What's the general opinion on Queen?

Buying a new knife that doesn't have a useable edge is like buying a new car that needs the engine rebuilt. Sure, you'll have to rebuild the engine eventually, but hopefully not before you drive it off of the lot. Yes, the bone is nice, and the seats are comfy, but if it won't cut or won't get you where you need to go, what is the point? I don't own any queen knives, but I have read enough to be somewhat put off. And, I would rather spend the extra money go get good stag scales. But, I still find myself drawn to their website every once in a while. It's getting harder to find good USA made knives.
 
I agree with the people here about Queen knives. They make a nice knife but put sorry edges on there knives. Like buying a new car with 4 flat tires. I have about 5 Queens and all came with thick dull edges. I thinned down my Queen Sodbuster on my Norton India stone and in about 20 to 30 minutes got a real nice and sharp edge that has been easy to maintain. I am not buying anymore of there knives till they improved the edges but I like the looks of the Yellow Sodbuster as mine is Black handle.

RKH
 
I have four EDC knives and they are all Queens with the aged honey stag bone handles and D2 blade steel.

My latest is a #2 jack that I just got...the blade grind was fine and it took me very little time to sharpen it freehand on a Norton India stone.

The D2 can be vexing to sharpen consistently though.
 
knifeaholic said:
I have four EDC knives and they are all Queens with the aged honey stag bone handles and D2 blade steel.

My latest is a #2 jack that I just got...the blade grind was fine and it took me very little time to sharpen it freehand on a Norton India stone.

The D2 can be vexing to sharpen consistently though.
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Even with the likelihood of dull edge, I think the amber bone/d2 Queens are awesome. I grab all the Cocobolo series Queens I can find too.
 
morrowj_98 said:
Even with the likelihood of dull edge, I think the amber bone/d2 Queens are awesome. I grab all the Cocobolo series Queens I can find too.
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I prefer the Cocobolo to the Maple and the White stagbone to the Amber bone
But they are gettting hard to obtain...
 
neeman said:
LX (Alex)

What knife have you ordered?
post pictures and a review once you get it
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Hi Neeman (yes, it's Alex)
I ordered a Gunstock 2 blade with the amber jigged bones.

And now I found out that they do COCOBOLO!! (that's my favorite wood!)?

damn....these things could be addicting....once again.
 
I have an amber bone sigle blade copperhead, f/f is ok, edge was workable but don't care much for weak backspring
 
I only have one Queen knife. It came with a fairly oblique edge angle on each blade. It no longer has oblique edge angles and each blade cuts like a champion. I do not object to changing edge angles. I do that to almost every knife I buy. But Neeman is correct, diamond stones are almost a requirement.

- I LOVE the performance of the D2 steel. I much prefer it to that of any other traditional pocket knife in my price range.
- I find the fit and finish very good.
- The price is within what I can afford.

There are more Queen knives in my future. Soon.
 
I have a couple coming from a fellow forumite. He described them as like new (as his photos showed) but he had sharpened and stropped them. From what I have gathered upon reading this thread, it seems like they are better now then when new:D
 
I bought my father a Queen for Christmas last year. Queen was the only brand of Made-in-USA 4-blade D2 traditional folder i could find. It is indeed a beautiful knife. I can't stress that enough. But after bringing 4 dull blades of D2 up to scary sharp, I don't think I will be buying any more.
 
338375 said:
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
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Xactly.
 
LX_Emergency said:
Bugger. Oh well.
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Some of the Cocobolo scaled Queen knives can still be found (new in box) at a few online knife retailers or auction sites. They are not totally gone but they do require a bit of searching on the internet. Good luck!
 
Plumberdv said:
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.
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I would get to work on changing that. Go develop some sharpening skills. Think about how crazy it sounds that you limit your choices because you won't sharpen or that you would buy a new knife rather than sharpen an old one. Go get a Lansky or something like that. It will get a knife sharper than anything a factory will do and it requires no skill. Decide on an angle, grind the edge to that angle and sharpen away. It just requires some time and patience.
 
Knife Outlet said:
I would get to work on changing that. Go develop some sharpening skills. Think about how crazy it sounds that you limit your choices because you won't sharpen or that you would buy a new knife rather than sharpen an old one. Go get a Lansky or something like that. It will get a knife sharper than anything a factory will do and it requires no skill. Decide on an angle, grind the edge to that angle and sharpen away. It just requires some time and patience.
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I suppose that I should and with some practice could learn. That still wouldn't change my opinion of the knives or my decision not to buy any more of them. I won't buy anything from a company that I know sells alot of defective products. By defective, I mean something that won't do the job it was designed for (in this case cutting well) factory fresh right out of the box, I don't care how pretty it is. I buy a lot of knives and if the Queens had come with an acceptable edge, I'd have a bunch of them.

If Queen won't take the time or don't have the equipment to put a good edge on their D2 steel, in my opinion they should #1, quit using it or #2, put a disclamer in their advertising that the knife is dull and will require sharpening before use. A first time buyer shouldn't be blindsided by getting something that requires work before being usable.

I have no problem with a knife that requires sharpening after using it for awhile, but I do have a problem with one that requires it before it can be used.

Just my opinion and I know there are plenty who will disagree.
 
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