What condition would you consider a "Safe Queen" to be in?

Macchina

Macchina

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I recently traded for a knife that was described to me as being a Safe Queen. The knife I received was quite heavily used, the clip is very scratched, G-10 is scuffed and stained, and the blade is scratched. The liner lock travels about 75% across the tang.

I always took "Safe Queen" to mean dead-nuts NIB, or is the term more flexible than I once thought?
 
Uh wow.
Dead mint means perfectly NIB.

Hopefully you can terminate the deal.
 
I'm trying to reverse the deal right now. I just wanted to get a gauge for what the term means.

On another note, I did receive pictures before completing the deal and I believe the knife I received is a different knife than the one in the pics. There is one pic that clearly shows a perfectly painted pocket clip, and the one I got has quite a bit of paint missing. Normally I wouldn't mind, but I traded a $190 knife for a knife that originally retailed for $129.99. A NIB knife would have been worth it to me because it is now off the market.
 
To me "safe queen" invisions a knife as minty fresh as the day it was finished by the maker.
 
Maybe a tiny mark or even a fine scratch in some obscure place, but not what you describe.
I saw what you traded for, I'd get it back IMO.

mike
 
To me, Safe Queen means a knife that was received from the maker, fondled and admired for a while, and then put away in unused condition. It may also have been retrieved from storage and fondled occasionally, maybe traveld to Blade for show and tell in a protective case.
It definitely should not have been used or routinely carried.
It should show no scratches or discoloration on blade or handle, inless it was received and stored in a Kydex sheath and had resultant faint marks.

I would not expect it to be absolutely mint unless so described. But I would expect it to be as near perfect as a knife that has undergone infrequent touching could be.

To sum it up, Safe Queen is an imprecise term but it implies a lot better condition that what you describe.

If condition was important to me, and I felt I was paying a premium for it, then I would want more info than just "Safe Queen."
 
I just received a reply and he is okay with reversing the trade. I don't know why he would send me pics of a new knife, then send me a used knife. He says he doesn't know how the wear got on the knife and it has been locked in his safe since he took the pictures. He told me he is quite upset about the damage. His claim is that somebody must have borrowed the knife in between the time the pics were taken and when he shipped it to me. I am supposed to believe that he did not even glance at the knife that he was trading, yet he keeps in a safe and packed it better than any knife I ever received. I am glad he is okay with reversing it, but I am out two trips to the post office, Priority Mail cost x2, and a bunch of hassle.
Here is a comparison shot:

His pic:
IMG_0794.jpg


Actual knife:
IMGP0795.jpg
 
Definitely not a Safe Queen!

Although I have a heavily used Rat Trap such as the one pictured, and would not trade it for any $190 knife I know of.
 
I think they may have just kept the good clip and sent you a used one with the knife.
It looks like the screws are in different positions in the two pics so the clip has been
off at some point between the two picures being taken.

Its good to hear your getting things sorted out though :thumbup:
 
michaelmcgo said:
I recently traded for a knife that was described to me as being a Safe Queen. The knife I received was quite heavily used, the clip is very scratched, G-10 is scuffed and stained, and the blade is scratched. The liner lock travels about 75% across the tang.

I always took "Safe Queen" to mean dead-nuts NIB, or is the term more flexible than I once thought?
Click to expand...
If someone told me that they had a "safe queen"; that means it is MINT. It has never been used, and is as you put it "dead nuts NIB."
 
The blade is also scratched and the G-10 is buffed like my Military that I have carried and used for a few months. The guy seems to actually be suprised that the knife is not NIB. I think he actually shipped me the knife without looking it over (I guess I can understand this, it was locked in his safe after all) and has been screwed by somebody who has access to his safe.
 
I would never accept the term "Safe Queen" as a description of condition. I believe it has no narrow definition. It would beg me to ask the seller to describe the condition in more definitive terms.

It is too easy to use the term to describe a knife that one kept in a safe for a long time, regardless of condition. I have four M1 Garand rifles. One is in excellent condition for being 65 years old, requires no refurbishment, and sit's in my safe. I consider it a "safe queen" because I want to preserve it's condition "as is". I have reconditioned the other three and shoot them often.
 
bruce said:
I would never accept the term "Safe Queen" as a description of condition. I believe it has no narrow definition. It would beg me to ask the seller to describe the condition in more definitive terms.
Click to expand...

