How's Queen's QC these days?

Jack, I believe Rick is spot on with his assessment here. From what I've seen, the 99 was not on the page of the S&M catalog that the Heritage series was based on. I believe they only made single blade clips and spears in Ebony and Rosewood, and then two blade spear/Pen in Ebony, Rosewood and jogged bone.
The 99's came along a lot more recent and they were also used as the basis for the Northwoods Indian River Jacks.

agreed, its going in the edc box! no looking back
 
Thanks for the clarification, Bob.

It occurred to me that the blade on Jack's knife isn't the only thing that appears to be from the Heritage series. Note the shield on this 2012 Heritage Cattleman. Pattern number 3092. It appears to be the same shield as the one on Jack's 99. Looks like it could be the same frame too but with two springs instead of one.



Here's the catalog page that my 3092 was patterned after hence the use of this shield. Interesting stuff.

 
I honestly couldn't say which of those three illustrations is more appealing.
Neal
 
Every time I see one of the Daniels, whether Ryan, Ken or Courtney, I always ask them about the Heritage series coming back. I think Ryan might be tired of hearing about it but I am persistent ;)...
 
I don't think you're the only one asking those questions, shs. I think it was a great idea and I'd love to see them start it back up. :p
 
I don't think you're the only one asking those questions, shs. I think it was a great idea and I'd love to see them start it back up. :p

but with more consistency, id totally loved to buy the clip blade version again if it gave more blade. im still disappointed by the blade to handle ratio on that thing! :mad:
 
I'm a total weirdo in that blade to handle ratio isn't a concern at all in my eyes. I like a full grip handle, 3 3/4" is my minimum for carry and I prefer 4" or longer. Yet, I find that a 2" blade is plenty for most of my tasks. For example the spey blade on my 49 cattle king is about 2" and it handles everything I ask of it just fine. I don't seek out shorter blades, but I'm not bothered by them. So, if somebody came out with a full sized trapper frame with mini-trapper blades I'd be one of the only ones that was OK with that. :eek:
 
Decided to do a short review of the latest arrival from Queen.

Apologies for the basic photos but it get's light at 10am here and dark by 3.15 and getting darker so I have no opp to get any 'twilight pix'..

IMG_4258.jpg


This is a Keystone sawn bone based on the 69 Barlow frame, so it's a Swell End single-blade.

THE GOOD

I like the 3 3/8" size, really ideal and Swell End mean a comfortable in hand effect. The Sawn Bone which is basically natural colour bone with black dye is good to look at. Well fitted around the liners and bolster. Nice small bolster too. Pinned shield, well inlet. All 4 pins nicely done. All stainless construction, no brass yes! Arrived sharp and good cutter out of the box.Hard to find any gaps, this is good, spring flush on open and close, brisk snap, no half stop.

THE BAD / UGLY

Decided to wash the knife as I always do, it shed a huge amount of dye colour staining up the sink, looked like potash based colour as a brown purple stain was evident., took a while to stop it from shedding. Did not expect this, although the colour of the bone was not greatly reduced when dry, but a mess and would stain hands, pockets and food if not washed off first. The blade has a swedge that is actually sharp and feels unpleasant when closing the knife, should not be. Long pull is somehow crude, doesn't sit with the blade well. Lot of blade-play and the blade is very near but not touching the liner, looking down the bolster/spring there's a distinct gap between the blade and bolster-hence the play but it looks as if it were done to stop the blade from being jammed in the liner, for if the gap were closed the knife likely wouldn't open. A QC and build fault I feel.

THE VERDICT

All in all disappointing, the faults should be avoidable, the blade itself looks and feels rather cheap, the etching, this sharp unfinished spine on the swedge, and this pattern would look a whole lo better with a Spear blade. Queen knives under the 'new' (4 years?) ownership just don't look or feel up to GEC or CASE standards for the main. It's ironic that the 69 Workhorse Barlow, (which is this knife's frame) in humble delrin, brass & carbon with a good long Sheepfoot is a vastly better thought out AND finished knife than this limited edn (50) knife. It also cost less than half of this one too. It just seems to me that here's another example of Queen missing an opportunity, there may not be so many more in the future...

IMG_4260.jpg
 
It's hard to figure what's going on there. They destroyed what could have been a beautiful knife by recycling and over buffing the blades into submission (See post #66). It's going to take a little convincing to get any more of my money.
 
Maybe I've just been lucky, but I now have three S&M knives and they are all near perfect. These three include a F&W gunstock, a 69, and a whittler that I just received today.
 
I refuse to buy any new knives that Queen is putting out these days.....and I'm a Queen and S&M collector. I tend to look for knives made in the late 1990's and early 2000's and there's plenty out there. It's a shame because I'm probably missing out on some good ones but it's not worth taking the chance. I also can't believe that Queen is putting that cheap looking etch on their S&M line. It's terrible.

