Shelf Queen or Not?

If it doesn't leave the house, it's a shelf queen.

Lord Bear said:

If it doesn't leave the house, it's a shelf queen.

Click to expand...

Not a good litmus test.

Some of my lights get a lot of use inside the house and are not used outside because they aren't bright enough or easy enough to pocket carry. They aren't shelf queens.

Yuh got me pardner! I should've thought of that parnass. I was instead thinking of a light that was EDC.

Lord Bear said:

If it doesn't leave the house, it's a shelf queen.

Click to expand...

Well, certainly if it never leaves the packaging.

Is it next to your bed or on your desk? Do you ever use it as a tool? I think a proper shelf queen should leave its designated "throne" only occasionally and only to be pampered, fondled, and then gently wiped of all dust and fingerprints. Of course, shelf queens of the very highest rank should be left in their packaging -- unsullied by the touch of humans and the light of day.

The garage is technically part of the house, and I'm sure many of us have a light or more that never leaves but is certainly no shelf queen!

I consider all of them to be users, even if the primary use is indoors.
I don't own other tools that just sit around looking pretty either.

Really, the only things I own that just get looked at are designed for that purpose specifically.... artwork.

What kind of light exactly would be a "shelf queen"?

I'm curious if the metals/workmanship would do it, or simply the cost of the light (making you not want to use it and possibly break it).

URBAN DICTIONARY: DEFINITION

1. shelf queen
A (usually) antique item, such as a clock, radio, sewing machine, spinning wheel, tool,car parts, etc, that may or may not work, kept strictly as a display item. More often than not the item does not work but the owner has no intention of repairing it, it just sits there.

If it is sometimes used and is not strictly a decoration it is NOT a shelf queen.
"Did Joe ever get that Sparton Bluebird working?"

"No, it's just a shelf queen for his mantel. Thousands of dollars for a non-working radio, just for display!"

Lord Bear said:

If it doesn't leave the house, it's a shelf queen.

Click to expand...

I will partly agree.

I like my Quark Minis and Preon 1AAA. Even if they are very bright at the highest mode I use them only for making a cosy atmosphere at the lowest mode placed in a shelf or at a table. And of course; especially Mini CR2, usually makes "Wow!"s when I turn it on the full brightness.
Yes, they could be described like shelf queens. But isn't a TRUE shelf queen a light which only is placed in a shelf but actually hasn't a practical use more than show off? According to this definition they are not really shelf queens though mostly are placed in the shelf.

My MiniMaglites and 2D:s however, they are my only collectors. I like the different colors, and for me they are like a painting, like art. I think they are true shelf queens.

Surefire incan KT-1 turbohead (hope I got that right) is my one and only shelf queen. This on my 6p was "THE HOLY GRAIL"! Sure impressed the uneducated masses. :thumbsup: Talk about a "concentrated pencil beam"! WOW! :bow: Well it never left the house and yes I really baby'd the blessed thing.
Don't rightly know if it was the "wow" factor and it's beauty (all that perfect black anodizing with PROPER checkering!) and the wish to keep it pristine, or was it that big ol' head that kept me from taking it along for EDC? :thinking: This all of course was way back when before LED's came along.
Yeah. Still got it. Plus the extra lamp, naturally.
Hope this explains what I consider to be a shelf queen.

The very phrase 'shelf queen' is abhorrent to me. If you're gonna spend big bucks on a tool and not use it, you're a tool!

If you don't do the Shelf Queen thing, you might join us in the NO SHELF QUEENS CLUB.

nbp...I did already post there. :naughty: