Got the sodbuster blues, need advice

R

rb2

Joined
Feb 18, 2013
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6
I lost my yella cv case soddie jr earlier this year. Even though i only carried it for a few years, i was heart broken because i had finally found "my" knife, and it had taken on a character all its own. Patina'd blade, black in some places, factory edge long gone, delrin wore down some, even welding slag melted into the handle, and tough as hell. I used that knife for everything, skinning squirrels, cutting hay string, scraping crud out of bolt threads, whatever. Also had an attachment to it because I've been told that my great grandpa, who died when I was very little, carried a case soddie jr. Was lookin through one of my old pickups yesterday and I found the box that it came in. Brought back that feeling of lost knife dread many of you are probably familiar with so I went back and checked all the same spots that I've already checked 100 times, but still no knife.
Anyway, my brother got me another cv sodbuster for my birthday to replace the last one, but it just don't feel the same. It's got a patina already and it seems to be the same quality as the last one, but I can't use it without missing the old one, like I said it just don't feel right. What I'm thinking is maybe I should switch patterns. I've got a few more yella case knives that I haven't carried much, but I'm thinking about getting one in bone. I'm gonna stick with case here. What do yall think about the Texas jack in cv? It's a handy lookin knife, but is it as tough as a soddie? And is the clip blade pinch able? I can open my sodbuster with one hand, so I'm worried about that. And I know the two-blade jack is a classic American pattern.
Any opinion is appreciated. - Ronnie
 
Sorry can't help ya with the opinion on the Texas Jack . But I might be able to help you find your knife , At least it works for me more times than not. Buy a new one , the same exact model. As soon as you do you will find the old one. Happens to me all the time. especially when I lose one glove. :D I wish you the best of luck finding your Sodie! Don't throw that box away!
 
Texas Jack is a great knife IMO, but it's quite a different knife to the Case Sodbuster Jnr. Maybe you should just persevere with the new one a while, perhaps your old one might even turn up.
 
rb2 said:
I lost my yella cv case soddie jr earlier this year. Even though i only carried it for a few years, i was heart broken because i had finally found "my" knife, and it had taken on a character all its own. ... Anyway, my brother got me another cv sodbuster for my birthday to replace the last one, but it just don't feel the same. ... I can't use it without missing the old one, like I said it just don't feel right. What I'm thinking is maybe I should switch patterns. - Ronnie
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I think you should back up a little bit and put yourself back in the Thanksgiving mind-set. Your brother cares enough about you to give you a great knife. Be thankful for him and for your relationship. We all know blood gives carbon steel a deep, lasting patina. But this is another kind of blood: Family. In your mind, take the focus off the knife -- which, as much as we knife knuts tend to feel otherwise, is just an inanimate object, a simple tool -- and put the focus on your brother. He'll be with you through thick and thin your whole life. You can't really say the same about any knife, even the one you've been missing so much. Next time you pull out that Soddie Jr. to cut something, say "thank you." But not too loud, or people will think you're bonkers. :D

Great post, by the way. And welcome to the coolest little knife (sub) forum on the Internet.

-- Mark
 
rb2 said:
I can open my sodbuster with one hand, so I'm worried about that.
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How the heck do you do that?

flatblackcapo said:
But I might be able to help you find your knife , At least it works for me more times than not. Buy a new one , the same exact model. As soon as you do you will find the old one. Happens to me all the time.
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All too true. Happened with my Spyderco Tasman Salt, happened with my Victorinox Pioneer Rancher. Still, it's nice to have a back-up.

rb2, if I were you, I'd stick with the Sodbuster Jr. The Texas Jack, and any bone handled Case, is a nice knife, but it will never be as durable as your Sodbuster Jr. Mainly because the thick slabs of delrin (the type of plastic used for the handles) are much more impact resistant than bone, which can crack if dropped or impacted too hard.

I know you said you want to stick to Case, but I feel compelled to also suggest looking at the Country Cousin from Queen and the Bull Nose from Great Eastern Cutlery. Both are more expensive (twice, or close to it, of the price of the Case), but they're both nicer than the Case in different ways. The Country Cousin has a blade that at lot prefer because the belly isn't as dramatic, and it has a pointier clip. Plus the D2 steel holds an edge far better than Case's soft CV, and being "semi-stainless", resists rust far better (but also resists patina). The GEC Bull Nose is a bit longer than the Case, and it has a half-stop on the blade, which many people prefer. The O-1 tool steel is also superior to Case's CV, and being a alloy/carbon steel, will take a nice patina. The GEC also has a lanyard hole, so you can loop a leather thong or some paracord through it which'll make it harder to lose.
 
This quote by Loveless gets close to how I see things, or try to anyhow.

A knife is a tool, and if we don't treat our tools with a certain familiar contempt, we lose perspective." - Bob Loveless

My approach would be to buy a couple of knives, just like your old one. Then carry them in rotation for a month or so. This will leave you with 2 non-pristine users in a pattern you know that works for you. Then set one aside and move on, treating the EDC.carry as the disposable tool that it is.

Somebody once advised me to own my bike and don't let it own me. That's how I treat my EDC carry now.
 
pinnah said:
This quote by Loveless gets close to how I see things, or try to anyhow.

A knife is a tool, and if we don't treat our tools with a certain familiar contempt, we lose perspective." - Bob Loveless

My approach would be to buy a couple of knives, just like your old one. Then carry them in rotation for a month or so. This will leave you with 2 non-pristine users in a pattern you know that works for you. Then set one aside and move on, treating the EDC.carry as the disposable tool that it is.

Somebody once advised me to own my bike and don't let it own me. That's how I treat my EDC carry now.
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That is beautiful. I've never read that quote from Bob before, but it's dead on.

Respect your tools, but they are still just tools.

Carry your present from your brother. It will gather memories the same as the other. You will bond with it same as the other, just different memories and different scars. Give it some time brother.
 
I guess y'all are right, a tool is a tool. The main reason, I think, for why I feel this way is that I want to carry the same knife as long as I can so that when I'm dead an gone one far way day God willing, my loved ones can look at that knife and say "yep, I sure do miss that grumpy old b*****d, he was good ol boy." And they could associate many memories with the knife. Same with my guns, trucks, whatever. That being said it is just another material item, and as they say, you can't take it with you. I think i'll keep carrying that soddie. Thanks for the eye opener men.

Planterz: point facing out, I pinch it it my thumb and forefinger and leverage it open about a 1/4 inch, then snag the handle on my leg to pull it open the rest of the way. Hope that makes sense.
 
rb2 said:
...Planterz: point facing out, I pinch it it my thumb and forefinger and leverage it open about a 1/4 inch, then snag the handle on my leg to pull it open the rest of the way. Hope that makes sense.
Click to expand...

That's exactly how I open my large Sodbuster, (won in a giveaway from a forum member here, thanks Jon)
 
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