Also...Queen has brought on a new master cutler, Jeff Schley, from the Ontario Knife Co.
You can read about it here....
http://www.queencutlery.com/
 
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Also...Queen has brought on a new master cutler, Jeff Schley, from the Ontario Knife Co.
You can read about it here....
http://www.queencutlery.com/

That sounds promising. IMO, Queen has yet to recover from the talent drain of many of their best employees leaving to go to GEC. Maybe someone who is a master of his craft might help them relearn how to build a superb pocket knife.
 
That's a shame Will Power. I bought a #26 & a 49 earlier this year & they were both really nicely done. Their qc must be hit & miss.
 
When was the knife made?

It must be very recent, it has the QDFC tang-stamp. (Daniels Family Company) I've seen a Large Stockman in this Black Sawn Bone also with stainless and a Teardrop Jack in it with carbon blades. Not seen this type of bone before either. Interestingly, it's called a Barlow when clearly its small bolster rules that out, it does have the frame of a 69 Barlow though. Careless naming, obviously.

I would send it back, but postal costs and time between Europe and the States put me off. I will contact the dealer as he's always been very helpful, probably just voice my disappointment. The knife really has a horrible cheap blade that looks almost like it was cut out rather than stamped, I'm likely using the wrong terms there, but it is tinny and chrome like and I usually prefer a stainless blade. The blade will ALMOST flex, not the kind of thing you'd want on a workman's knife! That and the near liner rub and that twisted gap at the pivot mean it's poor in my book.

I've NOT posted this as some attempt to knock Queen or be pedantic over perceived quality issues, but I am troubled by what could be a very nice carry is going to have to be another dust accumulator. Queen should not be a) letting a knife out for sale like this b) be using up blades of inferior design and quality. It makes no sense and diminishes credibility.

As I've written before, I have several of their D2 knives in the 2 Bonestags, Zebra and BEM and I would simply never want to part with them, such is their excellence in the hand, in use and in appearance/quality. But, these are all from pre 2012, their quality appears in stark contrast to contemporary offerings. Most of the latter are frankly rather odd looking and lacking in aesthetics as well.
 
spot-on Will Power. I have the exact same knife. except mine is fine at the pivot. the blade sharpens to a razor, but has so much flex, I would worry it would snap off on anything other than light duty use. not high end like s&m is supposed to be. but I do like the knife. kinda reminds me of an old cheap colonial or such. so cheapish and tinny like you said. if I would have paid asking price at a queen dealer that stocks it, I would have been upset. paying half that, I can live with it. thanx to the big auction site. best place to get queen products. they don't command their price. which by the way keep creeping up. IMHO, they might be hurting. new cheap fold up white boxes, cheaper steel, printed on tang stamps(some knives), departure of their prez, a comment on another forum that money was tight, lots of "parts knives", and pinned on shields that do have a pin, but are glued in, not soldered/welded. sad, because we need them around. with GEC running out of knives do to all the SFO's, I've been buying mostly queen. one queen city I bought is very nice. matter of fact, for the price at the big auction, I have 3. all the same knife. does have some flaws and varies among the 3, but I love it. burnt bone two blade railsplitter have yet to see them at a dealer. less than 60$ at that big site. bought others, but that's another story. just don't get the S&M 69 forest jack. unless you can handle it first. how mine got through w/o the "edc" stamp, i'll never know. should have made it no farther than queens dumpster. hope the new cutler can get them on track. hate to see the lights turned out at the factory.
 
It's a shame really. If Queen had to close their doors it would be from greed plain and simple. They have proven that their employees can in fact build a quality pocket knife in good steel and sell it for a good price. There are plenty of examples of newer knives built with quality and care. It seems to me that they just simply refuse to invest the time and money into a thorough quality control department.
I really hope the new employee can steer Queen on the right track. I would love to be able to blindly order a Queen/ S&M knife like I can with GEC. And unfortunately with the decline of brick and mortar stores blind purchasing seems to be about the only option for most today.
 
...I tend to look for knives made in the late 1990's and early 2000's and there's plenty out there...

I used to do the same. (late 80s to early 00s)

It's a shame really. If Queen had to close their doors it would be from greed plain and simple. They have proven that their employees can in fact build a quality pocket knife in good steel and sell it for a good price.

I hope that doesn't happen. But I'm not sure it is greed or plain and simple. They seem to be trying to appeal to collector trends and the fickle high end. But that could be out of necessity rather than greed. If you aren't selling many knives, you have to make up for it somehow to keep your employees paid and the lights on.

I hope that the new master cutler will focus on the basics.
 
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