Confused. What is the difference between Queen City and simply Queen + other?

MTHall720

MTHall720

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Sep 21, 2010
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I did try to Google my questions first, but still not sure.

Does the Queen City designation mean it's a "work knife"? If so,what is a work knife -- no mirror polished blade, or something else?
Generally, do all Queen, S&M, Northfields all have printing or etching on the blade rather than the plain blade a lot of Case knives have?

Thanks much. I am considering a really big Queen City knife or maybe a Ben Hogan or Mountain Man if I can find one in my price range.
I like the price on the Queen City large Coke Bottle knife because of the blade design and length but just wondered why it is priced less
than most others I have been researching.
 
It would be the steel used primarily..... Queen City 1095 and Queen D2 after that....and since you've referred to "work knife" you most be looking at the newest releases.........and here it would be the level of fit& finish....."work knife" is a simple defining term so that you're not expecting Collector Quality ......
And if you've been looking seriously at the Coke Bottle compared to others don't let the price steer you in the wrong direction, but its all the little things that you can't always see but feel that increase the cost
 
I believe Queen City knives were a SFO (special factory order) by Smoky Mountain? to have a non D2 working knife. 1095 steel was the first distinguishing characteristic, delrin scales second, then blade finish (queen's regular D2 line has both satin and tmirror). They got popular and we're pretty widely sold.

The corollary to that is they are not regular production and any you find today are NOS (new old stock).

For the record, Queen had historically been dedicated to stainless steel dating back to post war, when SS had a horrible reputation. They coined the term Queen steel for their stainless to avoid even having to use the term. Queen steel was originally 440C and a bitch to sharpen (only one of the complaints about stainless). It moved to 420/440A as C became hard to obtain. Then D2 was introduced in the 90s I believe to recapture some of the cachet or specialness of Queen steel.

This is why you don't see many carbon steel queens until the Queen City line.

My maternal grandfather (b. 1887) was one who would not pee on a stainless knife if it was on fire. His son carried a stainless stockman or whittler by Queen, which was best of breed until the 60s-70s, when everyone offered stainless knives without shame.
 
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Thanks very much for the quick reply. Sounds like I can go either way pretty much. Fascinating history. I am starting to feel like my favorite makes are going to be Queen, Case, and GEC.
 
And I guess a little more to your point, Schatt is queen's more upscale, "collectible" line. Mostly 420 stainless, with exotic-ish scales and bolster treatments. Queen and Queen City would both be in the user category with Queen City perhaps considered "working." But those distinctions tend to kind of fall apart.
 
Thanks very much for the quick reply. Sounds like I can go either way pretty much. Fascinating history. I am starting to feel like my favorite makes are going to be Queen, Case, and GEC.
 
Boggs said:
It would be the steel used primarily..... Queen City 1095 and Queen D2 after that....and since you've referred to "work knife" you most be looking at the newest releases.........and here it would be the level of fit& finish....."work knife" is a simple defining term so that you're not expecting Collector Quality ......
And if you've been looking seriously at the Coke Bottle compared to others don't let the price steer you in the wrong direction, but its all the little things that you can't always see but feel that increase the cost
Click to expand...

To be honest I was looking at a small individually owned site. Not sure if a members site so can't say the name.
 
MarkPinTx said:
And I guess a little more to your point, Schatt is queen's more upscale, "collectible" line. Mostly 420 stainless, with exotic-ish scales and bolster treatments. Queen and Queen City would both be in the user category with Queen City perhaps considered "working." But those distinctions tend to kind of fall apart.
Click to expand...

That is good to know. Just didnt want to end up disappointed with the looks or function if I get a working designated one.
 
MTHall720 said:
I did try to Google my questions first, but still not sure.

Does the Queen City designation mean it's a "work knife"? If so,what is a work knife -- no mirror polished blade, or something else?
Generally, do all Queen, S&M, Northfields all have printing or etching on the blade rather than the plain blade a lot of Case knives have?

Thanks much. I am considering a really big Queen City knife or maybe a Ben Hogan or Mountain Man if I can find one in my price range.
I like the price on the Queen City large Coke Bottle knife because of the blade design and length but just wondered why it is priced less
than most others I have been researching.
Click to expand...



From Knifeswapper's site, http://www.collectorknives.net, a bit of info on the Queen City knives (my emphasis added in bold):


"...Queen City Cutlery was originally (several years ago) a brand made on contract by Queen Cutlery for Cozy Glen and some of the nicest Queen marked knives ever made. They are every bit as good as the Schatt & Morgan product at a lower price point; and with 1095 steel. These days the Queen City brand is being put on a line of work knives as well. Which are exceptional values at their price point. This next section (to marker below) are rough cut blades and mid-level fit / finish recommended mainly for working knives."


So unless I'm misinterpreting this, the current QCCs are made in 1095 with a little less time spent on fit and finish. If the knife is to be a user, this might not be a bad deal. You might try asking Mike (Knifeswapper here on the forums) for some clarification, I'm sure he'd be happy to help you out.
 
There are some very nice-looking Queen City knives still out there, aside from the more recent 'working' knives in that brand. I never bought one, but sort of drooled a bit over some images of them seen online (stag models in particular). I got the impression, with those slightly older versions, that fit/finish was at least comparable to the standard line of Queen's D2 knives, but simply built along more 'traditional' lines using the 1095 steel.

The company we now know as 'Queen Cutlery Company' was originally called 'Queen City Cutlery Company' (until 1945), so I think the Queen City knives now are an homage to that earlier period in their history. Seems fitting, in terms of how those Queen City knives are put together.


David
 
Seems to me, IIRC, there was a Queen City line a few years back that was a budget line with carbon steel & delrin. Now, there is another Queen City line, also with carbon steel, that is not a budget line but more like a 'featured product' or something.
 
Thanks again to everyone taking the time to help me get everything straight. This is a great group if guys here.
 
Yknow you are right puukko. Adding to the confusion queen had a line that I think we're called queen classics that bore a version of the Queen City stamp. More along the lines of the regular queen line in terms of materials and fit and finish.
 
To be honest, I'm not sure what "City" actually signifies anymore, since as noted above, there seems to be quite a range lumped under that designation, from simple "work" knives, to some of the nicer knives I've seen from Queen of late. An example of a Queen City knife that is quite nicely finished, the swell center jack in 1095:

img2156version2.jpg
 
The Queen City label had always been a higher quality knife it wasn't until the previous run of Delrin Handles and than the line of "Work Knives" that might of led folks to think otherwise
 
Cumberland Knife Worms released a Queen City SFO around 2007. Only 2 models were released, the English and Teardrop jacks. Handled in 4 materials, the ebony being very nice. Sadly I heard the recession killed the series early and SMKW took it over but I don't think the quality was the same. I have both patterns and they are nice with good F&F and 1095 blades. I have still seen a couple of these available, Derrick actually has some of the English jack sets.
 
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