Country Cousin...

LKJW

LKJW

Joined
Nov 21, 2010
Messages
1,832
A friend gifted me a yeller(ish) CC. Man, what a nice little knife. Far nicer than my Case Soddie Jr. No gaps, sharp, good snap. Better handle ergonomics, I think.

I know it costs more than a Case, but it is a lovely knife. I was surprised actually by how nice it is. I like the slight orange tint, too. A working knife made flawlessly. I'll take some comparison pics tomm.

If I were trying to decide between the two, it wouldn't be a contest.
 
Don't forget the difference in blade shape. The Country Cousin actually has a point to it. The Case kinda don't. I much prefer the Country Cousin to the Sodbuster.
 
Good point Frank (no pun intended). It is a far superior knife in every way as far as I can tell. Makes the Case look cheap.
 
I like the look of the CC, especially since it has a tip (unlike Case). The only thing that has turned me off from buying it is that stupid etch.
 
I don't like etches either, but it is just a better knife. Thinner blade. Pointy. Better construction.
 
That was the knife I bought my wife for gardening recently. She had a Moore Maker Sodbuster in 1095 that would dull real fast. The Country Cousin is almost identical to the Moore Maker (both being made by Queen) except the CC had a more orange tone to the yellow handles, which I like. Almost a corn color. And the CC as mentioned has a slightly different blade profile. Three plus weeks of hard gardening and that D2 blade is still sharp, though spotted up, which is fine. The CC had a goodly amount of blade play like so many Queens but I fixed that up quick in a gentle squeeze in a vise.
I'll try to get pictures of the Moore Maker and the Country Cousin side by side later.
 
Based on the two examples I have, the stainless versions of Case's Sod Buster (unpolished blades, or 'as ground', by Case's description) had excellent tips, out of the box. They actually fully ground the tips to a clean apex, which is rare among any maker. The tumbled & polished blades on the CV soddies might be a different story though. I have two of the large CV soddies from Case, and I don't think the tips on those are anything to get excited about (I've already re-bevelled one of them).

The Queen soddies are great little knives. If you got one that was actually sharp out of the box, that's a bonus. :)

The Queen CC is thicker behind the edge than the Case Sod Buster, with a flat grind on the Queen, and hollow grind on the Case Jr. soddie; the large Case soddies are flat grinds.
 
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The country cousin is a really cool Soddie in it's own right. I especially love the color of the Delrin compared to the competitions . I too believe that they would sell a ton more if they ditched the Country Cousin etch on the blade. Pretty corny IMO, but I can live with it.
 
The etch on the CC's blade is shallow and should come off fairly easily. I've noticed mine is gradually fading over time, just from the stropping I've done on the blade (usually diamond compound on leather). I'd bet some med/fine grit wet/dry sandpaper would take it off pretty quickly, if it's that much of an issue. A Dremel's buffing wheel, with some compound, might also speed it's removal.
 
Some polish (i.e., Flitz) will take the etch off. If it doesn't take all the etch off, use a Scotch Brite pad. That'll work for sure.

Oh, by the way, a Queen built Country Cousin is not better/superior to a Case Sod Buster - my .02¢

I got 3 3 5/8" Yellow Delrin Case Sod Busters free this summer from the Grange. They were giving them away (1 ea>) with the purchase of 1000 feet of barb-wire. I bought 3000 feet of barb-wire and walked out with 3 Case Sod Busters. Heck of a deal and my grandson and nephews were glad to get them.

I can see where their (Case Sod Busters) edges wouldn't hold up well (remain sharp) to plunging the blades into the dirt in a garden or field but then neither would any other knife's edge.

Just another bash Case thread as was the one we had the other day.

Is D2 blade steel superior to Case's CV blade steel??? Maybe but I'd bet that a lot of guys/gals buying the Country Cousin with D2 Steel bladed steel will be over in the "Maintenance and Tinkering" thread shortly thereafter asking; "How do you sharpen D2? but not those buying the Case Sod Buster with CV blade steel - they'll be out in their garden/yard happily using their Sod Busters that they easily sharpen as their work progresses.
 
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I'm not bashing Case. It's a work knife. I have lots of Case knives I like, but I think the CC is a better knife. Just being honest. No slander intended. Don't get your dander up. :)
 
Your opinion is your opinion, not right, not wrong. Mine is the same way. :thumbup:
I haven't had a Queen CC yet, but they do seem to be a very nice knife, and the D2 is a plus to many people. Use it and enjoy it.
 
Me personally, I am a big fan of the D2 steel and the pointier tip. I've never handled a case or a queen sodbuster but I know for sure that I like the queen D2 steel, it just keeps on cutting and cutting and it's nearly stainless so it works really well for dirtier jobs. I had a GEC bullnose, but the lack of a point on the tip just didn't work as well for me. One of these days I will get me a Queen country cousin.
 
LKJW said:
I'm not bashing Case. It's a work knife. I have lots of Case knives I like, but I think the CC is a better knife. Just being honest. No slander intended. Don't get your dander up. :)
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Heck, I'm just ramblin on - don't have my dander up. What's a dander? I gotta get one of those.:rolleyes: What I need to do is go back to the Grange and get some more free knives.
 
Here's my wives gardening knives. True farmer's sodbusters. The Country Cousin has a drawn swedge, where the Moore Maker has no swedge, though both are of Queen manufacture. They both have slightly different blade geometries.
Honestly I like the etch on the CC. If thats a sticking point with folks then you are taking these humble worker-bee knives way too seriously. :D
2_yellers.jpg
 
I am a big fan of the CC. Mine came with amazingly tight tolerances for an inexpensive work knife, and it was even sharp! Queen knives I have purchased have either been sharp as the dickens (which is rare) or dull as a brick, which seems to be the norm.

Having used a CASE SB at work for a while, I find the CC much more useful. Better blade shape for my use and love the D2. Maybe due to the thinner handle profile and the overall finish I felt like the CASE SB had a really cheap feel to it. As a sidebar, the CASE SB I had back in the early/late 70s was a distinctly different knife than the one I had just a few years ago...

The CC has a rounder, fuller handle which takes up a bit more pocket room, but fills my slightly large paws better than the CASE SB.

And for anyone afraid of D2, don't be. It sharpens fine. I have about 10 - 12 knives with D2 blades and they respond quite well to normal sharpening techniques.

comoha said:
Honestly I like the etch on the CC. If thats a sticking point with folks then you are taking these humble worker-bee knives way too seriously. :D
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Amen! I never see the "hick cousin" on mine anymore. I am not a fan of heavy marking or etches, but really don't care one way or another on a work knife.

Robert
 
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Thanks for putting the pics up...I forgot. I was gonna take the etch off, but my wife and daughter like it. I may pass this one on to my wife. Not because I don't love it, but she is picky and she likes soddies.
 
I'm a cutter, custom knife user, and a big fan of the sodbuster pattern. the etch on the country cousin is awesome. It reminds me of a knife that could have been made in the mid century. The etch thing always gets me. There's no right answer. You like em or you don't.

Funny thing Dan, my wife stole my case yellow sodbuster jr. She loves it.
 
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