case 3138cv, why discontinued....

[jbmonkey]

sodbusters, i really like this non nonsense and lower cost design. i have a queen country cousin, and a case 3137cv. the case by far is a great little knife, except the blade is jammed against the liner. it's a work knife though so scratches don't bother me.

the queen, errr... fit and finish look great and the blade is centered on this one, but.....the edge is terrible...i don't think it could be any duller than it is, if they have left it as a blank, instead of pretending to sharpen it. i will remedy that though once i reprofile it on the belt sander. the bigger issue with it is the blade play side to side is scary. i don't think it will fall apart without twisting it while cutting or some other stupidness, but man it's not impressive. sad too as it looks so nice and everything else is perfect on it, other than the factory edge.. guess i'll take it to the vise and try to tighten it up a bit, until it loosens again. so anyways,


so i like my little case cv sodbuster, so much i wanted a bigger one. cause i like to carry this knife in my back pocket, like i do when i carry my buck 110. the bigger size will work perfect jammed against my wallet and easy to grab fast and put to work without digging around in my front pockets for it, etc. the smaller one in my back pocket falls over and lays flat and that i do not care for. so based on my small experience with my case being so great...i was looking for a large version, and see they are long gone and the prices on used ones are way more than i want to pay for a user, not a collectable.

they have a stainless version which i assume 420hc steel version, but i'm liking carbon steel for slipjoints. that and i'm not sure how good the heat treat is on case's 420hc or whatever their tru-sharp steel is? is it as good as bucks ht?

so what made case discontinue the larger cv version of this sod buster? low sales, or......?

 

[silenthunterstudios]

I've seen them at a few antique malls and flea markets. Some were good bargains, others were overpriced, mainly because of the Case name. I had a large CV Sodbuster I traded for at a knife club meeting, but it is long gone. I have heard that the Case sodbusters are much better than the Queen, Kissing Cousin and other brands.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

The secondary market prices are usually pretty high on these, but sometimes you can find a reasonable deal (though probably still higher than original prices) on one. Keep watching the auction sites.

If you're curious about the stainless version, you could also find a lot of these at MUCH lower prices on the auction site. I have a 2138 SS that I picked up for $13 this way. It was in new condition, and the edge bevel was near perfect on it. Just had to do some burr/wire edge cleanup on it, but it's been a very good user. Case's 'Tru-Sharp' stainless is actually 420HC, but treated to mid-50s on the RC scale. Not quite as hard as Buck's 420HC, but it's also very easy to maintain, including repairing a damaged edge.

You might also look into the Eye Brand large soddie. The carbon blades on those are excellent, and they have a thinner handle that's perfect for back-pocket carry (I carry mine in the back pocket). These are not 'pretty' knives, per se, but meant to be used. The blades take a great edge.

Moore Maker has a large soddie pattern (think it's by Queen), with a 1095 blade. Not inexpensive, but also a very solid user.

Another possibility, for a yellow-handled large sodbuster pattern, is the 'Cowboy' from A.G. Russell (pictured below). It's a stainless blade (8Cr13MoV), but quite good in edge-holding. A.G. Russell treats these up to around 57-58 RC, I think. And the blade stock is quite stout (full flat grind), as is the construction of the knife overall (all stainless frame, with Delrin handles). Very solid knife at a great price, given the build quality. And the blades are BIG & WIDE in these, in a handle that's noticeably smaller than the Case, or any other make. Fits great in the back pocket, and also has a lanyard hole.

 

[jbmonkey]

I've seen them at a few antique malls and flea markets. Some were good bargains, others were overpriced, mainly because of the Case name. I had a large CV Sodbuster I traded for at a knife club meeting, but it is long gone. I have heard that the Case sodbusters are much better than the Queen, Kissing Cousin and other brands.

good idea. i hadn't thought about looking local in the old flea markets and such. thank you Sir for the suggestions.

i don't have a whole lot of experience with brands, but so far the case ones seem to be far and away better than the others. seems to be that way from all my forum past post readings on them as well.

 

[jbmonkey]

The secondary market prices are usually pretty high on these, but sometimes you can find a reasonable deal (though probably still higher than original prices) on one. Keep watching the auction sites.

