Queen City with early thumb stud

[Another Knife Collector]

Has anyone seen a thumb stud like this on a Queen City or any other knife before? A recent pickup of mine that seems to be in pretty good shape only having honest wear and pitting, doesn't seem to have ever been apart or altered as far as I can tell

[treefarmer]

That’s an interesting knife. I’ve not seen one before but there are a lot of things I haven’t seen. I noticed there is no nail nick on the blade. Maybe bdev will see this and comment.
Treefarmer

[Gone2Three]

Can't add anything useful other than that I really like it! ...
Nice looking knife Phil

Randy

[Mumbleypeg]

Interesting and unusual knife, haven’t see one like it before. I have a couple of knives that have “pellet” pulls on the blades but yours is decidedly different.

Ken

[313 Mike]

Very cool, I have never seen one of those either. Does the blade have a lighter pull to make it easier to open with the thumb contraption? Does it still have enough snap to keep the blade solidly open?

[zed6309]

no clue as never seen one , but it’s a cool knife for sure

[btrwtr]

I've seen a number of these few and far between but never owned one. Looks like a fine example!

[bdev]

I've never seen that before. The lack of a nail nick tells be it might be factory made. The Queen Cutlery gurus might have the answer. I'd reach out to Queen Cutlery History.

https://queencutleryhistory.com/

[wlf]

I like it.

[FRJ]

Quite unusual and desirable knife. I've never seen one before.
It is a beauty!

[btrwtr]

Looks completely original and exactly like I would expect. I don't doubt it a bit.

[Kramersknife]

Ive had & sold many many Queens and never seen this one must be a rare one for sure

[Another Knife Collector]

Thank you to everyone for all the kind words and thoughts about the knife!

I tried emailing queencutleryhistory.com to see what they might know

Very cool, I have never seen one of those either. Does the blade have a lighter pull to make it easier to open with the thumb contraption? Does it still have enough snap to keep the blade solidly open?

I'd say its a little lighter on the open than a typical knife of this style, especially for the first 40 degrees of angle as it opens, but it still has a nice snappy open and close, just right I'd say, though it is still much easier and more practical to open using two hands. It would be easier to open while wearing gloves or with cold fingers though.

[bfgodlesky]

That would be something someone could ask either Bob Siple or Fred Sampson.

[Rookie]

I asked my grandfather (Bob Siple) and had him look at the photos. He said that it really does look factory made, but that he has never saw anything like that before on a Queen made knife. The stamp and handle and shield all look spot-on for that age of a Queen knife. It certainly was made before his time working at Queen. It's hard to know for sure if it was a 1 piece made design from a Queen employee.

He says there are many very knowledgeable Queen collectors out there, so if none of them have ever saw one before, it's speaks to it's rarity.

[bighomer]

Sure is a fine looking knife. Prototype maybe or lunchbox??? Sure would look good in my little bunch of Queens.

[cody6268]

Awesome old knife!

I hear so many tactical companies who claim they had the first pocket clip, first knife with one-hand opening, first framelock, first liner lock, etc; yet so many other companies did it decades prior. It never ceases to amaze me how many century-old knives had rudimentary applications of these same principles.