What is your opinion of Tuna Valley?

Matt_WY · Sep 16, 2021

JohnDF said:
Looks like they are copying Russell Barlows... wonder if they are doing it with a license?

Thanks John, I had the R in my head but could only come up with Remington which I knew was incorrect.

Rookie82 · Sep 16, 2021

Old Engineer said:
I think Rookie82 has some GREAT LOOKING Tunas . I do not know the vintage of his though .
I received this as a gift from my Son in 2015 . I could find Nothing Wrong with it when I received it nor since . But in 2017 I tried to Hand Pick a Queen made knife but not a Tuna , and all I saw was some Junk that I would not buy .

My recommendation would be to Check them out in person if you can because they make some nice looking Patterns and I certainly would listen to what Rookie82 has to say about them . I hope he shows a bunch of his too .

Harry

Thanks for tagging me Harry so I didn't miss this thread. From what I've been told, I have the largest Tuna Valley collection out there. The originals from 1906 were German made, imported and sold by Case. The name was revived in 2007 by Perry Miller, and he had TV knives made in 2009-2010 at GEC. When Perry died, Ryan and Courtney Daniels acquired the rights to use the name, and in 2012 had a few patterns made at GEC. However when Ken Daniels bought Queen in 2012, all TV knives from that point on were Queen made, from 2012-2017. New TV knives 2020-present are being made by master cutler Jeff Schley in Titusville, PA in his custom shop.

Here is a photo of the prototype of the upcoming barlow. This was before the bolsters were stamped.

Rookie82 · Sep 16, 2021

SteveC said:
Seems like a silly name for a knife company

The name comes from Bradford, PA. When Platts and Case were merging together, they formed this name to import knives from Germany to help boost their inventory until their new knife factory was built and running. The valley that Bradford lies in, and the main river running through it is called the Tunungwant River, which is an old Native American word which translates to "crooked river". Locals shortened the name to Tuna, and still to this day call it the Tuna River in the Tuna Valley.

CujiWuji · Sep 16, 2021

Rookie82 said:
The name comes from Bradford, PA. When Platts and Case were merging together, they formed this name to import knives from Germany to help boost their inventory until their new knife factory was built and running. The valley that Bradford lies in, and the main river running through it is called the Tunungwant River, which is an old Native American word which translates to "crooked river". Locals shortened the name to Tuna, and still to this day call it the Tuna River in the Tuna Valley.

Wow incredible info! Thanks for sharing! Would definitely love to see some pics of your collection

Rookie82 · Sep 16, 2021

CujiWuji said:
Wow incredible info! Thanks for sharing! Would definitely love to see some pics of your collection

I have a whole thread showing a good chunk of my knives here.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/tuna-valley-photography.1376533/

But I'll post a few group shots to add to this thread. And I'm happy to answer any questions about Tuna Valley if you have any.

First 3 images were GEC made, the next 4 were Queen made, and the last one is one of the new ones custom made.

Frivolity · Sep 16, 2021

I think the newer models aren’t bad - probably helps if you have a dealer picking out highlights of the group. I don’t think they ever finished the Phoenix Jack models but maybe missed it

CujiWuji · Sep 17, 2021

Rookie82 said:
I have a whole thread showing a good chunk of my knives here.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/tuna-valley-photography.1376533/

But I'll post a few group shots to add to this thread. And I'm happy to answer any questions about Tuna Valley if you have any.

First 3 images were GEC made, the next 4 were Queen made, and the last one is one of the new ones custom made.
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Wow now that is a collection, and quite the rabbit hole on the other thread! There are so many that are incredible, and yet for some reason the cattleman in buffalo sticks out to me as my favorite pattern ive seen. Love those EOs too

E40 · Sep 17, 2021

Here is the one I have, a Phoenix Jack from about a year ago. I think the knife is well done.

Ourorboros · Sep 18, 2021

I have a Tadpole, nicely made. Unfortunately the pattern itself is a bit small for my liking.