If you're curious about the stainless version, you could also find a lot of these at MUCH lower prices on the auction site. I have a 2138 SS that I picked up for $13 this way. It was in new condition, and the edge bevel was near perfect on it. Just had to do some burr/wire edge cleanup on it, but it's been a very good user. Case's 'Tru-Sharp' stainless is actually 420HC, but treated to mid-50s on the RC scale. Not quite as hard as Buck's 420HC, but it's also very easy to maintain, including repairing a damaged edge.

You might also look into the Eye Brand large soddie. The carbon blades on those are excellent, and they have a thinner handle that's perfect for back-pocket carry (I carry mine in the back pocket). These are not 'pretty' knives, per se, but meant to be used. The blades take a great edge.

Moore Maker has a large soddie pattern (think it's by Queen), with a 1095 blade. Not inexpensive, but also a very solid user.

Another possibility, for a yellow-handled large sodbuster pattern, is the 'Cowboy' from A.G. Russell (pictured below). It's a stainless blade (8Cr13MoV), but quite good in edge-holding. A.G. Russell treats these up to around 57-58 RC, I think. And the blade stock is quite stout (full flat grind), as is the construction of the knife overall (all stainless frame, with Delrin handles). Very solid knife at a great price, given the build quality. And the blades are BIG & WIDE in these, in a handle that's noticeably smaller than the Case, or any other make. Fits great in the back pocket, and also has a lanyard hole.

excellent info, thank you very much Sir, and great collection of sods.

i have two german eye brand large sods. one in wood and one in what they call "celluloid." the wood one has a bent blade..so much so that shaprening it is very tricky. not impossible, but requires some movement when using my sharpmaker. it curves over from one side of the liner too the other side. so until i figure out how to straighten the blade or shapren it easily it's out of the running. the celluloid version, the spring is much higher than the blade. it works as far as i can tell though. it's looks really bad from a fit and finish standpoint, but i may just use it.

i looked real hard at the ag russell versions, but while i don't dislike 8cr13mov like allot of folks do i really wanted carbon steel.

never heard of moore maker, i will look into that one. good suggestion, thank you.



i was hoping for a case version and i may just have to bite the bullet and go stainless. thank you for the detailing info on heat treat and steel type.

lastly what is the general thought on bear and sons version. seems to have 1095 carbon steel and a lock back version which is appealing. total waste of money or hit and miss like the eye brand stuff?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

lastly what is the general thought on bear and sons version. seems to have 1095 carbon steel and a lock back version which is appealing. total waste of money or hit and miss like the eye brand stuff?

Anything from Bear & Sons can be a hit-or-miss. I have a Moore Maker large double-lockback trapper (actually, I have two), made by Bear & Sons. Unfortunately, the build quality on these was the worst I've ever seen. Lots of blade play in all directions (even when locked), and blade edges that actually REST against the backspring/lockbar when closed. I also have the same pattern made by Camillus (for Moore Maker), and the difference in fit/finish is night & day by comparison.

Another possibility for a large soddie is a Bulldog brand. Exactly the same pattern/size/shape as the Eye Brand, also with carbon blades, probably produced in the same factory as the Eye Brand. BUT, the Bulldogs are more highly finished, with polished blades and handles available in several colors (I have some in yellow, red and green). Nice knives.

 

[orca8589]

cause i like to carry this knife in my back pocket, like i do when i carry my buck 110. the bigger size will work perfect jammed against my wallet and easy to grab fast and put to work without digging around in my front pockets for it, etc.

I used to carry my old U.S. Schrade LB7 that way. Even carried it in high school like that. Those were good days.

so what made case discontinue the larger cv version of this sod buster? low sales, or......?

Here's some info somewhat related to your question.

Back in 2004 or 2005, I sent my first old Case 6265 two-blade Hunter back to Case to have new blades installed. At the time, the lady on the phone explained that I could only replace the old, worn out CV blades on my knife with their Tru-Sharp stainless, as they weren't bringing in the thicker CV material for the larger patterns anymore, and hadn't had it in a while. (She didn't know why they were not buying the thicker material, as apparently there were still a lot of requests for it.) They were still making a lot of the small to mid-sized patterns in CV, so they were bringing in thinner CV material for those, of course.

I'm not sure how the blade thickness on a large Sodbuster compares to the blade thickness on the 6265 pattern, but if they are the same [or close enough] in thickness, then I'd guess the fact that Case isn't buying the thick CV anymore is why the large CV Sodbuster was discontinued.

