New USA Queen?

[Meigscl]

The sale is always the weekend before thanksgiving. Friday-Sunday

[wlf]

I've heard from others that they are well made with good fit and finish and just minor complaints like one person said the master blade was dull right out of the box. I'm interested in how yours measures up, which one did you order?

QUEEN CUTLERY AMERICAN-MADE JUMBO LINERLOCK TRAPPER FOLDING KNIFE (GENUINE STAG) ... I really like it. It is BIG! The stag is thick! the whole knife is really thick. I think I was hoping for some really cool stag scales... and I was disappointed the scales weren't like that, but they are real stag (sambar? I'm not sure maybe) and they are nice scales. So, I think I was having a little too high of hopes. It feels like a very solid knife, good snap. Good fit and finish. Is it a "real" Queen...? I'll say Oscar is right and it is NOT But, I like it, ...it IS marked USA on the blade... I am tired of the hassles with trying to get a GEC these days... and the jacked-up over-pricing on GEC reselling.

Dog,
Good quality is more important to me than the name. I guess I’m a bit aggravated by another company capitalizing on the name of a great knife. I agree totally about GEC. I have 2 that I bought before the prices became outrageous.
It may be considered heresy to say this here but…. Rough Rider Reserve knives are made way better than the overpriced GEC’s and others. The fit, finish, overall quality is excellent. Everyone I have has gator snap as well. A terrific value as well.

I have to disagree, GECs are top of the line manufactured knives. I can't buy them either and I have knives made there when I get the opportunity.
The price and resell bear out the quality of the product . Yeah, there's a lot of knife envy involved in collecting them, through no fault of the people at GEC.
I'm not saying the RR Reserves are not good knives , my only experience with them was one that the spring broke the first year I used it. I'm sure they're probably better now.

[wlf]

I've heard from others that they are well made with good fit and finish and just minor complaints like one person said the master blade was dull right out of the box. I'm interested in how yours measures up, which one did you order?

QUEEN CUTLERY AMERICAN-MADE JUMBO LINERLOCK TRAPPER FOLDING KNIFE (GENUINE STAG) ... I really like it. It is BIG! The stag is thick! the whole knife is really thick. I think I was hoping for some really cool stag scales... and I was disappointed the scales weren't like that, but they are real stag (sambar? I'm not sure maybe) and they are nice scales. So, I think I was having a little too high of hopes. It feels like a very solid knife, good snap. Good fit and finish. Is it a "real" Queen...? I'll say Oscar is right and it is NOT But, I like it, ...it IS marked USA on the blade... I am tired of the hassles with trying to get a GEC these days... and the jacked-up over-pricing on GEC reselling.

Dog,
Good quality is more important to me than the name. I guess I’m a bit aggravated by another company capitalizing on the name of a great knife. I agree totally about GEC. I have 2 that I bought before the prices became outrageous.
It may be considered heresy to say this here but…. Rough Rider Reserve knives are made way better than the overpriced GEC’s and others. The fit, finish, overall quality is excellent. Everyone I have has gator snap as well. A terrific value as well.

I have to disagree, GECs are top of the line manufactured knives. I can't buy them either and I have knives made there when I get the opportunity.
The price and resell bear out the quality of the product . Yeah, there's a lot of knife envy involved in collecting them, through no fault of the people at GEC.
I'm not saying the RR Reserves are not good knives , my only experience with them was one that the spring broke the first year I used it ( it was a regular RR). I'm sure they're probably better now.

[GSPTOPDOG]

I have to disagree, GECs are top of the line manufactured knives. I can't buy them either and I have knives made there when I get the opportunity.
The price and resell bear out the quality of the product . Yeah, there's a lot of knife envy involved in collecting them, through no fault of the people at GEC.

I'll just say I was happy to have traveled to the GEC factory in 2014 and to have bought some knives right out of the company store and also to pick up some before 2018 as well. I love them, my mom and all of my mom's side of the family is from Titusville, so there is a special connection for me with GEC.

That being said.... I can't pay some secondary seller 3x MSRP... can't and won't do it....

[Sasquach]

There is no doubt or room for argument, GEC makes high quality cutlery. The marketing of those knives, regardless of who you hold responsible, is horrible. The buyer is treated like a well to be sucked dry as quickly as possible. I'm thankful that I acquired a few GEC knives before the mayhem began. They were expensive but reasonable, now they are priced like they contain an ounce of platinum. IMHO.

[wlf]

I completely understand everyone's frustration, but if you knew Bill Howard you would understand it's not his fault. He is actually making more of each pattern to try and help the consumers.
It's the collector market that drives the overpricing, not a GEC conspiracy.

[GSPTOPDOG]

It's the collector market that drives the overpricing, not a GEC conspiracy.

agreed!

[Oscar1976]

I believe the SMKW queens specifically the jumbo liner lock and the “Mtn Man are made by Utica. You can buy both of the exact same knives without the Queen model markings on the blade on the Moore Maker site and those were made by Utica. Moore Maker and Queen have had a relationship since the 2000s. It seems all the US made traditional makers do work on contract for each other. Queen made knives for Case years ago. And they all get materials from the same suppliers so the only difference would be quality in manufacturing. The large makers even share upper management where this person will work here then go there then somewhere else in the Big picture it’s a fairly small community Just my 2 cents

[RedRaiderRick]

I understand that when SMKW bought the Queen name, they moved production to China?

[Mumbleypeg]

I believe the SMKW queens specifically the jumbo liner lock and the “Mtn Man are made by Utica. You can buy both of the exact same knives without the Queen model markings on the blade on the Moore Maker site and those were made by Utica. Moore Maker and Queen have had a relationship since the 2000s. It seems all the US made traditional makers do work on contract for each other. Queen made knives for Case years ago. And they all get materials from the same suppliers so the only difference would be quality in manufacturing. The large makers even share upper management where this person will work here then go there then somewhere else in the Big picture it’s a fairly small community Just my 2 cents

Moore Maker did indeed have a lot of knives made by Queen, starting longer ago than 2000. The actual agreement was between Moore Maker and Blue Grass Cutlery, who farmed out the knife making to Queen, Utica, Canal Street, and others. Moore Maker severed ties with Queen at least 10-15 years ago but continued to get knives from the others. How do I know this? I asked Mr. Moore.

The only knives I know of that Queen made with Case markings were the “Case Classics” made for Jim Parker, who owned W.R. Case & Sons at the time. Although some would consider those as being “made for Case”, the fact is the Case Classics were distributed by Blue Grass Cutlery, not distributed by Case nor through Case distribution networks. It was the “Jim Parker show”, without involvement from Case. Given the complicated history of cutlery companies outsourcing to other cutleries precludes me from saying Queen never made any other knives for Case. But if they did I’ve never seen or heard any evidence of it. Just my 2 cents also.

I understand that when SMKW bought the Queen name, they moved production to China?

They did for a while and may still be getting some “Queen” marked knives from China. But they’re also now getting some from USA makers. Which is the theme of this thread. SMKW has a half-page full color add in the current ((January 2025) issue of Knife Magazine (page 33), which shows 5 beautiful “Queen Knives U.S.A.” patterns. General consensus seems to be Bear is the USA supplier. Recommend reading the prior posts in this thread for details.

Ken