Sodbuster...and lots of them!

[trevytrev]

This is one of my favorites. 3 5/8 closed and nice and thin. Robt. Klaas ..

Tim

That's a sweet one Tim, it looks in pristine shape and the scales are a great yellow! I just acquired one very similar to that one, don't know much about it but it looks pretty old. The markings are different, there is an etching of kissing cranes with 2416 XII and Germany is stamped on the blade. I love the handles and how thin it is, I'll be taking her out for a spin soon.

 

[dogstar]

Thanks, trevytrev. I have just purchased the knife in question. We'll see if I got the real deal, or bait and switched.

 

[trevytrev]

So here are some pics of the Brown Mules I have along with their Antonini counterparts. I am missing the KC 37 made in China, still need to pick one up. I also haven't picked any of the KC 35's, they are the biggest ones and I haven't moved to the big Mules yet.

First pic from left to right,

Brown Mule KC37 marked Germany, KC37 Italy, Antonini, Antonini similar to KC 36, KC36 Italy, KC36 China, KC36 Germany. You will notice that the German marked ones have the brass spring pin in the middle of the knife, the Italy made knives, including the Antonini's, do not have that pin. The China made Mule does have the pin but it is the only knife that does not have brass liners and has a different pivot pin than all the others. The other observation is that the German marked Mules are in Carbon steel, the others are all in stainless(marked inox on the Antonini's) I will say that the China made Mule I have has pretty decent fit and finish, it actually surprised me!

 

[trevytrev]

Thanks, trevytrev. I have just purchased the knife in question. We'll see if I got the real deal, or bait and switched.

Keep us updated and post pics if you feel like it! I've seen a few knife companies still using pictures from past production versions for current production versions so it will be interesting to see what you get.

 

[basser5]

Trev..your yellow Klaas is a 1973...Great find! I think you will like it.

Tim

 

[trevytrev]

Thanks Tim, is there a chart for the markings on those to indicate the year made? I searched a bit but my googlefu was weak

 

[Jack Black]

Have you got one of the Italian-made Robert Klaas (Antonini) Black Angus soddies in your collection Trev?

 

[trevytrev]

I believe I do, I'll have to make sure it's Italy made but I seem to remember that it is and has black plastic handles.

 

[Jack Black]

I believe I do, I'll have to make sure it's Italy made but I seem to remember that it is and has black plastic handles.

Ah, ok, I didn't spot it in the pics

 

[basser5]

Hey Trev,
Klaas began using the Roman numeral dating system in 1972 starting with XI..1973 was XII and so forth up to 1986.


Tim

 

[trevytrev]

Good to know! Thanks for the info:thumbup:

 

[dogstar]

Well, the knife showed up crazy fast! It was not as pictured (big surprise ) It says "KC37 ITALY" on the blade, with no markings on the back side. On the tang there is a crown with "ROBERT KLAAS" written in an arc above it. Rough is a word often used to describe this knife, and I cannot agree more. Bigtime gaps on the handle and backspring, sludge from the factory, no walk and talk at all; just a gritty bind on the pivot. It will take a bit of work to get this knife in working condition.

Whew... after washing it under the sink, then applying copious mineral oil, then cleaning out gunk, then repeated opening and closing, I am much relieved. The springs have come back to life somewhat; not a bear trap by any means, but the blade stays open as well as my other slip joints, and it now snaps closed with a tiny bit of authority. I am satisfied with that. Now to clean up some rough edges and drop the point somewhat. I can see myself carrying this knife now.

 

[trevytrev]

Bummer bro, though I'm not surprised by the rougher finish and dirt I am a bit with the walk and talk since they are all good in that aspect in my collection. As for the misrepresentation, I'm not sure what you paid for it but I would complain that they are advertising it as a German made Brown mule when it clearly is not. Thanks for the heads up! Trevor~

 

[george c]

Hi Folks,
A most likely too-long story to say not all that much. Up until six months or so ago the only knife I ever "carried" was the SAK Classic.

As I mentioned on another post, I went knife-buying crazy a few months ago. And, possibly like many of the folks reading this I jumped all around, yes, seeking the "perfect" knife. On this quest, I've bought several Case, about twelve GECs, four Buck 303s, a bunch of made in China of various patterns, and surely I'm missing a few. This added to a bunch of SAK including most of the Alox models and a few Case and Buck knives I've owned most likely 30 years or so.

About two months ago I purchased a Case Sod Buster Jr, yellow CV. Thought it was a well made knife and all of that....but, put it away. Then, I ran across this thread a few weeks ago. Yep, dragged out the Case CV and took another look. For at least two weeks only used the CV...for chopping up vegetables, peeling apples, opening packages and mail and such. Yep, I thought Trev has something here. So then my search was for my next Sod Buster. I wanted CV but as you folks know, there are no current models made. The jigged bone model look great. That's when I posted a thread and got lots of comments and suggestions.

