What's your take on Sodbusters?

dePaul

dePaul

Joined
Aug 8, 2000
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I only recently became aware of these knives. Couldn't resist to order a piece (Queen Country Cousin D2 Sodbuster). Did I do allright or is the purchase a complete disaster?

Also, what do you think of Queen's D2 steel? Is it somewhere in the near of let's say Dozier's D2? What edge angle would you consider to be the most suitable for this steel and blade geometry?

~Paul~
 
I will be able to answer your question in about three days

-I just ordered the same knife!!!

The guys on the traditional knives sub forum will be able to answer your question, and if you look into some older posts they all like the Queen Country Cousin.

I have been getting into traditional knives lately, after having some of the best production folders with thumb studs and locks and so forth I figured out that most of my EDC can be done with a traditional slip joint and if I feel I need more I have plenty of nice fixed blades to reach for.

Did you go for yellow or black?
 
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yellow as well!

They say that the edge is't that great out of the box but with a little sharpening it is well worth the price.
 
Good luck with that. Even with the diamond rods, you're going to be sharpening for a while.
 
Here is a recent thread on sodbusters.....

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=688993&highlight=sodbuster

As to your new Queen...congrats. They are great knives... a little more of point than Case's version of the pattern. Which one is better? Who knows..personal preference. I prefer the Queen sodbuster with D2. The last one I got came with the famous Queen edge...obtuse and dull as a butter knife. Diamond stones are your friend. You'll can thin out the edge with a sharp maker but you'll be at a looooooong time.
 
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I have an Eazy Lap diamond hone. Unfortunately it's very short. I will be forced to use the Sharpmaker after all :(.

~Paul~
 
I like the Case sodbusters quite a lot. I don't have any personal experience with the Queens- because I don't collect Queen (per se). I can say that the Cases generally come with excellent edges, and hold them quite well. The carbon versions (which I prefer) come with better fit & finish than the stainless ones do. The carbon Case sodbusters come with a nicely mirror polished blade, and sharpen very easily. The stainless versions have the same finish on the blades that the black G10 series has- which shows the grind marks. The stainless versions have some rough edges on the handles as well, which need few minutes' worth of love with sandpaper to slick 'em up. I have a carbon Case in yellow delrin in my pocket right now. I worked the edge into a polished convex profile, and it eats wood like no tomorrow. Case Sodbusters can take a lot more hard use than their diminutive price tag would indicate. I like 'em!
 
I have a Case, Eye Brand and a Queen Sodbuster. The Queen and Case have very good fit and finish but the Eye brand is a little rough. All sharpened up nicely but the Queen had to be reprofiled/thinned down in order to sharpen. Queen puts an absolutely PATHETIC Edge on its knives and they need to correct that! The Case came with a good edge and my Spyderco Sharpmaker has kept that edge going but the Eye Brand needed a little work on my Norton India Combo stone. If you try to sharpened your Queen on the Sharpmaker it will take a long long long tme. If a knife does not have a good profile already the Sharpmaker just does not work for me. But the Queen is a well made Sodbuster just a bad edge. I personally think any decent factory knife should have a good edge when new. QUeen needs to watch these forums and learn about this. As you can tell Queen's bad edge bothers me.

RKH
 
I think you did fine.

Sodbusters originated in Germany in the mid-to late 1800's. They were an inexpensive clasp type knife for farmers. They were cheap to produce and basically were a work tool. They've been made by many makers over the years (case, queen, boker, eyebrand, kissing crane, etc.). Handles ranging from wood (most common), to horn, plastic, etc.
 
rev_jch said:
I think you did fine.

Sodbusters originated in Germany in the mid-to late 1800's. They were an inexpensive clasp type knife for farmers. They were cheap to produce and basically were a work tool. They've been made by many makers over the years (case, queen, boker, eyebrand, kissing crane, etc.). Handles ranging from wood (most common), to horn, plastic, etc.
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Do you have any kind of experience with Delrin handles?

~Paul~
 
Don't have a Country Cousin, but I just bought a Queen Canoe in D2, and it's tough stuff! Be prepared to spend some time with diamond stones for a good edge. I got a great edge on mine, but it took a while.

Since I sharpen freehand , I can't really recommend an angle, 'cause I don't know what it is!
 
got the case version in stainless steel (don't care about patina, just don't want it to rust easy)...don't care about angles; 5 mins on the sharpmaker periodically and it's fit for duty...
 
dePaul said:
I only recently became aware of these knives. Couldn't resist to order a piece (Queen Country Cousin D2 Sodbuster). Did I do allright or is the purchase a complete disaster?

Also, what do you think of Queen's D2 steel? Is it somewhere in the near of let's say Dozier's D2? What edge angle would you consider to be the most suitable for this steel and blade geometry?

~Paul~
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You got an excellent knife, and you can't beat the price.
 
My view of knives is purely utilitarian. They are tools for cutting stuff. Hence, I like sodbusters a lot, especially the versions fitted with locks. I won't spend money on cosmetics because I'm going to beat them up anyway. I will spend money on steel, but usually don't have to because sodbusters are built as work knives, and usually have good steel. I want the lock because I had an unfortunate experience with a deer that came back to life, and I had to stab it to permanently dead.

A big plus in my mind is that sodbusters are clearly work knives. A Case Sodbuster Jr or equivalent draws no unwelcome attention. They still offer a useful length of blade and an excellent grip. My current EDC is Bear & Son lockback in that size and yellow in carbon steel. It does very well for my needs.

When I know specifically that I will be using a knife, I go to a full sized linerlock Indian Head or Rough Rider sodbuster. (Same knife with different brand names as far as I can tell.) I was rather surprised by the quality of steel in those. It's identified only as 440, but it's 440C unless I am badly off in my guess. Whatever it is, it's fantastic blade steel to find in $10-12 knives.
 
I have an old Eye Brand (Carl Schleiper, Solingen Germany) `buster....carbon steel, wood handle slabs....used it as my primary work knife for years....it takes a shaving edge with just a few swipes across the diamond rod....it`s about 40 years old.
 
Leftoverdj said:
I had to stab it to permanently dead.

It's identified only as 440, but it's 440C unless I am badly off in my guess. Whatever it is, it's fantastic blade steel to find in $10-12 knives.
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It was temporarily dead before? :p

Rough Rider knives are 440a if I remember correctly. They perform just fine......a good value most of the time.
 
I have been thinking about picking up a Sodbuster as a loaner knife for my non-knife friends. Nice to hear some reviews, seems it is down to a Case SB Jr. or Queen (Like the 3 5/8 size).
 
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