All About Pocket Knives

A bit of reading has revealed to me that Queen was once owned by the Servotronics Consumer Products Group who also owned Ontario Knife from 1969 through 2012. That said, the folding hunter I found today is probably a Queen #39 in disguise. Couldn't pass it up for $15 and it needed to be rescued from the jewelry case in the antique shop. I noticed a few Old Hickory knives on Ebay but nothing to indicate who the actual makers are. For comparison I have a couple of pictures of some Queens next to the Old Hickory. Other than the handles the only thing different, the clip blade doesn't seem to have as much of a shoulder on the saber ground of my other Queen 39s.
Treefarmer

That hunter is a find! Hope you had a getaway driver because you done stole it.

I believe all of the Ontario-branded "Old Hickory" knives in that faux-woodgrain Delrin are Queens. As you can see by this lineup of Barlows, the OH Barlow was built with Queen's patented hidden spring on the #22 "offset" Barlow frame. I have 2, one in a decidedly non-Queenlike factory box (think Camillus-era Westerns), but the stamped patent was owned by Queen Cutlery and the dimensions of the frames match. Scott recently sent me an OH medium stockman which I'm convinced is a Queen #26, too. Your research makes sense in light of these knives and the timeframe fits by all accounts. I wonder what Ontario would have released if Queen had retained the brand - we may not have gotten the RAT folders or iconic USA fixed blades they've become known for.

The second pictured OH is my user. Snaps like a gator and has that great Queen Steel stainless. No idea how many of these knives were made but I have seen them fetch less than an otherwise-identical Queen does so I suspect they can be had if you look around. An interesting use of a famous old cutlery marque, even if they're not treasured by collectors like the old wooden knives they're intended to recall.

treefarmer wrote:A bit of reading has revealed to me that Queen was once owned by the Servotronics Consumer Products Group who also owned Ontario Knife from 1969 through 2012. That said, the folding hunter I found today is probably a Queen #39 in disguise. Couldn't pass it up for $15 and it needed to be rescued from the jewelry case in the antique shop. I noticed a few Old Hickory knives on Ebay but nothing to indicate who the actual makers are. For comparison I have a couple of pictures of some Queens next to the Old Hickory. Other than the handles the only thing different, the clip blade doesn't seem to have as much of a shoulder on the saber ground of my other Queen 39s.
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Servotronics acquired Ontario in 1967 and Queen in 1969. Queen was sold to Ken Daniels in 2012. To the best of my knowledge, Ontario is still owned by Servotronics.
The Ontario Knife Company factory is located at 26 Empire Street in Franklinville, New York. At one time, they also operated a small factory outlet store at this same location. The store sold both Ontario and Queen products, including some discontinued models, model overruns, and cosmetic blemishes. I recall seeing some of these “Old Hickory” branded folding knives at the outlet store; they were definitely manufactured in the Queen factory in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Titusville is approximately one-hundred miles from Franklinville.
Before he was hired by Cutco Corporation in Olean New York to head their newly-acquired KA-BAR division, Dick Hillegas was VP of Sales for both Ontario Knife Company and Queen Cutlery. His office was located in Franklinville. Olean is approximately twenty miles from Franklinville.

Many thanks for the info fellas, and oh......awesome knives too!!

The doors never stop opening on AAPK! As Scott already said, Thank you, Tsar Bomba and Greenman for the information and pictures! I like the old Queens and now I've got to pay attention for any brown handled Queen lookin' knife! I'm never surprised at where knives show up.
Thanks again for the new info!
Treefarmer

Thanks for posting that information Treefarmer. That is most interesting.

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Mike

treefarmer wrote:A bit of reading has revealed to me that Queen was once owned by the Servotronics Consumer Products Group who also owned Ontario Knife from 1969 through 2012. That said, the folding hunter I found today is probably a Queen #39 in disguise. Couldn't pass it up for $15 and it needed to be rescued from the jewelry case in the antique shop. I noticed a few Old Hickory knives on Ebay but nothing to indicate who the actual makers are. For comparison I have a couple of pictures of some Queens next to the Old Hickory. Other than the handles the only thing different, the clip blade doesn't seem to have as much of a shoulder on the saber ground of my other Queen 39s.
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......never seen one like that, treefarmer!!, that's a real winner!!!......... ...............

Awesome information, Josh, thanks!

Had anyone seen any production numbers for Ontario while they enjoyed access to all the Queen machining and talent? The story of the brand is interesting and I am continually impressed by the knives which carry the name. Piecing together that history knife by knife has been an enjoyable part of the hobby.

They come up on ebay fairly often, I missed one recently. A couple of queen made knives. Old Hickory and Bob White.