Sodbuster Quality

longbeachguy

longbeachguy

Joined
Oct 11, 2005
Messages
2,533
Here's a question for you sodbuster aficionados:

Do you think there's an appreciable difference in quality which even comes close to justifying the wide range in prices on sodbusters of different makes? If you look at large sodbusters with carbon steel blades and yellow composite handles, here's the hierarchy in ascending order, more or less:

Boker "Gaucho", Solingen carbon steel, $13

Case, CV steel: $22

Eye Brand, hammer forged carbon steel: $30

Moore Maker, 1095 steel: $50

I've handled all but the Moore Maker (which is made by Queen) and I can't tell any difference.

Am I out to lunch, or is there a legitimate difference? I'm thinking the prices have more to do with brand prestige than anything else.
 
Good question but for me a Sodbuster just has to be a Case......I recently bought one finally a Large one, black handles but with the S/S, I'd rather it had been the CV but Lowe's only had the s/s.
I have used this beauty a number of times since then and just love the utiltarian feel of it, good tough cutter for around the yard or camping......I am now a Sodbuster lover.

Kap
 
No, you're not out to lunch at all.

The whole concept of a sodbuster is a cost effective cutting tool for the working guy. Its a simple knife, with rugged construction. I love the soddies and have most of them. The Case has better fit and finish than my K.K. brown mules, and its worth a bit more. Plus its made here in the U.S.of A. I'll pay a few dollars for that.

But if I were buying a new soddie today, I would not buy my Eye-brand again. I got my large yellow Eye-brand in the mid 1980's at a little cheaper price than a Case. It was worth it then. But now they are like 60-75% higher than a Case with yellow delrin and CV blade. They do not show the same fit and finish, use steel bolsters instead of brass, and a cruder finish to the blade. They are just flat out not worth the current price, because of the dollar/mark value.

As for Moore Maker- Their yellow soddie is waaay over priced. I guess I just don't understand the whole Moore Maker thing. If I want a Case sodbuster or a Camillus stockman, I'll buy a Case sodbuster or a Camillus stockman. If I want fancy, I'll get a Queen or Shatt and Morgan. I don't get the contract/re-label thing.

To me the Case is about as high priced as I think a knife of that design should be, and thats a little high. I use my brown mules and Boker Gaucho alot. I like my Boker gaucho alot, it a very good knife, cuts well, and is priced right for that style of knife. For all intents and purpases, the KK brown mules and my Boker gaucho's are just as good a cutters as my Case. They sharpen up easy and get a scary edge, hold it well under day to day use. What more can you ask?

Anything pricier than the Case is out of line, and not worth it.
 
I agree about the Boker... I have been using mine a bit and the blade is great... strong and takes a very good edge.

I have just been given two plastic handled CK sodbusters, made in Germany, one is a spear point and the other is a sheepsfoot blade... both are 3.5" long closed, Sandvik 12C27 steel which is easy to sharpen. They have very good, hard springs and I will try to put them through their paces soon. They do not look pretty, but the steel is great and the springs are impressive.

This type of knife is fantastic to have in your toolbox, on the workbench, anywhere where you need a good strong knife that just cuts well, whatever you want to cut.
 
Well, the sodbsuter, by origin, was the "Poor man's pocket knife" in Germany. Usually used by the farmer, hence the name used later, "sodbuster". It was suppose to be an old clasp type penny knife, and has been around for well over 100+ years.

The difference between the prices will be different factors. Who made it (also, country of origin), the materials used, and other factors.

In its basic form the sodbuster, is pretty much a penny knife. Simple, usually no liners (but not in all cases), inexpensive to produce, and very "serviceable".
 
rev_jch said:
Well, the sodbsuter, by origin, was the "Poor man's pocket knife" in Germany. Usually used by the farmer, hence the name used later, "sodbuster". It was suppose to be an old clasp type penny knife, and has been around for well over 100+ years.

The difference between the prices will be different factors. Who made it (also, country of origin), the materials used, and other factors.

In its basic form the sodbuster, is pretty much a penny knife. Simple, usually no liners (but not in all cases), inexpensive to produce, and very "serviceable".
Click to expand...

That`s it! :thumbup:

That`s exactly what the vintage Robert Klaas (Kissing Cranes) Sodbusters from the 1950`s are, that I got recently. They are pretty well made with a good carbonsteel blade and nice wooden scales. They have thin steel liners and pretty strong springs.
At that time they were intended as cheap (in terms of VERY affordable) but reliable tools!
And they fit the bill!:D
 
First off, KaptKopter, welcome to large group of people who have tried a sodbuster and come to love it. It's hard not to love a simple, purposeful knife, and the sodbuster is that.

It seems to be human nature to take something basic and solid then start trying to dress it up or make it more than it is. That said, I still would love to have one of those stag handled sodbusters we've seen around here. They are sweet looking. However, I kind of compare the soddie thing to BBQ brisket and beef fajitas (skirt meat). Both started out as ways to use low end cuts of beef that often were just given away. What went from being an inexpensive, economical way to use the meat has now become "fancy" food comnplete with afficianados. No cost savings there anymore.

I've found my Case CV soddie jr to be a fine knife that does an excellent job of just being a regular carry knife. Both my Kissing Crane Brown Mules are excellent examples of what a no nonsense, straight forward, economical piece of working cutlury is. As others have mentioned, strong springs, and simple components that do a top job with carbon steel blades that sharpen up like you expect carbon steel to sharpen, hold an edge, and touch up quickly. Like Opinels and Moras, they are a lot of knife for little money. Sure, they don't have that silky feel of more upscale knives. I think part of the charm is their rough, country roots showing through. Like the yellow handled Cases, they make no pretense of being anything other than a working knife that you can count on as a daily partner. To me they have a charm that is hard to resist.

