Recently, Smoky Mountain Knife Works posted a new Queen knife for sale on their site. The knife is a Pilot Test Run Mini Trapper with Black Composite covers. The main blade has an etch on the front tang reading “Queen” and on the back tang reading “QN1”. The description is quite sparse, but does state that it is made in the U.S.A.
SMKW seems to have done basically no advertising for this knife, as it came as a surprise to even the most in-the-know collectors from what I’ve heard. This choice perplexes me, as I’d think bringing back a much loved and historically significant brand like Queen would be something worth getting the word out about.
Although there’s a long history of manufacturers making knives for various brands without much transparency, in today’s market keeping a knife’s maker vague or hidden doesn’t create trust or bolster demand. The consensus is that, judging by the pattern specifics and look of the construction, it is made by Bear & Son. One member on BladeForums, in a thread about the knife, said that a SMKW representative confirmed that they own at least a portion of the Queen trademark and that the knife was made by Bear & Son for them. I haven’t owned many Bear & Son knives, but the general reaction that I have seen to this news has not been positive. It had been reported that a representative of Bluegrass Cutlery in Ohio purchased much of the old Queen tooling and machinery, as well as the Schatt & Morgan and Queen trademarks, at the bank auction after Queen’s closing. Apparently, Bluegrass Cutlery intends to produce knives that will bring back the top tier reputation Schatt & Morgan held for so long. So it was a surprise to see a more budget friendly knife, apparently not made by Bluegrass Cutlery, brought to the market by Smoky Mountain Knife Works.
I don’t exactly know how I feel about this knife. I don’t really think it’s the best approach to compete in the same price and quality range as Case; I think it would be better to go for the higher end market in the range of Great Eastern Cutlery. Also, in my opinion, the tang etches are a poor aesthetic choice. That said, I really would love to see high quality american made Queen and Schatt & Morgan knives back in production. I hope they make smart choices and find success. I might pick one of these up; even if it might not be the resurgence of Queen we expected, it will probably be a historically significant piece.
What do you think of this knife? Would you like to see a Knife Thoughts review of it?
Interesting. I do follow you on youtube.
Thanks George!