I had considered the Bullnose before but always considered it too big. Of course, several of you, as I best remember mentioned it. So, I took another look....and, yes, ordered one. I reported back on the thread and Trev ask that when I got it to give a review....

Well, came in today. My most pleasant surprise was the size. I guess we can measure all we want but until it's in our hands the actual perceived size can be misleading. The size is terrific...I'd been imagining something gigantic and that's the least thing this knife is. It fits my medium-sized hands comfortably. It's nicely made, the pins and such are smooth, the blade is perfectly centered, the etching seems to me to fit the knife and its intended purpose, and it seems reasonably sharp. And, as the kids would say, the color (orange) is kinda cool. In summary, for me of course, I can see no way to improve this knife. Of course, might say it could be a spec smaller/shorter but that would surely be nit picking.

If any of you folks have been on the fence about this knife....this is a heck of a deal for about $50. My most expensive GEC knives are the three JBFs that I bought. As far as I'm concerned this knife is as well put together as those. As I mentioned above, everything smooth and tight. My Case CV will now be given a rest. Will be interesting to see how long this will be "my knife."

You folks take care and get one of these before Trev buys them all.......

Regards,

George

PS. Will, thanks for your kind remark on the thread about "blade wobble."

 

[trevytrev]

George, I'm really happy to hear that you like the knife:thumbup: Let us know your thoughts after a few weeks of carrying it with you!

 

[T. Erdelyi]

I'm glad I found this thread there are some impressive looking Sod Busters here, a truly simple working man's knife, essentially, (forgive my comparison but it's namesake only) the Sod Buster is the early American Sebenza if a knife back then meant work the Sod Buster is that knife...

 

[Robnasty]

I'm a huge fan of the sodbuster pattern and im truly jealous. I've been looking for a red sodbuster for a long while now with no luck, I wish they would make more of them available.

 

[trevytrev]

Hi Rob, glad you enjoy the pattern! I'm surprised that red isn't more available as well but you can still find them. You can find red ones by Queen or Case from time to time on the big auction site, you just have to look frequently. AG Russell makes their Cowboy/Rancher knives in Coral Rucarta, which is a red micarta like material. Here is a few pics of that knife

Queen just re-released the Black Cherry Delrin Country cousin. I've yet to take a picture of it but its burgundy.

 

[oldmanrunning]

So I've always been a fan of the sodbuster design(mainly Case Sodbuster Jr) but I wasn't really aware of the different versions of this knife made by countless companies spanning across the globe. I knew of some china made versions and the Queen Country cousin but other than those and the Case versions I was in the dark. One day I happened across a thread and saw a Schatt&Morgan Stag Sodbuster and was pretty intrigued to say the least, I had to have one! Searching high and low for this knife with my google fu I came across a whole world(literally) of sodbusters and learned that they are called different names in different parts of the world. The US refers to them as Sodbusters, Germany calls them Hippeknieps(pocket knife), France calls them Mineurs(Miners knife) and Spain calls them Navajas de campaña or Pastor knives but all are pretty close to the same design. I started adding and collecting these knives and figured I would post up my collection for people who love the sodbuster pattern to see so they can compare different versions of the pattern with each other, and maybe infect you with my illness There are many I'm still missing and need to get for my collection. I try to stick to the smaller sodbusters, the 4 5/8' and larger sodbusters are a bit big for me.

I included a Yellow Case Sodbuster Jr for size reference in every shot since I figured most people interested in this pattern probably own one of these knives or have an idea of its size and shape.

I'll start out with US made versions of the Sodbuster

From left to right:

Case Sodbuster Jr Stainless Steel(SS) in Yellow, Red, Blue, Green, Black delrin handles. Case Yellow CV, Case Kentucky Bicentenial Knives in Green Delrin, Wood & Stag handles all in SS. Case Carbon Fiber, Amber Bone and Hunter Green in SS. Moore Maker in Yellow Bone 1095 steel(made by Queen), Moore Maker yellow Delrin in 1095(Pretty sure this is made by Queen) Queen Red Country Cousin #70 440C steel, Queen Country Cousin #70 in Black and Yellow D2 steel. Queen in Red jigged bone made for the 2003 Youth NKCA D2?, Queen #70 in Stag D2, Schatt&Morgan MMVII D2?, Queen Alabama Red Delrin D2, Bob White Brand Black handles made by Queen, Black Bear Skinner by Voyles Cutlery Black Handles made by Queen, Queen # 70 in Micarta D2 2nd run & 1st run, Bear & Sons yellow in 1095, Bear & Sons in Black SS, Bear & Sons yellow lockback 1095 steel, Moore Maker lockback by Bear & Sons 1095 steel, Great Eastern Cutlery Bullnose in Black, Nifebright(glow in the dark) & Orange all in 01 steel.
Next up is the German Sodbusters called Hippeknieps. From what I've read the Sodbuster originated in Germany, under the name clasp knife or folding butcher knife, and predominantly comes in wooden handles. There are a few handle variations of some of these knife I don't have but these are the major brands still in production I could find.

