Case Sodbuster blade play after daring to use it.

T

the kid

Joined
May 5, 2008
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Today I went mad and actually dared to use my knife to cut something else besides paper I could just as easily use scissors for. I cut some wood..

And now it has developed blade play and since it is a Sodbuster I can not adjust a screw to fix it.

So what's the deal?
A-Case Sodbusters are for looks only.
B-I got a melon and Case will replace it.
C-I got a melon and Case will not replace it.

I love my Sodbuster, it is nice and yellow and quickly became my favorite knife. The blade shape is very good for cutting including food and wood :mad:
 
That's a drag- I've used my soddie to cut everything from tomatoes to drywall and it still going strong. Give Case a call- worst case is they say no.
 
I'm not going to make a call to another country in a language I don't speak well...

Does anyone know if this is actually a defect and if it falls under warranty?
 
What do you mean by "cut some wood"? If you mean whittling, carving or anything like that then I would agree that blade play is not acceptable and would most likely be repaired under warranty. If you mean chopping, batoning, etc. then I would have to suggest that you think of it as a learning experience and not a mark against Case's quality.
 
No not batoning.
Just whittling and carving.
It was a wooden table/board and I cut some stuff from the edges.

I did use very little side way force to remove some wood I already cut.
This however was very slightly and I did the same with some other knives and for a much longer time.

I believe the knife is faulty or not meant to cut wood.
Which I find hard to believe for a "working knife".
 
Buck_Fan said:
Send it to Case. See what they do.
Click to expand...

That will cost me €5.

I might email them first and hopefully get a positive answer.
Not much luck lately emailing company's though, they tend not to actually read the messages.:grumpy:

Had some (lots) of drinks hence the pretty pissed of tone, gonna go sleep and will check this thread tomorrow.
 
I had slightly blade play on mine. I placed my sod buster between two boards and used screw clampers to tighten whole thing carefully. It fixed the blade play or its so minor I cannot feel that.
 
Try this after you've slept it off...
The pivot rivet is pressed together, so yours may have come loose somehow.
Sandwich the knife at the rivet tween two pieces of leather....use a folded over belt....and place in a vise, and tighten...slowly.......till you get the play out

Sorry about the fuzzy picture, but you're probably not seeing clearly yet anyhow:D
 

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rayban said:
Try this after you've slept it off...
The pivot rivet is pressed together, so yours may have come loose somehow.
Sandwich the knife at the rivet tween two pieces of leather....use a folded over belt....and place in a vise, and tighten...slowly.......till you get the play out

Sorry about the fuzzy picture, but you're probably not seeing clearly yet anyhow:D
Click to expand...

The picture is good. Now to find two pieces of leather and I'm not cutting up my belt. :D
 
Or you could just use the heck out of the way it is. I have an old yellow Case CV soddie junior, and it's seen about 20 to 25 years of periododic use. Some of it hard use. It has some blade play, but it doesen't seem to affect it's ability, so I just keep on keeping on with it. I may be speaking heresy here, but I think blade play is a very overrated problem. In fact, in a working knife, I don't see it as a problem at all. I have too many old knives that served a lifetime that have some blade play, yet all are able to still do what they were made to do. If you use a knife much at all, sooner or later its going to get a little play in the joint, just like your car is going to get a few rattles in it when you get a hundred thousand miles on it.

Look at it this way; with a little blade play, it will be easier to clean it out if it gets really gritty/dirty. Just wiggle the blade while holding it under the water tap to flush it out. I got some sand in my soddie once at the beach, and it washed right out.
 
rayban said:
Just fold it over the knife....read the directions!!:D
Click to expand...

Yes yes sorry, still bit hung over.
Just thought that up myself as well, knife is in the vice right now.

Will keep you posted.:thumbup:

@Jackknife.

If it developed the play after years of use it would be a different story.
But I just got the knife and this was the first time I cut something else then paper and packages.
 
I put mine between two magazines (paper, not ammo) and tapped lightly on the joint with a hammer. It took about 10 seconds. No blade play.
 
I live in the EU like you and CASE stood by their warranty for me, so I suggest sending an e-mail to test the waters. Should not have blade play this soon.
 
The vice thing didn't work unfortunately.

Tomorrow I'm going to try the hammer and magazine thing.

If that doesn't work I'll send an email.
 
I don't think I've ever seen a bolsterless, delrin or wood handled knife that didn't develop at least a little bit of side-to-side blade play after some use. There's really not much support for the pivot in these knives, just a couple of thin brass liners, backed by the relatively soft delrin (or wood). The delrin handles will slip or deform around the pivot, and wood handles often crack in the same location (around the pivot and pins). I think the term 'work knife' gets mis-interpreted sometimes. To me, it means it's expected to get beat up, dinged, and 'loosened up' with use. Unless there's a real danger of the thing actually falling apart, a little sideways play is something I'd expect to see with use.
 
Perhaps you are babying your knife too much. Sodbusters are hard workers. The more you work it, the more you will love the knife.
I think a some side to side is expected in slipjoints. If it is very noticeable, it should be addressed with the mallet and magazine. If the mallet does not work, I would contact Case, because it is most probably a workmanship issue.
I hope this does not sour your confidence in slipjoints as most of mine have never had this issue. It is good to point out that blade play does not compromise the functionality of the blade. In addition, Jackknife has pointed out that it can be beneficial, acting as a self cleaning mechanism.

God Bless
 
I don't have a problem with a little blade play in production knives. I use them really hard and for the price you pay for them, you can't expect total perfection. If the blade play decreases your ability to use the knife for your intended purposes (which I doubt), then you have an issue and I would send it back to case. If it doesn't affect it's ability to cut stuff, just keep using it and enjoy it. So if it bothers you that much and you can't enjoy the knife, send an email to repair@wrcase.com and if they say they will fix or replace it, spend the money to send it back.

If I worried about every little problem with every knife I bought, I would never have any that I could actually use because I would always be sending them back (except near-perfection is expected with some customs and expensive productions because of the price you pay).
 
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That magazine plus mallet trick is GENIUS.
I've had this annoying issue with a certain expensive slipjoint of mine; I even sent it back to the manufacturer, but it came back exactly the same! One little whack with the mallet and it is PERFECT. I love this forum.
 
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