And you know, that brown wood handle on the KC would probably lend itselt to a little custom shaping/carving or some inlays. I'm thinking inlays like you would put on a muzzleloader or maybe a ranger star or two set in the handle.... See what I mean about human nature.
 
recently I have purchesd a :thumbdn: case sodbuster jr, cheetah , sea horse whittler and a mid folding hunter............ all ss. The cheetah was "sharp as hell" out of the box. While the rest where "dull as hell".


Has anybody else had such a problem?
 
Its a sign of the times I guess, but alot of the knives I buy have to be sharpened out of the box, exept for Opinels, sak's, and Forschner kitchen knives.

The last knife I got was a small yellow handle Case soddie to go with my old large case soddie, and I had to work on it a bit to get it up to my standards. Thats okay, sitting there sharpening it lets me "bond" with the knife and it becomes mine. May be weird, but I never said I was all there. I'm the guy with a nice Garcia rod and a top of the line Shimano reel gathering dust all summer while I was using a cane pole.
 
Naw, Jackknife, that ain't weird. It sounds sensible to me, like going back to the simplicity of the cane pole. Then again, if it sounds natural to me, you may be crazy at that. :D

I've found very few knives the I get these days are ready to go without at least a fine tuning on the stones. Most fortunately come up to the edge I want quickly. Now and then I get one that takes a lot more work.

I think it goes along with JKs "bonding" idea. A little time on the stones putting the edge on it that suits you sort of personalizes the knife and makes it yours. The edge I like may not be the edge another guy likes. I've also found that as I sharpen different knives their own personality emerges and one may show an edge that I think will work better for some things than for others, even though I'm usually honing at the same angle I ususally do. I have knives that will shave, cut thick leather like nothing, and barely cut a 1/2" manilla rope. I have some that won't shave, but cut everything else like crazy. Then a few, like Moras, that do it all with ease straight from the sheath with no sharpening needed.

I get frustrated by the knives that just seem impossible to get "my" edge on it. My Boker's (carbon steel blades at that) seem to be the worst for this. But they have such pretty stag scales I still like em. I can get good usable edges on them, but they never "quite" reach that fine edge state.
 
Thank you gentlemen for sharing your thoughts and affection for the sodbuster...I have not owned one since high school but the Case plastic handle sodbuster was affordable to someone who was poor as a church mouse. It would get scary sharp for a 16 year old (That's when we all carried knives & wet rocks in our pockets to school). And almost indestructable; I still remember leaving it on my truck flat bed and losing it in the middle of the highway not only to find it later still in the highway being run over time and time again but working great once I braved the treck out into the middle of the highway...

Thanks,

Sunburst
 
Well now you guys went and got me started on something I had not planned to do...You got me thinking about picking up a sodbuster every now & then...

Here are my first victims a Queen 1978 Country Plowboy & Eye Brand Stag..

QueenSodbusterBladeEtch.jpg

EyeBrandSodbusterFront.jpg
 
Sodbuster, stag, and a saw. Man you pushed all my buttons with that one! Sweet!

Yeah, I got soddie fever this past week. I can't find my Kissing Crane KC37 Brown Mule, though I'm sure it is around here somewhere. I had it in a jeans watch pocket and managed to loose it. So, I picked up one for a good price on ebay, then proceeded to pick up the KC36 from the same guy to round out my Mules. He also had some soddies called Mule Skinners in Rostfrei blades that look like Brown Mule knock offs. They were cheap and had a look that really represented the orignal "penny" knife concept so what the heck, I bought one in each of the two sizes. They're on their way in the mail. I'll be curious to examine the later.

One of these days I'm going to win one of those stag Queen soddies.

Btw, can you point us to where you got that Eye Brand?
 
Got the soddies in today. The KC-36 and KC-37 Brown Mules are pretty much what I expected. Solid knives, good blades decently sharp, plenty of backspring strength, and lots of snap. My experience so far has been that the Kissing Crane Brown Mules are a lot of good using knife for the money. I know a few haven't had such luck with them, but most of us have.

The other two, the Mule Skinners are Frosts, made in China, with Rostfrie on the blade. I wasn't expecting much and these didn't disappoint. ;) Then they probably are true to the roots of the penny knife. The blade on the smaller one was usable. The larger one needs some work, but would cut something. The backsprings are light, but not as bad as some I've had. Let's just say you won't confuse a Mule Skinner with a Brown Mule when opening it. Fit is tight though. The blades don't wobble. The wood is lighter than the KCs as if there was little or no staining done, but they are smooth. They're okay to have in a soddie collection, but I wouldn't buy one as a serious user unless it was to be really abused with a good chance of loosing it.

There's not really much to post a pic about, but later on I will probably scan in the three Brown Mules.
 
I am also a Sodbuster fan. There is only three I will buy: Case, Queen, & Brown Mule. I prefer carbon steel on a working knife although, the Queen in D2 is close to stainless. JMHO
 
I am holding Bladeforums responsible for this new infection of madness given to me from this board. The postman says I ordered these and that is why they keep coming to my address. :p :D ;)

Here are a couple of Stag Sodbusters to go along with the Stag German Eye above...A Queen #70, German Bull & Case 1976 Kentucky Bicentinnial.

Queensodbuster.jpg

GermanBullsodbuster.jpg

Casesodbuster.jpg


Sunburst
 
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