Bullnose 1 Month EDC Review

grelcar

grelcar

Joined
Dec 30, 2007
Messages
268
I have been carrying my orange Bullnose every day for about a month and thought I would be a good time to post a brief review. I purchased it some time ago and carried it for a bit but set it aside as I really didn’t warm up to it. I think my preference against half stops played a major role in this. Seeing a lot of positive comments about this knife on this forum made me decide to give it another try and make it my primary traditional pocket carry knife for a while. I usually also carry a one hand opening knife (Benchmade) clipped to my pocket but decided to carry the Bullnose solo most of the time to force me to use it more. My sodbuster reference is a yellow Case Sodbuster Jr. with CV steel which I have frequently carried for many years.

I expected the fit and finish to be a little better for a knife in this price range. There is no noticeable blade play when opened. There are no gaps in the liner. The back spring is slightly recessed when closed and stands slightly proud when opened. The blade is slightly off center when closed. The Delrin scales could have been finished a little better. The lanyard hole was not chamfered and had sharp edges which would probably wear into a lanyard if used. This was a quick fix with a countersink in the drill press. It has a pretty stiff back spring, I find it too stiff to reasonable open the knife with a pinch grip. As a comparison I have none of these issues with my Case Sodbuster Jr. which cost me less than half as much as the Bullnose. The blade snaps into the open, closed and half stop positions with authority
I really like the size of this knife and the way it feels in hand. I like the orange Delrin scales. I like the blade shape and the O1 tool steel. I don’t care for blade etchings. The blade was sharp out of the tube. I find the blade easy to sharpen and it holds an edge well. It performed well cutting up some large double wall cardboard boxes. I don’t see any major advantage of the O1 over Case’s CV steel though. The blade isn’t showing a patina yet.

The back spring is so stiff that I find the knife awkward to open and close at times. I can’t reasonably open it with gloves on. I may try to modify it Bullnose with an easy open cutout down the road. I will go back to carrying the Sodbuster Jr. soon and see if I miss the Bullnose. I really expected to like this knife more than I do. I was expecting a higher quality version of a Sodbuster. In my opinion this knife would greatly benefit from not having a half stop and a more reasonable back spring tension.

Greg
 
Thanks for the review.
I have been carrying a yellow Case Sodbuster Jr in CV also. I really like the simplicity of the Sodbuster/Bullnose design.
It's just there when you need it. I'm interested in the Bullnose despite the fact I have the aforementioned soddie plus four other variations thereof.
I wonder if all the Bullnoses are that stiff? My old hands aren't what they used to be.
 
Greg - I didn't see whether the knife you are reviewing is a Farm and Field (F&F) knife. If it is, it wasn't meant to have a high quality fit and finish. It was meant to be a semi-finished knife so to speak - a user knife. Most of us have been pleased with them but I do see your point.

This from GEC when they first brought out the Farm and Field line.

2ca2.jpg


A few of my Bullnose knives. The one in the Middle isn't a Bullnose of course. It is a SFO Farmer Jack from Collector Knives.

s36e.jpg
 
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Hey you guys. Greg put a lot of work into his review of his Bullnose. Give him some comments, and input to his thoughts and well thought out they were and also post up pictures of the Bullnose knives y'all have. This could be a rip roaring thread on GEC Bullnose knives and other like knives. Crack open a root beer and let's get gpomg!!!!!!!
 
Great review. I've never handled or seen one of these models in person so have no experience with them. Looks to be a robust working knife in the pics I've seen.

I think ED hit the nail on the head as far as finish/fit of this one, it's offered as a working tool rather than a more refined piece like other GEC's we're used to here. Now the too-strong spring/opening is something that can be a pain in the neck, but hopefully can be remedied by leaving it partially opened for a couple of days to lighten up the spring tension. Otherwise it sounds and looks to be a no-nonsense working man's tool.

Thanks for the info/review. I have an SFO Farmer's #73 with spey blade (just like the center knife in ED's pic) but haven't carried it much so far - have primarily used it as a steak knife at the table :). I do like it and it's slim profile however.
 
I like a good strong pull on my knives, so that is a bonus for me.

The Farm and Field is appealing to me for the steel. I would like to try some 01.

Most of my other traditional knives are either stag, or bone, though I do have micarta as well. I have been unable to buy a Case sodbuster, because every example I handled had poor fit and finish. I won't order one I can't handle first.
 
Thanks for the review Greg. Interesting to see what GEC had to say when they launched the range too Ed :thumbup:

I was kindly gifted a Bullnose by Meako a week or so ago, and have carried it most days since. I like the Sodbuster pattern, and think this is a great versatile work-knife.

While it's not a fancy knife, there are no fit and finish issues for me, everything is just right, and I still think it's very appealing to the eye.

I'm used to a stiff pull, and on my knife I don't find the pulls excessive.

