New knife from Queen?

Bartleby said:
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.
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If Bear are improving then that's to be applauded but why not emphasise their name and brand itself ? So far everybody seems pleased with these knives which is also good, are they stainless or carbon? Hopefully when the 'test run' ends they'll be able to stamp the blades and do away with that cheap etching. Visually, the knife does nothing for me it looks like a parts bin effort it is not a Queen knife in my book. Queen's Workhorse series using delrin and exposed pivots for ease of maintenance looked a lot better. I think if you are going to set up a 'new' knife company then give it a name let it develop its own identity or features don't pretend to revive something that's gone.

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I say ..well done on all levels..we seem to have a a possible new contender for the 2020 Porch knife.....A challenge? Yes indeed.
An Avenue? Definitely....This thread has given me hope. I LIKE it when a fugitive is frozen in the searchlight.....
 
I'm replying not to refute, because you can think whatever you want about my reviews and I understand your point. I'm replying out of transparency, and so that people know that I'm just a knife enthusiast like anyone else here.... I just am silly enough to take the time to put together videos and articles about he knives I get.

If my points below sound like they come from a place of frustration, I won't lie and say I'm not disheartened by this response to my earlier post, but I don't mean to try to invalidate your opinion or anything like that.

Eli Chaps said:
Asking for pristine examples to review, invalidates your review.
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brownshoe said:
It also invalidates all their other reviews
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Modoc ED said:
Eli Chaps 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.
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1) I don't ask for this on all knives. Namely, I don't usually ask on GEC knives or most modern knives. I will sometimes ask dealers to check for proud tips or blade rap on GEC knives, but that's no guarantee they won't still have those things more than I like.

2) If you think other reviewers aren't doing this, I'm sorry to burst your bubble but they absolutely are, on average at least as often as I do.

3) I would say it doesn't invalidate the review because I basically never mention that I'm buying the knife for review (in fact I think, but I'm not 100% sure, that's the first time I mentioned my site in such a message), and anyone could ask the simple favor of having the knife quickly checked over. I know that a lot of people do. And being that I'm not a YouTube celebrity level reviewer, I don't think my intention to review the knife makes all that much difference to the dealer in many cases.

4) I'm still a collector/user/enthusiast first. I have made $0 off of my reviews/videos/etc. so far and they do take time. I don't want to raise the chances of getting a lemon for the sake of some false randomness, when I would have done the exact same thing if I had been buying the knife with no intention of reviewing it.

5) I'd absolutely love to do reviews where I get multiple of the same knife. But I just can't afford to do that regularly. I can't even keep the majority of knives I get, they move along so I can try other things. I have done reviews where I had multiple of a knife (both that I'm thinking of now are modern knives, that I bought as gifts). I have also done several reviews based on having had more than one of a pattern go through my hands.

I do this mostly because I thought other enthusiasts would enjoy it and it could help newer people and those looking for info they don't have.
 
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After playing with the knife for many hours, the action has smoothed out quite a bit. Still super snappy and not as gritty. I'd say over-all it falls a notch below your average Case Mini Trapper in terms of Fit n Finish, it's just not quite as clean in it's lines and polish. The only two real knocks I can give it are the minor gaps in the back springs and the nail nicks are a tad hidden, they could be easier to access. I stand by my original impressions that this is a solid option at $40.00. Can't wait to see what they bring out next, if they can fix those little details, and if they can keep the price down.

 
L.H.S said:
I'm replying not to refute, because you can think whatever you want about my reviews and I understand your point. I'm replying out of transparency, and so that people know that I'm just a knife enthusiast like anyone else here.... I just am silly enough to take the time to put together videos and articles about he knives I get.

If my points below sound like they come from a place of frustration, I won't lie and say I'm not disheartened by this response to my earlier post, but I don't mean to try to invalidate your opinion or anything like that.







1) I don't ask for this on all knives. Namely, I don't usually ask on GEC knives or most modern knives. I will sometimes ask dealers to check for proud tips or blade rap on GEC knives, but that's no guarantee they won't still have those things more than I like.

2) If you think other reviewers aren't doing this, I'm sorry to burst your bubble but they absolutely are, on average at least as often as I do.

