur]

Derrick, if you are reading this, I'd looooooove a 154CM railsplitter in some good random jigged bone, or ironwood.
The horn does look great, though. Had I seen Todd's before he bought it, I would have.

This is where I am too. If one of these options was available, it would already be on order, budget be darned!


Michael

 

[jrtodd46]

Well..... I got mine today. It is a great looking knife. I maybe a little nit picky, but fitting the blades in the frame must have been an after thought. It looks like they kinked the blades in a vice to make them fit, but that may be my eyes playing tricks on me. All in all I'm going to give it a week to grow on me. Here are some pics!

 

[supratentorial]

Well..... I got mine today. It is a great looking knife. I maybe a little nit picky, but fitting the blades in the frame must have been an after thought. It looks like they kinked the blades in a vice to make them fit, but that may be my eyes playing tricks on me. All in all I'm going to give it a week to grow on me. Here are some pics!

Nice looking knife! But you left out the most important photo. Can you post a photo looking straight down into the well with the blades closed?

On some stock knives, the sheepfoot blade is crinked so that it doesn't hit the other blades. I don't know if that's the case here. It's done less and less now since it requires more skilled labor than just offsetting blades.

How's the grind on the blades?

 

[jrtodd46]

Nice looking knife! But you left out the most important photo. Can you post a photo looking straight down into the well with the blades closed?

On some stock knives, the sheepfoot blade is crinked so that it doesn't hit the other blades. I don't know if that's the case here. It's done less and less now since it requires more skilled labor than just offsetting blades.

How's the grind on the blades?

Here ya go.


The blades are kinda thick I'd say. But its supposed to be a stout knife so I expected that.

 

[silenthunterstudios]

I saw Courtney and Ken at a recent show in April in Hagerstown MD, and made a bad choice. I passed on a great scout knife, 154CM. I'm still kicking myself. When I get these customs under my belt, I am going to contact her and buy it. I was very happy with what I saw. I did have one of the first ones made by Queen, got it direct from Ryan, I liked it.

 

[supratentorial]

The blades are offset. I don't see the problem in the photo but I don't doubt you. I've also had bad experiences with Queen's manufacturing. The finish of the handles is usually top notch but I've seen a lot of problems with the construction. I'm hoping they get better with the new ownership since they make some of the coolest patterns.

It's a rare old pattern called a "surveyor". I used to collect this pattern from Maher & Grosh and Miller Bros. Those knives were longer and skinnier. Norvell Shapleigh made one very similar to the pattern used by Queen. Here are some photos from the old knives thread.

Now THAT'S funny and somewhat subtle.

In other news, here is an old 3 5/8" Diamond Edge Surveyor made by NORVELL-SHAPLEIGH HDWE. CO. between 1902-1917. It's been cleaned, as evidenced by the grodie innards and shiny outside. The long pull on the spay blade is generally an indicator of older knives so maybe this one was made closer to the early years of this stamp. The master blade has half-stops and the secondary blades are cam ended which is fairly typical for old stock/cattle knives.

This is really a pretty fancy knife with it's gaudy celluloid handle and pinched n thread bolsters. Too bad somebody (it appears) tried to tighten the one small pin on the shield side and ended up doing a little patch work.

 

[jrtodd46]

They hardly rub so I'm not too worried about it honestly, I was just being nit picky about it. I'm a single blade guy so when I get these muti blades I'm a bit hard on them.

 

[Dadpool]

jrtodd46 posted great pictures of the exact same knife (they vary only in the character of the buffalo horn covers), but I'll share mine as well just in case they're helpful.

I absolutely love this knife, and it's already become one of my favorites. It "spoke to me" as soon as I saw it, and that feeling has been borne out in person -- it's just marvelous.

In terms of quality, the fit and finish are great. It's got nice walk and talk with no blade rub. I'd rate the pull on the main as a 5 or 6, on the pen as a 4, and on the sheepsfoot as a 5.

There's a bit of side-to-side wobble in all three blades (most pronounced in the pen), but it's not too bad. There's a small scuff on both sides of the main, near the tip, that isn't from blade rub. (All three blades are centered.) I don't know what caused it, but as all my knives are users it doesn't bother me.

The negatives are minor to me; others might disagree. Like I said, I love this knife. It carries well, and it's a pleasure to use.

 

[knarfeng]

Well..... I got mine today. It is a great looking knife. I maybe a little nit picky, but fitting the blades in the frame must have been an after thought. It looks like they kinked the blades in a vice to make them fit, but that may be my eyes playing tricks on me. All in all I'm going to give it a week to grow on me. Here are some pics!

On some stock knives, the sheepfoot blade is crinked so that it doesn't hit the other blades. I don't know if that's the case here. It's done less and less now since it requires more skilled labor than just offsetting blades.

Jake's got it right. It is supposed to be that way. The blades are crinked (bent) so that they fit. Commonly found in three-blade, two spring knives, such as a stockman pattern. Case and Queen still do it that way. So does Utica. Camillus and Schrade both did also. Buck does not. I'm uncertain if GEC does it.