Great steel and a well built knife. Who could ask for more? :)

I know I'm going to carry this knife a lot in the years to come, particularly when I have some work to do or am headed for the outdoors. It works pretty good in the kitchen too ;)

 
banksy said:
JB, has the etch worn off, or did you remove it?
Click to expand...

Meako gifted me the knife, and the etch had already gone. I doubt it'd take much use to cover it though, you could of course remove it, but I think a little wear and honest use will soon see it gone :)
 
Nice review. My experience is the opposite of what you described. Both my Jr. and Bullnose were centered. The walk and talk was good, but the finishing on the Bullnose was a little better. Still, the yellow Jr. just had more mojo. I ended up selling the Bullnose.
 
grelcar said:
I have been carrying my orange Bullnose every day for about a month and thought I would be a good time to post a brief review. I purchased it some time ago and carried it for a bit but set it aside as I really didn’t warm up to it. I think my preference against half stops played a major role in this. Seeing a lot of positive comments about this knife on this forum made me decide to give it another try and make it my primary traditional pocket carry knife for a while. I usually also carry a one hand opening knife (Benchmade) clipped to my pocket but decided to carry the Bullnose solo most of the time to force me to use it more. My sodbuster reference is a yellow Case Sodbuster Jr. with CV steel which I have frequently carried for many years.

I expected the fit and finish to be a little better for a knife in this price range. There is no noticeable blade play when opened. There are no gaps in the liner. The back spring is slightly recessed when closed and stands slightly proud when opened. The blade is slightly off center when closed. The Delrin scales could have been finished a little better. The lanyard hole was not chamfered and had sharp edges which would probably wear into a lanyard if used. This was a quick fix with a countersink in the drill press. It has a pretty stiff back spring, I find it too stiff to reasonable open the knife with a pinch grip. As a comparison I have none of these issues with my Case Sodbuster Jr. which cost me less than half as much as the Bullnose.
Click to expand...

You can blame this on me being a child of the industrial west, but when I think of a worker's knife, I think of knives that were mass produced and sold to meet a price point achievable by the working man. I think of Sheffield, the Barlow (especially the Russell), Ulster, Schrade Old Timer, Mora and Opinel. I think of the Bob Loveless quote, "A knife is a tool, and if we don't treat our tools with a certain familiar contempt, we lose perspective." And for me, a part of that "familiar contempt" is bound up in the commonplace, ubiquitous availability of a knife. If broken or lost, it's easily replaced.

When I think of GEC, I think "rare", "limited production", "artisanal", "craftsmanship", "heirloom". Nothing at all wrong with these adjectives. They are to be admired, but it's a different vibe than a working knife.

I'm pretty big into lightweight steel bikes and we see the same split there. For those familiar with British bikes, this is (was) the difference between Raleigh/Carlton (hand made mass produced) and Mercian (hand-crafted). Mercian made high end racers and club bikes. So did Raleigh/Carlton, albeit at a much lower price point. Raleigh/Carlton also made inexpensive 3 speed commuters. But Mercian didn't bother. What would be the point?

The French answered this question in the form of the pre and post war high end "city bikes". They were utility bikes made with the care of full on custom bikes by makers like Rene Herse. It was a form of high art, just like a Mont Blanc pen and, well, a fine French knife. So we see today that Opinel is showing a special limited edition for a high price point. This is the exaltation of the commonplace as art for the sake of art. OK, I can live with that. The equivalent here would be GEC taking the Sodbuster pattern to a whole new level of fit and finish and scale treatments. The Sodbuster as limited edition art.

Somehow, the Farm & Field stuff just falls into an uncomfortable gap for me. It's not top shelf art. And it's not really authentic "familiar contempt" tool territory, like a simple Case is.

All this to say, I understand Greg's ambivalence.
 
Nice review. I have a question about the sodbuster knives generally. I assume the Case has a relatively thin blade as usual for Case?

How about this GEC and the Queens?

I have a couple of Queens with thick blades (Canoe and Whittler) that initially seem nice, but combined with the obtuse edge angle make for a less than ideal user experience. Despite its tough, working origins, it strikes me that a Sodbuster type knife would be best with a relatively thin blade.
 
grelcar said:
I will go back to carrying the Sodbuster Jr. soon and see if I miss the Bullnose. I really expected to like this knife more than I do. I was expecting a higher quality version of a Sodbuster. In my opinion this knife would greatly benefit from not having a half stop and a more reasonable back spring tension.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the thorough overview!

For myself, if I have to try to like a knife, it means I don't. Like it.

It sounds to me that you've already discovered a tool that works very well for you, the Case Sodbuster, and in your experience the GEC doesn't displace it (regardless of price point or others' good experiences). That's why it's so great to have a variety of choices; there's no replacement for finding something that works so well you don't have to think about it (let alone overcome anything) to do the job at hand.

I'll be curious to see if you do miss the Bullnose, but won't be surprised if you don't.

Knowing oneself and learning one's own preferences is a good thing. :)

~ P.
 
Thanks for all of the replies. I have been wanting to do a knife review for while, this was a first for me.