From left to right:
Loewen Messer in Carbon Steel, Robert Herder "Windmühlenmesser" Larger version in carbon steel, Otter Messer Larger Version in Carbon Steel, Heinrich Schmitz Large in Carbon Steel, Robert Herder "Windmühlenmesser" small version Carbon steel in Cherry and Olive wood, Otter Messer smaller version in Carbon steel, Heinrich Schmitz Smaller version in Stag Stainless. Case Sodbuster for reference

More German Sodbusters

From Left to right:

Carl Schlieper German Eye Brand Wood in carbon Steel, Carl Schlieper German Eye in yellow carbon steel(older and newer version), Bulldog Brand (appears to be made by Carl Schlieper German Eye) in Green, Red & Yellow all Carbon blades, Boker Cinch made in Argentina Yellow Carbon, Case for reference. Forgot to add the German Bull and Buck Creek Dirt Busters, see pics below in Stag section. These two look to be made by the same company.


Next up are the Spanish Sodbusters, called Navajas de campaña or Paster knives. One thing about the Spanish Sodbusters I've noticed is the pointier blades and the use of bails. There are many more versions of these from other companies but they are hard to come by, IHER, PAYA, Saex and so on.

From left to right:

J.J Martinez one in Carbon and one in Stainless, JKR Smaller in Stainless, JKR Medium in Stainless, Celaya medium in Cherry stainless, Celaya medium Smooth Bull Horn stainless, Celaya medium in Stag stainless, Celaya medium in light wood stainless, Celaya medium in green composite wood stainless, Aitor in bland composite wood and dark wood in stainless, JKR medium dark wood in stainless, Case Sodbuster Jr for reference. I forgot to add the two Hen&Rooster Sodbusters in Smooth stag and stag to this pic, they are made in Spain and they look identical to the Celaya knives so I am guessing they are made in the same factory, see pics of stag knives for comparison.

Next is the French Version called the Le Mineur(miners knife) Love the blade profile on these knives!

From Left to right:
GR Mineur in blonde wood carbon steel, Parapluie a L'épreuve in carbon steel, Parapluie a L'épreuve in horn carbon steel. Case for reference


next are the Italian made sodbusters, it appears that the Brown mules are made by the same people that make Antonini Maniaghese

From top to bottom:
Case for Ref, Robert Klass Brown Mule medium in Carbon, Antonini Maniaghese medium in carbon steel, Robert Klass Brown Mule small in carbon steel

Here are all the stag sodbusters together

From Left to right:

German Bull, Buck Creek, Celaya in smooth bone and stag, Celaya in stag and smooth bone, Schatt&Morgan, Heinrich Schmitz, Case in stag..Case and Schmitz swapped in last shot


I still have to add another section on China made Sodbusters. I have to admit that I originally had made the decision not to add Chinese made sodbusters to my collection but I really liked the AG Russell take on the pattern and heard good things about his knives so I pulled the trigger on them. I was so impressed I bought a few other Chinese made sodbusters and I have been pleasantly surprised with the fit and finish of most.

Update: Here are the China Made Sodbusters that I have so far. I have some of the Rough Riders larger ones that I have not taken pictures, these are the smaller, more in line with the Case Sodbuster Jr.

From left to right:
Rough Rider liner lock in Cow Bone and Yellow in stainless, Schrade in Yellow and Black stainless, Kissing Cranes in Peach, Black, Yellow, Abalone(imitation), Pearl(imitation) and Blue all in Stainless, AG Russell in Yellow Delrin and Black Rucarta both in 8Cr13MoV, Case Sodbuster JR for reference.



I have a few other miscellaneous sodbusters that I have to post and I might fix a few of the pics where I left knives out. If you have any questions or request please let me know!

Of all these knives my favorites are the GEC Bullnose worknife black and orange,The French made Parapluie a L'épreuve wood handle and Moore Maker Yellow Bone handle by Queen.

Thanks and I will be adding to the list and adding pics periodically as I acquire new knives . I'm actively seeking to add to the collection so if you know of some or have some that you dont see here please feel free to comment or post pictures. I would like for this to be a good source of info on this pattern so chime in whenever with whatever!

Ive got this one.

 

[immolatus]

Thanks for posting this bro. I've been wanting to see most of those side by side for awhile for comparison and there in one shot was pretty much all the soddies I've ever looked at. Awsome.
I've got the good old yellow derlin cv and the funny thing is: no matter what just came in the mail or where I'm going I just can't get it out of my pocket. I see all the time guys posting about trying to carry just one knife. For me the choice is simple.