New knife from Queen?

[Onearmbladenut]

I am happy with GEC & CASEXX knives.

 

[meako]

They cashed the gate
Doin 98
And said
Let them lawyers roll
10 4...

I could really go to Negativeville on this subject...but Im gunna ease back the throttle and do some wood carving.

 

[B.F.U]

I ordered one.



Also, it was marked as shipped today. I don't have an expected delivery date yet.


I don't really have an issue with the brand being bought by someone else. Queen knives would cease to made forever if that didn't happen. That said, I think there's a difference between a manufacturer (possibly like Bluegrass Cutlery, though I have no experience AFAIK with their knives) and a retailer/producer buying the brand. We know that a "producer" buying a brand hasn't always gone well for the brand's quality.

Has anyone read the SPECS?
What does this mean??
(quote the specs)
⚠Warning: This product can expose you to Lead, which is known by the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov (Wash hands after handling) (unquote)
All I see from reading this whole thread are Red Flags!!
I think I'll pass!!
Many people have told me, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!!" I believe those people!!

So many things have one of the chemicals CA considers to be carcinogenic, it's gonna be on pretty much any knife that they want to sell in CA. In fact, I'm somewhat surprised that GEC doesn't use some kind of warning being that I'd imagine their dye process uses something that would trigger the warning. Maybe it has something to do with the channels through which the knives are sold. I sure am glad there's not a Prop-whatever warning on the tubes though.

Yup. When you say everything causes cancer, then the warnings are pointless, but if you want to sell in California then you have to do it. I've seen those warnings are both Case and Buck. I seriously doubt that my Buck is going to give me cancer

The real concern is that so many of the chemicals so widely used in the post industrial world ARE actually carcinogenic, to varying degrees. The amount and types of chemicals we ingest and come in contact with on a daily basis is wildly different than what someone 150 years ago (or even 100 years ago) would have.

I think GEC resurrecting an old brand name like 'Northfield' is quite different than some of the examples above. Northfield knives had been out of business for something like 80 years when GEC brought the name back. I suspect GEC/Bill Howard used that name more as a nod to the history of American made knives rather than to leverage a well known brand to increase sales.

I agree. I don't think the average knife buyer, or even collector maybe, knew about Northfield and Tidioute. Heck, I grew up near Tidioute and often was in or around Tidioute for outdoor activities and didn't know it was a hub of American knifemaking till I got into GEC. So GEC is reintroducing people to the brand, not reintroducing the brand to people.

While we’re on the subject, I’d like someone to explain to me how Frost gets away with putting a tang stamp on their “reborn” brand knives with an obviously phony country of origin. I assume they would claim it’s just part of being a “reproduction” knife, but it seems as if it ought to be against some law. (No, I didn’t buy the knife. It was given to me, so I didn’t get taken too badly. It’s actually usable, if you don’t mind the sheepfoot blade being krinked halfway out the blade.)

Likely, in my opinion, one or a combination of two things
1) That brand is owned in USA so it can be stamped as such
2) It's actually a trademark / logo

What about the Schatt and Morgans on the same Tenness-e-tailer's site? More expensive than the Queen Pilot. Could Bluegrass still own S&M?

I think they're just old stock from Titusville Queen.

The reports I've seen, though not first hand, indicate Bluegrass does still own the Schatt & Morgan brand.

 

[Modoc ED]

Received shipping notice yesterday - 1 May. Should have it Monday/Tuesday.

 

[Eli Chaps]

I ordered one. Just because I don't want to deal with getting a lemon, I forwarded my confirmation email to the retailer's customer service asking, and I quote, "Hi, I am planning to write an article for KnifeThoughts.com on this reintroduction of the Queen brand. I'd appreciate it if you checked this knife for any major issues. Thanks, 'My Name'"

Now, first off, reading that back to myself I hope it doesn't come off as pretentious to them or you as it does to me. I didn't mean it that way at all. The first sentence was meant to convey my interest in their reintroduction of the brand, not to give my order some kind of importance. The second sentence was just a simple favor that I ask of many knife dealers, and that is almost always obliged, but I could have worded it more politely I guess. Anyway, here's their response:

Honestly, this is probably a good thing for my YouTube and article reviews, and the thoughts I'll post here, because I will get an unfiltered look at the knife.

