tongueriver wrote:Derek, I am looking forward to seeing how that turns out. Eight degrees below zero Fahrenheit here this morning- I am sure you are about the same
Thanks Cal ...add a Zero and a + and you have us about 80 F nice sunny days too
"I can't wait to see that either"
@garddogg56; Cheers! It won't happen overnight ... maybe by the end of January.
Today arrived this Old Cutler Stockman. It provides a 4th blade, a somewhat uncommon Hawkbill. The Old Cutler was one of numerous brands made by Colonial. It needs a drop of oil and some sharpening if I am going to use it. It is a bit heavier than I prefer, on the other hand I can see that hawkbill being useful.
The postman was nice enough to drop this one off today.
A PAL BLADE CO EZ Open Jack. 3 3/8". Steel liners.
The previous owner did a fine job of sharpening it up so it will go in the pocket tomorrow.
Thanks haha Maybe in a certain way but I am a sucker for the old knives those are the ones I grew up with it’s just becoming increasingly difficult to find them in that kind of shape anymore
I salute and congratulate everyone who posted on the previous page. Great stuff all, colors and patterns. Rocking it.
Quick comparison of a Northwoods Delta Jack Wharncliffe in blue camel bone(GEC#35) and a Queen #99 Jack Spear blade in blue bone. At first glance very similar. The Northwoods is 3 3/4 closed, 6 1/2 open, 2 1/2 cutting edge. The Queen is 3 5/8 closed, 6 1/8, and 2 1/4 cutting edge, about the same weight in hand. Northwoods has very smooth walk and talk, great sound when it clicks, barely feel the snap because it feels smooth and dampened. Maybe a 6 pull closed to half. Nice half stop, very smooth. 6 pull to fully open. Nice half stop from open to close, nice snap shut, but not bear trap, and satisfying sound. The Queen pull is 5-6 to half, 4-5 to open, no half stop but it has a semi rounded tang so it slows down where you would expect a half stop and same coming back. Different perspective, but achieves about the same. But the action is nowhere near as smooth and it feels forced and dry even when oiled, the Northwoods is silky. Both are tight, no wobble, but the Northwoods feels stronger, tighter, more solid. The Queen frame feels cheap and tinny and when I squeeze it I can feel it narrowing and changing shape, feels like it might bend out of shape when I grip hard and squeeze it tight. The Northwoods is far more rigid. Doesn't flex in your grip. Northwoods has steel liners, all the same color, looks better, feels stronger, like one piece, not a sandwich. Both have long pull. Northwoods blade looks cleaner, neater, more refined and well finished. The Queen looks like amateur hour play time on the grinder and buffer. The swedge is messed up, way over ground on one side, under on the other but made the same length to look even when it's way off. The blade appears to bend significantly left if you sight down the spine because the swedge is so far off. I grind blades for people once in a while. I wouldn't let this go from my shop without offering to refund the owner for botching his knife. The Queen bone is a dull blue, not as good of a dye job. Not even close. Northwoods glistens, shines, stuns. The Queen is flush and smooth except for this terrible shield job, overly countersunk and uneven at that. I like flush like the Northwoods shield. The Queen bone edges are squared, pointed, not as comfortable in hand. The Northwoods are smooth and radius edged and bulged in the middle, a more contoured fit in the hand. The Queen is boxy. I've been wondering for years how Queen can get people to pay over a hundred bucks for new knives like this that to me are worth about half that because of the flaws. GEC has people standing in line to pay double and triple retail for their Northwoods and other lines. Now I know why Queen can't get enough people to buy their lower quality knives and instead just shut down and went out of the business, stopped making knives because they couldn't compete building lesser knives. Like the Pinto, the Vega, the Gremlin and Pacer. The truth hurts. IMHO.
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"It's what people know about themselves inside that makes them afraid." -No Name, High Plains Drifter
It's a darned shame because a lot of us can attest that Queen COULD make a quality product since we own some. The Robeson-branded strawberry bone Barlow is a good example, as is the 2014 S&M #71 show knife. Just this morning I was CF&CE a Queen factory second workhorse series #26 stockman and I marvelled at how smooth the pivot action on all the blades was, how thin and slicy the blades were right behind the edges, and how a "workman's knife" like this seems to have better F&F (even as a factory second). I'm not really sure why it was considered a second, although I suspect it's because the blade is stamped D2 but it almost immediately took a patina when used (D2 has a high vanadium content IIRC which makes it less likely to patinate) and it sharpens up more like 1095.
I do believe that the Daniels family were making a dent in Queen's QC issues, as the 2016 and 2017 knives I've handled have mostly been top-notch and worth the price of admission. I only hope they find a way to reopen and continue the improvement under a more viable business model.
Ivoryman wrote:Quick comparison of a Northwoods Delta Jack Wharncliffe in blue camel bone(GEC#35) and a Queen #99 Jack Spear blade in blue bone.
Both are good looking knives. In a time when a large majority of knives are being purchased online based exclusively on physical appearance and (often dubious) sellers' written descriptions, it's interesting to take a peek under the hood and consider some of the less obvious differences between two otherwise similar looking knives. Good analysis/comparison. Thanks for posting.
...add a Zero and a + and you have us about 80 F nice sunny days too
