What's the general opinion on Queen?

[LX_Emergency]

Ordered my first Queen knife the other day. How do you "traditional knife" experts like Queen's offerings?

 

[338375]

I've only owned a couple Queens. The fit and finish seems to be good in general, but I've lost track of how many times people have complained that they come with terrible edges and dull.
There is absolutely no reason for a knife to come dull and have to be sharpened right out of the box. It would be different if it was an occasional issue, but it seems to be the norm

 

[mnblade]

I've lost track of how many times people have complained that they come with terrible edges and dull.
There is absolutely no reason for a knife to come dull and have to be sharpened right out of the box. It would be different if it was an occasional issue, but it seems to be the norm

Ditto. I won't buy one of their D2 knives till they fix this issue.

 

[aarya]

I bought a Queen stockman in D2 a while back, and it did indeed come rather dull. Annoying, but when i got over that, it's a good enough knife.

 

[Morrow]

I've said this before but what the heck...

I have a love / hate relationship with Queen knives. I probably have 30-40 Queen knives most in D2. I've been generally happy with the quality of materials and fit & finish. As others have said, they have a reputation for coming dull...really dull. Some of my newer Queen purchases have been noticeably better but still not what most around here would consider to be a good edge.

In the end, I usually thin out the edges of my knives before I carry them so the initial dullness isn't a show stopper for me. It still agitates me that a knife manufacturer would send knives out that dull.

 

[neeman]

I would call Queen the best value on the market

An excellent knife in the $40 to $55 price range with a consistantly good F&F and with a very good steel.
A wide selection of patterns but only in Amber bone and Maple, and some of the bone is outstanding


It would be 'nice' if Queen would send out a good factory grind.....
Just be prepared to resharpen the D2 with diamond stones.
Well worth the effort......

Personally, I resharpen all my knives to make them mine...
And D2 takes a very thin edge and that is what I do to make them a user.

 

[xbxb]

There has been several comments on this over the past recent months. It used to bother me, but I resharpen a new knife anyway, ( i think it is a little like therapy ) and as all of you know D2 will give you plenty of therapy. So I'm not too bothered by it. I think you get your moneys worth when you buy a queen. I have not had any problem with them at all. I can see how some guys want them sharp out of the box--it just doesn't bother me.

 

[Morrow]

I would call Queen the best value on the market

An excellent knife in the $40 to $55 price range with a consistantly good F&F and with a very good steel.
A wide selection of patterns but only in Amber bone and Maple, and some of the bone is outstanding


It would be 'nice' if Queen would send out a good factory grind.....
Just be prepared to resharpen the D2 with diamond stones.
Well worth the effort......

Personally, I resharpen all my knives to make them mine...
And D2 takes a very thin edge and that is what I do to make them a user.

After reading over my post again I realized it came off a bit negative and that was not my intention. I agree with you about Queen being a great value. Thanks for saying what I failed to do.

 

[Bastid]

I am with MJ, Neeman and xb.
I like my thin edges and that Queen D2 takes some time to get there (on the other hand if I would get off a dime and purchase some more aggressive stones that might lessen the "pain" ).

Once I get those edges down I really enjoy using them and an occasional stropping usually handles getting the edge back pretty quickly.

 

[neeman]

After reading over my post again I realized it came off a bit negative and that was not my intention. I agree with you about Queen being a great value. Thanks for saying what I failed to do.

When you have 30 to 40 knives from Queen, there is clearly more love than hate in the relationship.

 

[JPD1998]

I have a Queen amber bone large stockman and compared to other brands Queen seems to use more handwork when making their knives.

Just a quick observation.... the blades have crisp swedges and fit the spring better when open. I didn't thin the edge out , but a few swipes on a ceramic rod put a working edge on my knife ( and I usually do that anyway).

 

[neeman]

What makes the lack of a good factory grind on the blades so annoying is the excellence of the swedges on the knife blades.

One of the features that make the Queen knives so attractive is the quality of their swedging on their blades.
The grinding of the swedges are sharp and add well to the look of the blades and of their cutting ablity.
Pen blades are swedged one side to give a strong point to the tip, sheepfoots and spey blades are flat ground to again give a sharp tip of the blade. Spines are ground each side to soften the top of the blades.

So why can't they give a good factory grind on the edge???

 

[Blues]

So why can't they give a good factory grind on the edge???

Extra time and the cost of the extra belts to grind down the D2 to an acute edge. (At least that's the only excuse (albeit a poor one) that I can come up with. It's certainly not that they're incapable.)

 

[neeman]

Elliott,

I do not know enough about the production process.
When are swedges ground? Before the Heat Treat?
Is there different grinding equipment for grinding edges?

Neeman

 

[Plumberdv]

After I bought my second Queen a couple of years ago and found it to be just as dull as the first one (had to heat up the stick of butter before I could cut it) , I dropped them from my list of manufacturers to buy from.

I don't have good sharpening skills, so having to sharpen a brand new knife just so it will cut isn't an option for me. There are plenty of other brands out there with good steel that come very sharp, so I go with them.

 

[texasflyfisher]

IMO, Queen makes some excellent production knives. They have some of the nicest jigged handles of all the makers. Very tasteful colors for the bone. No outrageous colors or logos like other makers.

They generally have stronger springs than Case but not GEC strong. Just right.

I have gotten some of the S & M brand that have been very sharp out of the box so it could be just an issue with the D2 knife. Also, the 1095 ones came pretty sharp. Really, this is not a deal breaker for me since I do resharpen all my knives at some point.

I think the analogy I saw someone mention why they don't buy Queen was because of dull edges was something such as it was like buying a car with no gas it in. At some point you do have to refuel so again not an issue. I have had GEC and Case knives show up pretty dull and like I said, not a deal breaker.

 

[neeman]

...
I don't have good sharpening skills, so having to sharpen a brand new knife just so it will cut isn't an option for me.
...

I hear you!!

What I use is the DMT Aligner Jig, with 4 diamond stones from X course to X fine.

It is excellent for folk that do not sharpen free hand.
It reprofiles very well
I get very good consistant results on the Queen D2
The blades come off the jig hair-popping sharp

 

[Plumberdv]

"I think the analogy I saw someone mention why they don't buy Queen was because of dull edges was something such as it was like buying a car with no gas it in."

Heck, anyone can pump gas but not everyone has the skills to put a good edge on a D2 blade. It's ridiculous to have to do so to a brand new knife in order to use it for what it was intended to be used for. If it needs sharpening down the road, I can have them professionally sharpened but I sure as heck shouldn't have to before it's usable.

That's why I'll never buy another one.

 

[LX_Emergency]

That's ok. I don't mind having to sharpen it first. Sounds ike they're pretty decent then. I'm excited. It's going to be only my second slipjoint. (After a SAK)

Should be here in just over a week or so.

Thanks a bunch for all the answers.

 

[RobbW]

I love the F&F of Queen knives, and the lasting edge that D2 gives. They do everything well but sharpen. I can live with that. I reprofile ALL my knives, Queen D2 just takes a bit longer. I have waterstones and DMT Diamonds, but it still takes a long time to reprofile. I live very thin primary bevels.

I still count Queen as the best value production folder. My experience with their 1095 is that it comes sharp, but the D2 needs lots of attention.