Also, it was marked as shipped today. I don't have an expected delivery date yet.


I don't really have an issue with the brand being bought by someone else. Queen knives would cease to made forever if that didn't happen. That said, I think there's a difference between a manufacturer (possibly like Bluegrass Cutlery, though I have no experience AFAIK with their knives) and a retailer/producer buying the brand. We know that a "producer" buying a brand hasn't always gone well for the brand's quality.





So many things have one of the chemicals CA considers to be carcinogenic, it's gonna be on pretty much any knife that they want to sell in CA. In fact, I'm somewhat surprised that GEC doesn't use some kind of warning being that I'd imagine their dye process uses something that would trigger the warning. Maybe it has something to do with the channels through which the knives are sold. I sure am glad there's not a Prop-whatever warning on the tubes though.



The real concern is that so many of the chemicals so widely used in the post industrial world ARE actually carcinogenic, to varying degrees. The amount and types of chemicals we ingest and come in contact with on a daily basis is wildly different than what someone 150 years ago (or even 100 years ago) would have.



I agree. I don't think the average knife buyer, or even collector maybe, knew about Northfield and Tidioute. Heck, I grew up near Tidioute and often was in or around Tidioute for outdoor activities and didn't know it was a hub of American knifemaking till I got into GEC. So GEC is reintroducing people to the brand, not reintroducing the brand to people.



Likely, in my opinion, one or a combination of two things
1) That brand is owned in USA so it can be stamped as such
2) It's actually a trademark / logo



I think they're just old stock from Titusville Queen.

The reports I've seen, though not first hand, indicate Bluegrass does still own the Schatt & Morgan brand.

Asking for pristine examples to review, invalidates your review.

 

[brownshoe]

Asking for pristine examples to review, invalidates your review.

It also invalidates all their other reviews

 

[gaj999]

... I think the manufacturers are just putting the warning on everything to keep it simple...

Wouldn't you? I sure would.

 

[Modoc ED]

Asking for pristine examples to review, invalidates your review.

It also invalidates all their other reviews

Eli Chaps and B brownshoe - Ya know, I hadn't thought of it that way but you're both right. If you're going to do an in depth review such as B B.F.U . does, your should do it with a knife from the 'grab bag" so to speak or have multiple samples of the same knife to compare the reviewed knife to.

 

[hornetguy]

Mine surprised me and arrived today. I didn't really expect it until Monday...
Overall, I'm pleased. Fit and finish are good. Probably equal to the yellow delrin Case trappers... if not quite equal, it is close. There is a little roughness in opening and closing, but I'm going to do a flush and see if that smooths up a bit. The blades have half stops. The edges are fairly sharp, and it could be put to use right out of the box. Of course, I'm going to "improve" them right away...
There a couple of very fine gaps seen when looking at the spine, but nothing glaring... blade centering is ok, but not perfect..... if all of their knives are of this quality, and they keep the prices down, I can see this becoming a viable choice for a good user knife. I think it's every bit as good as the nicer Rough Rider knives I've seen.

 

[Hivoltage]

Got mine too super fast. Agree with everything hornetguy said. Worth the sub $50. Spey blade nail nick not really easy to access and very gritty at first but with some oil will be fine. Beater user whatever I’ve def seen worse so we’ll see what comes next. Better than expected.

 

[dsutton24]

the only way I could see that would be if one was foolish enough to take a knife to a gun fight...

No, not really. My brand new S&W M&P came with a Prop 65 sticker on it.

 

[dsutton24]

I think GEC resurrecting an old brand name like 'Northfield' is quite different than some of the examples above. Northfield knives had been out of business for something like 80 years when GEC brought the name back. I suspect GEC/Bill Howard used that name more as a nod to the history of American made knives rather than to leverage a well known brand to increase sales.