Any time I am evaluating a slipjoint knife for purchase I always check out the blade centering, and the fit of the back springs and liners, the "walk and talk" of the blade, as well as the overall fit and finish of the knife. As this knife was purchased online the shipping department made the decision as to the knife I received. I have never seen a GEC knife in a brick and mortar knife retailer.

My review of this knife applies only to this particular knife and not every knife of this model or from this manufacturer. The only thing about this knife that will probably keep it out of the EDC rotation is the stiff back spring. Any other issues with this knife are so minor that they would unnoticed during use.

I feel that the Case Sodbuster I have is a better than average example of that model, the Bullnose I have is probably a less than average example of that knife. I am considering purchasing another Bullnose to see how it compares to the one I have.

Right now the traditional knives in my EDC rotation besides the Bullnose and the Sodbuster are a Case Swayback, a GEC 66 Serpentine Jack and a Buck 301 with a single clip point blade.

Greg
 
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pinnah said:
You can blame this on me being a child of the industrial west, but when I think of a worker's knife, I think of knives that were mass produced and sold to meet a price point achievable by the working man. I think of Sheffield, the Barlow (especially the Russell), Ulster, Schrade Old Timer, Mora and Opinel. I think of the Bob Loveless quote, "A knife is a tool, and if we don't treat our tools with a certain familiar contempt, we lose perspective." And for me, a part of that "familiar contempt" is bound up in the commonplace, ubiquitous availability of a knife. If broken or lost, it's easily replaced.

When I think of GEC, I think "rare", "limited production", "artisanal", "craftsmanship", "heirloom". Nothing at all wrong with these adjectives. They are to be admired, but it's a different vibe than a working knife.

I'm pretty big into lightweight steel bikes and we see the same split there. For those familiar with British bikes, this is (was) the difference between Raleigh/Carlton (hand made mass produced) and Mercian (hand-crafted). Mercian made high end racers and club bikes. So did Raleigh/Carlton, albeit at a much lower price point. Raleigh/Carlton also made inexpensive 3 speed commuters. But Mercian didn't bother. What would be the point?

The French answered this question in the form of the pre and post war high end "city bikes". They were utility bikes made with the care of full on custom bikes by makers like Rene Herse. It was a form of high art, just like a Mont Blanc pen and, well, a fine French knife. So we see today that Opinel is showing a special limited edition for a high price point. This is the exaltation of the commonplace as art for the sake of art. OK, I can live with that. The equivalent here would be GEC taking the Sodbuster pattern to a whole new level of fit and finish and scale treatments. The Sodbuster as limited edition art.

Somehow, the Farm & Field stuff just falls into an uncomfortable gap for me. It's not top shelf art. And it's not really authentic "familiar contempt" tool territory, like a simple Case is.

All this to say, I understand Greg's ambivalence.
Click to expand...

Another excellent thought-provoking post sir :thumbup:
 
Many thanks for the thoughtful review.

Been brooding about getting one of these if they do another run, especially if it's in Nifebrite which really interests me! But, having read your review I'm getting more sceptical. I understand it's not going to have super finish as it's a work pattern and rather approxamatif as the French say, but I can't see it knocking my Queen Country Cousin off the perch. Great D2, very good finish, thicker handles and no annoying half-stop-I don't welcome these on this kind of pattern. Still I could change my mind, it happens frequently....
 
willgoy said:
Many thanks for the thoughtful review.

Been brooding about getting one of these if they do another run, especially if it's in Nifebrite which really interests me! But, having read your review I'm getting more sceptical. I understand it's not going to have super finish as it's a work pattern and rather approxamatif as the French say, but I can't see it knocking my Queen Country Cousin off the perch. Great D2, very good finish, thicker handles and no annoying half-stop-I don't welcome these on this kind of pattern. Still I could change my mind, it happens frequently....
Click to expand...

I would not base a knife purchase strictly off of one review. Nearly everything that has been said about this knife on the forum has been quite positive. The review that I posted was for one particular knife and was in no way intended to apply to all of the Bullnose or Farm and Field Knives. I may very well purchase another Bullnose based on all of the comments I have read about the knife. I have other GEC knives and have never had an issue with any of them. My orange jigged bone 66 Serpentine Jack is one of my favorite knives. It is as fine an example of an affordable traditional knife produced these days.
 
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Nice review. Are the bull nose style knives also known as Sodbusters?

I have a few made in China knives and fit and finish is spotty. In general they work ok. But some of them have hardness test indents and other scratches and blemishes mostly on the blade or bolsters. Knife opening force varies considerably from one knife to another however they all open with reasonable effort.

I do have one knife (Steel Warrior Range Rider three blade Stockman SW-114BPS) where the nail nick on the needle point blade (may have started life as a clip point?? but is more of a needle point as shipped) is so low that it is almost even with the scales and that does make it more difficult to open. For $9.99 I am not complaining. Great users for the money.
 
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