3) I would say it doesn't invalidate the review because I basically never mention that I'm buying the knife for review (in fact I think, but I'm not 100% sure, that's the first time I mentioned my site in such a message), and anyone could ask the simple favor of having the knife quickly checked over. I know that a lot of people do. And being that I'm not a YouTube celebrity level reviewer, I don't think my intention to review the knife makes all that much difference to the dealer in many cases.

4) I'm still a collector/user/enthusiast first. I have made $0 off of my reviews/videos/etc. so far and they do take time. I don't want to raise the chances of getting a lemon for the sake of some false randomness, when I would have done the exact same thing if I had been buying the knife with no intention of reviewing it.

5) I'd absolutely love to do reviews where I get multiple of the same knife. But I just can't afford to do that regularly. I can't even keep the majority of knives I get, they move along so I can try other things. I have done reviews where I had multiple of a knife (both that I'm thinking of now are modern knives, that I bought as gifts). I have also done several reviews based on having had more than one of a pattern go through my hands.

I do this mostly because I thought other enthusiasts would enjoy it and it could help newer people and those looking for info they don't have.
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Personally, I don’t think reviewing the best from the quality department “invalidates” a review... that’s a strong word and highly argumentative.
There are plenty of characteristics about a knife to review outside of “what type of quality does my random sample come from the factory in”... that is just one aspect. There are things like blade shape...steel...ergonomics...design...etc. that are all still “valid” to review, so as I said it depends on the type of review you’re doing... so I can see both sides of this but the word “invalidate” without context is provocative IMHO.
 
JohnDF said:
After playing with the knife for many hours, the action has smoothed out quite a bit. Still super snappy and not as gritty. I'd say over-all it falls a notch below your average Case Mini Trapper in terms of Fit n Finish, it's just not quite as clean in it's lines and polish. The only two real knocks I can give it are the minor gaps in the back springs and the nail nicks are a tad hidden, they could be easier to access. I stand by my original impressions that this is a solid option at $40.00. Can't wait to see what they bring out next, if they can fix those little details, and if they can keep the price down.

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I agree, all around. I flushed mine out with some 3 in 1, and got a lot of black out of it. There was even quite a bit all along the blade well. I cleaned it out as best I could, and worked the oil through the joints for maybe 5 minutes per blade. This smoothed it out a LOT... still not perfectly smooth, but it is still pretty nice.
Next will be edge work..
 
r8shell said:
I don't disagree.
I'd say it's best if it's stated at the beginning of a review, just as another piece of information the viewer can take into account.
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Yes, good point. It SHOULD be known up front so the expectation is known that this was the best the company had to offer (or so we would hope). Personally I like the random sampling better... as quality expectation is important in a review for me.
 
L.H.S said:
I'd absolutely love to do reviews where I get multiple of the same knife. But I just can't afford to do that regularly. I can't even keep the majority of knives I get, they move along so I can try other things. I have done reviews where I had multiple of a knife (both that I'm thinking of now are modern knives, that I bought as gifts). I have also done several reviews based on having had more than one of a pattern go through my hands.

I do this mostly because I thought other enthusiasts would enjoy it and it could help newer people and those looking for info they don't have.
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And it is very good of you to do so! I have always thought the lack of comparative product review is a missed opportunity. Too often opinions, both good and bad, are based on one example. As more members purchase examples of a particular product, it would be nice to see comparative input. This would help to level out input based on really good or really bad examples without having an individual bear the cost of purchasing several comparative examples. A tag line of Virtual Comparison Review (VCR) would give folks the heads up as they scroll through threads would help.
 
Nifty to see a company testing the waters and putting out something I wouldn't hesitate to drop into my pocket and head outdoors with.
 
From what I can see in the pictures, it appears that the edges are ground thin, which is a requirement before I will consider buying. Hopefully Bear will continue to improve; if so, this line of knives will be a contender at the price point.

With 440 blades (my bet is 440A), if they do a decent heat treat these knives should do well.
 
L.H.S said:
I'm replying not to refute, because you can think whatever you want about my reviews and I understand your point. I'm replying out of transparency, and so that people know that I'm just a knife enthusiast like anyone else here.... I just am silly enough to take the time to put together videos and articles about he knives I get.

If my points below sound like they come from a place of frustration, I won't lie and say I'm not disheartened by this response to my earlier post, but I don't mean to try to invalidate your opinion or anything like that.







1) I don't ask for this on all knives. Namely, I don't usually ask on GEC knives or most modern knives. I will sometimes ask dealers to check for proud tips or blade rap on GEC knives, but that's no guarantee they won't still have those things more than I like.

2) If you think other reviewers aren't doing this, I'm sorry to burst your bubble but they absolutely are, on average at least as often as I do.

3) I would say it doesn't invalidate the review because I basically never mention that I'm buying the knife for review (in fact I think, but I'm not 100% sure, that's the first time I mentioned my site in such a message), and anyone could ask the simple favor of having the knife quickly checked over. I know that a lot of people do. And being that I'm not a YouTube celebrity level reviewer, I don't think my intention to review the knife makes all that much difference to the dealer in many cases.

4) I'm still a collector/user/enthusiast first. I have made $0 off of my reviews/videos/etc. so far and they do take time. I don't want to raise the chances of getting a lemon for the sake of some false randomness, when I would have done the exact same thing if I had been buying the knife with no intention of reviewing it.

5) I'd absolutely love to do reviews where I get multiple of the same knife. But I just can't afford to do that regularly. I can't even keep the majority of knives I get, they move along so I can try other things. I have done reviews where I had multiple of a knife (both that I'm thinking of now are modern knives, that I bought as gifts). I have also done several reviews based on having had more than one of a pattern go through my hands.

I do this mostly because I thought other enthusiasts would enjoy it and it could help newer people and those looking for info they don't have.
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Since this is something you like doing, don't get frustrated, just keep on keeping on. I enjoy your reviews.

As long as you don't mention you'll be doing a review in social media, I don't feel asking them to do extra QC invalidates your review - we can all do this when ordering a knife.

In this case however you did mention it, so maybe they give extra attention to the knife they send you (and maybe not).

At any rate, keep doing what you love and doing it with integrity.
 
L.H.S said:
I'm replying not to refute, because you can think whatever you want about my reviews and I understand your point. I'm replying out of transparency, and so that people know that I'm just a knife enthusiast like anyone else here.... I just am silly enough to take the time to put together videos and articles about he knives I get.

If my points below sound like they come from a place of frustration, I won't lie and say I'm not disheartened by this response to my earlier post, but I don't mean to try to invalidate your opinion or anything like that.







1) I don't ask for this on all knives. Namely, I don't usually ask on GEC knives or most modern knives. I will sometimes ask dealers to check for proud tips or blade rap on GEC knives, but that's no guarantee they won't still have those things more than I like.

2) If you think other reviewers aren't doing this, I'm sorry to burst your bubble but they absolutely are, on average at least as often as I do.

3) I would say it doesn't invalidate the review because I basically never mention that I'm buying the knife for review (in fact I think, but I'm not 100% sure, that's the first time I mentioned my site in such a message), and anyone could ask the simple favor of having the knife quickly checked over. I know that a lot of people do. And being that I'm not a YouTube celebrity level reviewer, I don't think my intention to review the knife makes all that much difference to the dealer in many cases.

4) I'm still a collector/user/enthusiast first. I have made $0 off of my reviews/videos/etc. so far and they do take time. I don't want to raise the chances of getting a lemon for the sake of some false randomness, when I would have done the exact same thing if I had been buying the knife with no intention of reviewing it.

5) I'd absolutely love to do reviews where I get multiple of the same knife. But I just can't afford to do that regularly. I can't even keep the majority of knives I get, they move along so I can try other things. I have done reviews where I had multiple of a knife (both that I'm thinking of now are modern knives, that I bought as gifts). I have also done several reviews based on having had more than one of a pattern go through my hands.

I do this mostly because I thought other enthusiasts would enjoy it and it could help newer people and those looking for info they don't have.
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Glad it works for you. But checking every knife is a pita for the retailer. QC should be at the factory, or the buyer is too.....

I don't ask for a dealer to check a knife before shipment. I assume karma will work in my favor. When offered (by New Graham), I take it. They told me the pattern has issues, Benchmade Park Avenue, and if I waited, they'd see if the flaws were OK with me. So I did, and I took the one that two tiny flaws in the coating :)
 
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