Eye Brand Sodbusters

G

greg c

Joined
Oct 9, 1998
Messages
490
I've got to thank this forum and its members for helping me rediscover joy in the form of the slipjoint- particularly the sodbuster. Prior to reading some of the threads here I would have never tried out a knife as "plain" as the sodbuster but after reading some reviews I picked up an Eye brand on the basis of its forged carbon steel and its slim blade. Turns out I love the blade but am not too excited about the build quality, specifically, some of the big gaps in between liner and covers (see the last pic).

Well I couldn't help myself from doing a bit of tinkering. Since I like the "redneck orange" GEC sodbuster look I ordered some orange G10 and some brass rod and here we are!

In the first couple of pics the knife in the middle is my first attempt, the one on the left my second.

Thanks to everyone here for the inspiration.

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Greg!

You made a good decision... Carl Schlieper is a traditional knife trademark here in Germany. I have some of them. Great pieces to a good prize (here in good ol' Germany).

I like the orange handles a lot :)

Very traditional pattern, you got there...

Kind regards
Andi
 
I'd love to have something like that, but I lack both the skill and the time. However, I've got money. PM me if you'd part with one.
 
Those are VEERRRY NICELY DONE! :thumbup:

I have one of the large synthetic-handled soddies from Eye Brand, and can wholly agree with your view on the fit/finish, as well as being very impressed with the blade itself (great steel). My particular knife has a liner that flexes a LOT when opening/closing the blade. I think there's some mis-alignment in the liners contributing to that problem.
 
Those turned out really well. The Eye Brand sodbusters may not be the best in fit & finish, but the blades are really good.
 
There are 3 sizes of Eyebrand Sodbuster. The Small and Large are about the same size as those from Case. The "Jumbo" is 5 3/4" closed. Now that's a knife !
I have no doubt that those made about 20 or more years ago have better fit & finish. Lightly used or even unused 'vintage' ones show up on ebay fairly often. That's where i got my 2 Jumbos. One even came with a sheath.
The Frank Buster Cutlery Co. Sodbusters were made in the same Olbertz factory as Eyebrand and are really the same knife with different markings.
roland
 
Thanks for all the kind words guys.

I'm glad to see strong support for the Eye brand. In comparison to my Queen D2 sodbuster- which also has great steel, I choose the Eye because the blade is much more thinly ground. Despite that I don't think it would fail even during heavy duties. They seem to cut keenly and hold an edge. I also very much enjoy the matchstrike pulls. This doesn't appear to be standard...are mine older models?

As for my "Orange Series":

There are a few issues in finish I'm not happy with and the blades are skosh tight, but I looking forward to the challenge when I make a few more. Nothing for sale but thanks for making me feel good about my work.

Rick you are right that is a Victorinox tweezers installed in the scale, that is an idea I got from Ernest Emerson's custom knives. I was worried that might be a little too non-traditional around here, but once in a while those little guys come in handy!
 
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