Sodbuster vs slimline trapper vs Svord Peasant

T

thatotherguy

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Oct 9, 2011
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In the spirit of the VS thread started by FarmKid, I would like to see which knife would last longer under hard use in your own opinions and why you think so. Sharpening is excluded due to the varying blade widths.
By hard use I mean the kind of stuff FarmKid puts his knife through. Digging, scraping, slicing, prying (let's say light) cutting wire and anything else you can think of that might need to be done with a knife on a farm.
Let's also say that the peasant's screws have been threadlocked and do not get adjusted, just to be fair to the non-adjustable knives.
How about it? Which of the above knives would outlast the others and why? If you think there's another comparable slipjoint or friction knife out there that can beat these, by all means include that too. :)
I think that the Svord would have a slight edge (no pun intended) on the others because of the tang taking much of the shock and transferring it to the handle via the stop pin, although the sodbuster does have the toughness of the liners.
 
Slimline trapper. I have a yellow case in cv and been using it for two weeks and it's a great pattern. The blade is perfect for piercing. I've cut a few briars down, processed sweet corn, stripped wire, cut twine, cut down clumps of Johnson's grass, cleaned grease fiittings, and other things and it's performed well. The blade is stained black but against the yellow handle it's awesome. Sodbuster would rank up there too!
 
Without a doubt, the peasant. I've put a baton to it, which I would not do to a slip joint. The merits of batoning aside, the peasant has the fewest parts, the longest tang and if the pivot screw breaks, you have a spare in the back. Heck, use the blade as fixed blade and carve a hardwood dowel if you need to.
 
I would say its close between soddie and peasant but I'm going to say soddie as I've seen what some people have done to them and they still come back for more.

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The Svord Peasant would be the toughest I'd say, but I'd prefer the Slimline Trapper for the lighter jobs. The Sodbuster....I like them.... but for some reason
I can't quite figure out I don't carry one much. I did once have to break down some VERY tough cardboard with a soddie jr. and it did it ok, but I had to use quite a bit of pressure on the blade to do it. I found the blade had a bit of lateral play in it after that job :-( It was easy to fix as I only had to squeeze the pivot a little in a vice to bring it right back to normal.
 
dogstar said:
Without a doubt, the peasant. I've put a baton to it, which I would not do to a slip joint. The merits of batoning aside, the peasant has the fewest parts, the longest tang and if the pivot screw breaks, you have a spare in the back. Heck, use the blade as fixed blade and carve a hardwood dowel if you need to.
Click to expand...

I agree 100% with you, I consider the Svord peasant a fixed blade that swings into a sheath, like the small BHK tiger knapp with the leather sheath.
 
I would say the Svord is most likely to last the longest under hard use, because it has the strongest blade profile.

Svord
svord.jpg

The Svord has the tallest blade profile with the shortest length. The low aspect ratio makes it the strongest against breaking, if you plan to use the blade as a pry bar. The Svord has an extended spine, that sticks out past the handle when closed. Not sure I would trust it in my pocket. It is certainly an interesting design, and I like the blade pattern, but not the extended blade spine.

Slimline
ca031h.jpg

The slimline has narrow blade height, and a long blade. The high aspect ratio makes it the most fragile to prying forces. I find the appearance of the slimline most aesthetically pleasing. I own a Slimline, have no experience with the other two.

Sodbuster
032.jpg

The sodbuster has a wide blade height. That makes it stronger than the slimline. The sodbuster has an adjustable pivot tension, the others do not. I find the sodbuster blade shape least appealing to my eye.
 
Very well thought out post, and quite scientific. I see where each point comes from.
Keep in mind that the slimline is the only one with the possible torsional rigidity advantage of a bolster, which is lost with the narrow blade. The Svord also has that tang which can be used as a prybar instead of the blade, and can also be used as a scraper and short "diggin' stick".
The idea of having a spare pivot in the handle was also brought up, and could be seen as an advantage.
 
I look forward to a post of yours with a photo of your new Svord :-), very cool knife.

I hope you buy one of each and post a review.

I also highly recommend a Douk Douk. I own a large one like this:
31ibRyUETNL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


here is a video review of the smaller one, for the pictures, not the comments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9RWPTjQaeU
I disagree with the comments made in the video claiming it is not a french knife, that is hollow ground and dull.. It IS french, the grind is flat, and mine came razor sharp.

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douk-Douk
 
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Nothing wrong in the least bit with a Douk Douk. However the blade steel while serviceable is a bit on the soft side, but still I love my Douk douks and IMO they are among the strongest hard use slip joints. Of the above knives I would say that I'm most partial to the Slimline trapper/utility with it's long and slender blade profile for cutting and skinning things. But under your circumstances without a doubt the Svord peasant knife would be the most ideal. It's almost too simple to fail.
 
The slimline is nicer to carry in pocket, but to me needs to be supplemented with a stronger blade for "rough chores"
The Soddy is a nice clean looking pattern and has more meat than the trapper, but the tip looks too "blunt" to me.
The Svord is less convenient for front pocket carry than the other 2, but has enough point for fine work, enough width for grubbing, and the tang for prying so it gets my vote for the criteria in the OP. (I also like the fact that if I somehow manage to break the handle, I can make a new set of scales - I can't do that with the other 2 patterns)
 
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