A bit of trivia: Parker distributed some Northfield knives a year or two before GEC started producing Northfields. They were actually well made knives, at least the ones I have are. I don't know who built them.

 

[Fire Beard]

I’m truly glad to see that the first hands-on opinions of these were not negative. Whether you like SMKW or not, I’d guess we’re all for a US company producing a decent knife at a decent price. I hope they do another, maybe more interesting pattern next (although I do love Trappers).

 

[JohnDF]

My QN1 arrived today too.
I will just echo what Hornet already said, it's well worth the money. It definitely reminds me most of a Case knife. The action is a little gritty but the 'snap' is strong and positive. Overall the Fit n Finish is pretty good except some very slight gaps in the back spring. Transitions are smooth, pins are finished well, grinds look pretty even, and the blades sit relatively centered. Yup, reminds me of a Case knife but probably just slightly more crudely finished (not Case polished). I really like the pointier spey blade on this knife more than the one on the Case. At this price point I'd say it will be a good user. Maybe Bear really stepped it up for the Pilot run but future releases will tell the full story. I'd call this one a win.

Which brings me to the dealer. They should be up-front with the purchasing of the name and the manufacturer of the product. It's a solid knife for the price point and they should be proud of it rather than surrounding it in mystery. Okay, it's not the Queen of old, but it's better than some of those old brands that were resurrected overseas. No need for the shenanigans.

Enough talk, here's some pictures...

 

[JustinR]

Is it the photos or is the blade stock a little thicker than most? Looks like a chunk of steel.

I do like the as ground finished blades.

 

[JohnDF]

An obvious comparison...
Case has the edge due to higher finish and smoother action.

Blade stock looks pretty much the same.


Case only looks longer because the Wharn blade has it sitting higher

 

[Bartleby]

At this price point I'd say it will be a good user. Maybe Bear really stepped it up for the Pilot run but future releases will tell the full story. I'd call this one a win.

Which brings me to the dealer. They should be up-front with the purchasing of the name and the manufacturer of the product. It's a solid knife for the price point and they should be proud of it rather than surrounding it in mystery. Okay, it's not the Queen of old, but it's better than some of those old brands that were resurrected overseas. No need for the shenanigans.

Could the shenanigans be a sign of a little reboot? Bear seems to be working on their QC. I purchased several of their new white bone #79 single blade jacks earlier this year that are quite well made. Perhaps the use of the Queen name will let them get their foot back in the door with those of us who have had less than the best of luck with Bear & Son in the past. I am always glad to see an American source of good user knives at affordable prices. Hopefully they will continue to maintain this higher standard and extend it throughout their product line going forward.

 

[hornetguy]

Is it the photos or is the blade stock a little thicker than most? Looks like a chunk of steel.

I do like the as ground finished blades.

I just put caliper to both my Case mini, and the new Queen, and the Case blades measured .095 at the top of the tang, and the Queen measured .087 and .090

The Queen is a little "fatter", in the middle of the knife, due to a "swell" in the handles, but rough measurement at the bolsters shows the Queen to be slightly slimmer. 0.44, vs 0.487

 

[Fixall]

I’m really happy to see how these knives are turning out. Seems like a really solid price for the level of finish I’m seeing. I’d love to have another American manufacturer making knives worthy of a gander. Here’s hoping that SMKW and Bear & Son can keep the good times rolling.

Thanks for the pics everyone!

 

[Cutfinger]

Got mine too super fast. Agree with everything hornetguy said. Worth the sub $50. Spey blade nail nick not really easy to access and very gritty at first but with some oil will be fine. Beater user whatever I’ve def seen worse so we’ll see what comes next. Better than expected.

View attachment 1332936

The primary bevels look really good.
And the rest of the knife looks just dandy. I even prefer the shape of the clip blade on the Queen, and the nail nick placement too.