Just speculation on my part, based on my past experiences, and maybe someone here can clarify a little further.

~Chris

 

[orca8589]

I forgot to comment on Case's stainless: it's good stuff, pretty much just as good as Buck's. In general everyday use, I can't really tell a difference, although the Buck stainless does seem to be a little quicker to sharpen. Maybe that's just me, though. (I carry either a Buck 301 or one of several Case Stockman patterns in Tru-Sharp, almost daily.)

I'd stay away from Bear & Sons, unless you can look at it before buying. All the B&S I've seen have had major issues, so I don't own any.

~Chris

 

[silenthunterstudios]

I need to pick up some Moore Maker knives. As for picking up Case soddies at local shops, I found one in a subshop in PA, near a state park lake. They had a few odds and ends of fishing gear, next to barrels full of bait. The shop is long gone, but you can find good knives anywhere.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Regarding blade thickness:

Here's a pic of my two Case soddies (2006 3138CV at far left, and the 2009 2138SS 3rd from left). The other two knives are A.G. Russell. Blade thickness of the two Cases is essentially the same. I just checked them with a dial caliper, they're both about 0.110" at the tang. As it pertains to more recent models anyway, I don't think there is a difference in thickness (unless they actually ground down thicker stock to fit; seems way too expensive). The CV blade has been tumbled/polished, compared to the 'as ground' finish of the SS model, so it looks a little thinner at the edge of the spine. Measures the same, however.


I do have a 1970 10-dot 2138 (carbon blade, not marked as 'CV' in that era). The blade is noticeably thicker on it (0.125" - 0.130"), than on more recent models. Here's a side-by-side comparison:
(the 1970 is the lower of the two; the other is the same 2009 2138SS, as seen above)

 

[jbmonkey]

Orca8589, Silenthunterstudios, and Obsessed with Edges...thank you Sirs. more great information, ideas, and pictures. really appreciate it.

one other question...on those german bulldog soddies....long gone from current production and only new old stock to find? or are they still made? did a quick google search and came up with 2005 models new old stock for sale on auction sites and some collector type online stores. didn't see any current productions being sold. thanks in advance....

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Orca8589, Silenthunterstudios, and Obsessed with Edges...thank you Sirs. more great information, ideas, and pictures. really appreciate it.

one other question...on those german bulldog soddies....long gone from current production and only new old stock to find? or are they still made? did a quick google search and came up with 2005 models new old stock for sale on auction sites and some collector type online stores. didn't see any current productions being sold. thanks in advance....

Yes, most or all of the Bulldogs will be NOS (new, old stock) on the 'bay and other places. Most recently, all I've seen have been on the auction site. I've seen a few there in the last couple or three months. I think I got a few of mine from another online collector/dealer, but that was a couple or three years ago. He had just a handful of them, so I doubt any of those are left on his site. They're not too hard to find, though. Just keep watching for them.

Another idea. There are quite a few of the older-generation carbon-bladed, black-handled Case soddies on the auction sites too. They'll simply be marked as '2138' (upper knife in pic below; no Case-branded 'CV' designation at that time, although I'm pretty sure it was the same steel). In fact, I've seen a lot more of those than the yellow CV models, in the large size. You can often find them slightly used, but still in great shape and often at a great price. And as I noted above, at least some of the older versions were all-the-more stout. Look for the '70s vintage versions, in particular.

 

[orca8589]

Good info and clarification, guys - I'm glad to be in on this one. Great pics, too. :thumbup: (Of course, any thread on Case knives, with good pics, is gonna be a good one. )

~Chris

 

[dannyp]

Two other options for a large carbon steel Sodbuster are Boker Tree Brand or a Kissing Crane Brown Mule. The reason I bought my Boker was because I wanted a large yellow Sodbuster in carbon. The finish is a little rougher than Case, but the action is fine and the steel is good.

That said, I haven't had a problem with Case's Tru Sharp either since I've started using it.

 

[puukkoman]

Kissing Cousin

Hah!

 

[whetrock]

I haven't the slightest idea why case would discontinue their large cv sodbuster but as much as I miss this model I have found the kissing crane brown mule sodbuster to be a decent alternative it isn't perfect but I think this knife is more than serviceable.

 

[Sonnemann]

+1 for the KC Brown Mules. Really nice quality for the price, carbon blades and wood can be shined up.