What's a safe queen and what's a user?

My shelf queens (I don't have a safe) are knives that I bought with the intention of using, have not yet got around to using, and may never get around to using because I have too many knives and not enough time. They are essentially in the waiting room, waiting for me to decide to put them to use or sell them.
 
Life's too short to buy safe queens. Some folks probably buy high end knives as an investment but there seems to be better ways to invest money. I do have a few traditionals that I use very sparingly because they belonged to my grandfather.
 
If there are less than 5 or 10 made I'd call it a safe queen. If more that that # are made it might be a user depending on what it's made of. I wouldn't use a fossilized mammoth ivory handled knife due to the scarcity of the material.
 
Safe Queen is no more than a title for "Knife I don't use because I value it too much". Deciding a knife qualifies as a safe queen is a personal choice, some call any knife above X dollars a safe queen but another would use the same knife without a second thought.


Buy knives you like and enjoy them how you like, be that on a shelf or in your pocket.
 
stalbot said:
Since there have been several comments about not buying knives for "investment" purposes, I wanted to clarify. I'm not buying them for that purpose. But, I wanted to make sure about what I might need to watch for when I pick up a either new or new-to-me knife. I'd hate to accidently screw up what might turn out to be something rare and valuable. You know, "Dude, that's a Case elephant ivory proto-type you're using to strip that wire." Don't want that to happen!
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You would have to be extremely lucky to get a knife so valuable or you spent a lot for that to happen. It's an unlikely scenario.
 
I carry everything, even if it might just be for a special occassion, and doesn't see light of day for another year. I've been carrying an older Remington peanut, a gift from a buddy here, that has spots and a patina on it. I carry a boys knife barehead jack, a 73 and a Tribal Spear sometimes together, and all of them are users. My antique bone and chestnut bone Case Bose knives are probably my only knives that I don't carry at least once a month. But they are all users, no safe queens.
 
I buy what I like, and I tend to buy two (or three or more if I really like it and can get duplicates). When the two arrive, I meticulously inspect both for any flaw(s) no matter how small - whichever one has the least amount of flaw(s) becomes the safe queen, and the other becomes a "user." And, yes, I can find a flaw in pretty much any knife - it might take a magnifying glass to do so, but I'll find something to delineate the user from the queen.

Of course, this makes my knife collecting hobby doubly expensive!! Oh well, I like knives, and life is short!
 
There is a great thread in the Bernard Levine forum on this subject.

My Precious! -- is it RARE?

A lot of the most common things from any age are the most valuable decades/centuries later. For example, it seems like the most valuable 1970 Case knives are the most popular patterns, not the obscure ones. Generally speaking of course.

50 years from now who is going to even know some knife GEC built 2 or 3 examples of even exists? Or how will they value it if they happen across one?
Conversely, I bet plenty of guys will want to get their hands on a pristine early Case Swayback Jack in Chestnut Bone with the CV blades, if for no other reason than they will know other collectors with one (or more) and they will want one for their own collection.

It's the demand for known commodities that can create value over the lesser known but rare items.
 
jc57 said:
My shelf queens (I don't have a safe) are knives that I bought with the intention of using, have not yet got around to using, and may never get around to using because I have too many knives and not enough time. They are essentially in the waiting room, waiting for me to decide to put them to use or sell them.
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Your knives are in Purgatory. <snicker, snicker> &#128516;
 
I have both new in box and users. I often buy a user to try to see how I like it and if I do, I may buy one or more NIB examples and keep them factory fresh. Not for monetary value as I am not an investor or seller. I like exploring patterns and if one catches my fancy, acquiring variations of that pattern. Most of them are ten to fifty years old. They are not made anymore. And the number of new examples dwindles every year. I have a few one of a kind knives. If they were previously used, I use them. If not I keep them new. I have plenty of knives to use without using the new examples. I just today took a 45 year old knife out of it's box and put it with my users to replace one like it recently stolen. I have others like it both older and newer. This one had pepperspots from years of storage. So now it goes to work. If I only had three or four knives they would all be users. But I have well more than I could use in a year's time if I used them all only one day. I collect them for the enjoyment of it, and I use some like the tools they were meant to be. And some I keep new as examples of what the factory produced with the complete box, brochure and packing intact.
 
I think it's personal, for me I use everything I have, if I won't use it I don't have it.
 
What makes a knife a "safe queen" is entirely at the discretion of the owner; for whatever reason an owner decides to preserve a knife is good enough. OH
 
Codger_64 said:
I have both new in box and users. I often buy a user to try to see how I like it and if I do, I may buy one or more NIB examples and keep them factory fresh. Not for monetary value as I am not an investor or seller. I like exploring patterns and if one catches my fancy, acquiring variations of that pattern. Most of them are ten to fifty years old. They are not made anymore. And the number of new examples dwindles every year. I have a few one of a kind knives. If they were previously used, I use them. If not I keep them new. I have plenty of knives to use without using the new examples. I just today took a 45 year old knife out of it's box and put it with my users to replace one like it recently stolen. I have others like it both older and newer. This one had pepperspots from years of storage. So now it goes to work. If I only had three or four knives they would all be users. But I have well more than I could use in a year's time if I used them all only one day. I collect them for the enjoyment of it, and I use some like the tools they were meant to be. And some I keep new as examples of what the factory produced with the complete box, brochure and packing intact.
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Makes sense.
 
I don't want to come off as a square. But I always look at knives as tools at least mass produced ones that is.

Wonderful tools with a spirit to them that are always changing and being modified and worn down to their final end of life.
 
cchu518 said:
I don't want to come off as a square. But I always look at knives as tools at least mass produced ones that is.

Wonderful tools with a spirit to them that are always changing and being modified and worn down to their final end of life.
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I totally agree. Knives first and foremost are tools. And tools are designed to be used to acomplish certain tasks. The manufacturers never intended them to remain new in their boxes for fifty or one hundred years. And the vast majority of them do get used, some until they are used up. In part, this is what prompts a few of us to collect the ones we find in complete, as new condition. As present and future examples of what was once made. Not everyone has the interest to have their own "mini-museum" of knives and that is fine. It is much the same with cars and many other manufactured objects. Some eventually wind up in museums or private collections where they can be seen other than in old advertising pictures. And some are driven until the new wears off and then traded. Or wrecked and sent to a salvage yard. Making the like new examples less common. It's all good.
 
Codger makes a good point. And in that spirit alot of the folks use the snot out of their knives, find a pattern they find sentimental because of their relationship to it and then get doubles of that pattern. This satisfies both urges.
 
cchu518 said:
Codger makes a good point. And in that spirit alot of the folks use the snot out of their knives, find a pattern they find sentimental because of their relationship to it and then get doubles of that pattern. This satisfies both urges.
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This is exactly what I do. My go-to pocketknife is a slim premium stockman. I needed to replace it and I did. I found a new one just like it. And then I notice variations that were made over the years and out of curiosity bought some of those. I have no need to use them as I have multiples of the original knife in used condition. I now have well more that two dozen of that one pattern and keep finding another one to add. But still the original tool is in my pocket day in and day out doing it's job. And I have the confidence that if/when the user is used up, broken, lost, stolen I have only to go to the stash and pull out another one just like the other one. Even though the maker went out of business ten years ago. I have spare screwdrivers, hammers, picks and shovels too. :)

This one displays two dozen. There are more inside.

2nklw89.jpg


Where else are my grandchildren going to see one of these old store displays filled with knives? ;)
 
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