- Joined
- Jun 29, 1999
- Messages
- 10,133
We've been traveling a bit lately, and I've been looking for a Europe-legal blade, something non-threatening but large enough to be useful. We were down in Texas a month ago to see the southern clan, where a great-nephew was getting his Eagle Scout badge. (I brought mine along, too, having earned it 50 years ago.) While there I picked up a nice little Sodbuster Jr. in CV steel for about $10 less than I'd pay here in BC, what with the provincial/federal sales tax. (BC stands for British Columbia and/or Bring Cash.) Mailed it back to myself, airline regs being what they are. It arrived today, and I spent about 10 minutes on the DMT hones bringing the factory edge up to snuff. That thin edge now cuts like shrieking banshee, and held up well whittling some hard maple. I'm impressed with Case's CV steel. The spring is just this side of nail-breaking stiff, but still manageable. A shot of solvent cleaner and a couple of drops of BreakFree eased it up a tad. The cutting edge is 2 1/2" long, probably too long to carry aboard an airplane even with the new regs, but then you don't even get those little bags of stale peanuts anymore so that's OK. Next time we fly I'll check my bag so I'll have a cutting tool at the other end.