He actually didn't accept that is was a "Safe Queen". He asked for pictures
and the pictures sent do not match the knife that was sent.
But yes, you are correct, never accept that term.
I don't even like LNIB. If it's not NIB, I want to know what it looks like/condition.

mike
 
2brothers said:
He actually didn't accept that is was a "Safe Queen". He asked for pictures
and the pictures sent do not match the knife that was sent.
But yes, you are correct, never accept that term.
I don't even like LNIB. If it's not NIB, I want to know what it looks like/condition.

mike
Click to expand...

I've been the victim of shoddy descriptions one too many times to accept non-specific classifications. This is why I asked for the pictures. I was just flabbergasted when I opened the knife and saw what I thought had been described as Safe Queen. The fact that the guy did not know the knife was in this shape makes a lot more sense then him thinking it was actually classified as a Safe Queen. If you know who the other guy in this trade is, don't hold this trade against him, he has already shipped my knife back to me (about an hour after I asked him about the damage to the knife). He is a stand up guy that appears to have been taken advantage of by somebody who has access to his safe.

I will say I am a little disappointed. The Rat Trap is a very cool knife and I would love to own one. If I had traded a more evenly priced knife for it, I would have happily kept it, but the values of the trades were to mis-matched to accept a well used knife.
 
2brothers said:
He actually didn't accept that is was a "Safe Queen". He asked for pictures
and the pictures sent do not match the knife that was sent.
But yes, you are correct, never accept that term.
I don't even like LNIB. If it's not NIB, I want to know what it looks like/condition.

mike
Click to expand...

I was just responding to the thread title and obviously didn't read the rest closely. Good idea to ask for the photos.
 
michaelmcgo said:
If you know who the other guy in this trade is, don't hold this trade against him, he has already shipped my knife back to me (about an hour after I asked him about the damage to the knife). He is a stand up guy that appears to have been taken advantage of by somebody who has access to his safe.
Click to expand...

I don't know him, but know who. And no, I wouldn't hold anything against him for this matter.
Sounds like a genuine mistake, he took care of it. No problem.

bruce said:
I was just responding to the thread title and obviously didn't read the rest closely. Good idea to ask for the photos.
Click to expand...

I kinda figured that after posting.
Wasn't trying to be an ass or anything. :)

Glad it worked out for you Michael.

mike
 
I make it a habit to look over knives before I list them and before I ship them.

In the past, I once caught some flaws that I missed in the original description. I immediately emailed the seller and offered a full refund or a discount. I sent close-up pictures (a bit of chipped coating I'd missed), and he took the discount.

It'd be kind of hard to miss the coating wear pictured below. Heck, it doesn't even look like the same coating. Was the knife wrapped in his safe and he sent it out without unwrapping and looking?

michaelmcgo said:
His pic:
IMG_0794.jpg


Actual knife:
IMGP0795.jpg
Click to expand...
 
MikeH said:
To me, Safe Queen means a knife that was received from the maker, fondled and admired for a while, and then put away in unused condition. It may also have been retrieved from storage and fondled occasionally, maybe traveld to Blade for show and tell in a protective case.
It definitely should not have been used or routinely carried.
It should show no scratches or discoloration on blade or handle, inless it was received and stored in a Kydex sheath and had resultant faint marks.

I would not expect it to be absolutely mint unless so described. But I would expect it to be as near perfect as a knife that has undergone infrequent touching could be.

To sum it up, Safe Queen is an imprecise term but it implies a lot better condition that what you describe.

If condition was important to me, and I felt I was paying a premium for it, then I would want more info than just "Safe Queen."
Click to expand...

I am with Mike on this. I do not use the term myself because it can be misleading: what if the knife is stored away and never touched but then there is pitting or rust on the blade?
I prefer like new condition or NIB or even never used/carried/sharpened.
And a good picture is always worth a thousand words.
 
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