The best sodbuster

S

Swedge

Joined
Dec 23, 2008
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What do you consider to be the best sodbuster? Most questions asking for the best knife of this or that type omit the intended purpose and price range. Well, I don't think price is an object with sodbusters, and I won't be using the sodbuster much. I just want one. Knowing what others like about their sodbusters can help me pick one.

So I'm interested in what you consider to be the best sodbuster and why.
 
Price no object? That's too easy, IMO it's the Kerry Hampton KHnutbuster.

mykhnutbuster.jpg


Custom quality, with the scales and steel of your choice. The maker is Bose-trained, and the KHnutbuster is his signature pattern.

- Christian
 
I used a yellow Case JR with a CV blade for a while and was very happy with it.

Once sold on the pattern, I was lucky enough to pick up a Keith Johnson sodbuster with ivory micarta scales.

Pick a number between 1 and 10 that looks like a snowman and I will let you borrow one of my cases to check out.
 
Well, I have a nice old Case. Its a great knife. But, the sodbuster is a work knife. If it were me, I would get one of the Rough Rider ones...has a liner lock, costs little...break it, buy a new one... I have the regular and jr. Both nice, and they are much slimmer than the traditional. (I don't think they call it a sodbuster...I think just 'work knife'). I have them in yellow, but they come in bone handle too.

Or I see old case soddies for sale all the time if you want the old steel.

Edit: just registered the price is no object thing...then I'd get a vintage Case in good shape.
 
Christian has the point..price no object-bang..it goes to the custom everytime...just look at the KH..Very Nice!!
But...if money was a problem?
I recently bought a 1 dot Case, '79 full size CV soddie...it's mint and its a hell of a knife!!
 
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Swedge said:
Well, I don't think price is an object with sodbusters, and I won't be using the sodbuster much.
Click to expand...

I'm confused. Do you mean sky's the limit or price is irrelevant because soddies aren't that expensive usually. :confused:
 
For me it would be the Queen country cousin. I absolutely love that knife and it's D2 steel!
 
Ed T said:
Pick a number between 1 and 10 that looks like a snowman and I will let you borrow one of my cases to check out.
Click to expand...

I must be really tired, I had to read that twice, then it hit me:D

Very cool offer Ed :thumbup:
 
I have only the schlieper soddie, mi first
really nice and well made, sharpens great and for 30usd it's fine
 
You can spend the big $$ to buy one made by a custom maker....but this one will do the same thing....for about $25.
Case CV...

yellerz001-1.jpg
 
i may be baised but most of my experience has been with german eyes, henckels & herders. i have an eye sitting above my sink that i'm sure will outlive me. i'm 72 The schliper eye is from 1980 & still has years of cutting left. will try to post a pic. opinels & soddies are the flywheels of the working man's cutting tools.
dennis
 
I don't know what's the best sodbuster, but mine serves me very well, for over 15 years now. It's made by Friedrich Herder and it's still very common here in the northern part of the Netherlands. My father carries one and grandfather carried them too. For me it's a great sodbuster because of its history.

09FriedrichHerder.jpg
 
So far I've a Case 4 5/8ths in American Workman, Rough Rider 4 5/8ths liner-lock in imitation tortoiseshell, and an Indian Head 4 5/8ths liner-lock.

I'd go with the Case after I round the edges on it as it doesn't have the liner-lock. So far I haven't done anything that made me want the liner-lock and I notice on the RR it seems in the way. The Indian Head seems to be made by the same company that churns out the RR but the cosmetics aren't as nice. Maybe the Indian Head brand is the starting point and when you get good enough you move up to doing the RR's.

I don't have a KH yet but one of these years I will probably rectify that situation.
 
Almost all the sodbusters I've ever used, seemed to be working beasts. The Case of course is one of the best finished, while my old Eye-Brand from the 80's is a little rough with stamped steel liners. But I love the Kissing Krane brown mules. Low cost, rugged, and with a bit of fine sandpaper and linseed oil cleans up to a very nice knife. Since my KK was a low cost unit, I used it for the hard dirty jobs I didn't want to bugger up my Case on. Nothing I did seemed to affect it much.

But I guess if I had to choose, I'd go with my Case CV. Very sturdy knife.

Carl.
 
I've had the yellow Case in CV steel, a Black Queen in D2, and a rough rider liner lock. The rough rider lock wouldn't fully engage and the blade had excessive wobble. In the process of trying to fix it, I messed up the bone and started a little durability test that did not impress me. The whole thing ended up on the garbage in about 12 pieces but it was worth the $8 to see what it was made of.

I prefer the Case Jr. in CV overall but the Queen D2 is a pretty nice working steel.
 
1970 (10-dot) 2138, and a 2009 2138SS:

I frequently carry the 2138SS. It's a fantastic slicer & great utility knife. If I were to pick the 'best' production sodbuster, I'd pick one that doesn't exist yet, but I keep hoping for. That'd be a LARGE version of Queen's Country Cousin in D2. If it were available, I'd jump all over it.
 
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I have a small "user" collection that consists (top to bottom) Queen D2 Country Cousin, Moore Maker in 1095, Case Jr stainless, and a Seal custom Case CV. I have reprofiled most the blades to 30 degrees with a 40 degree inclusive micro bevel. They slice like crazy! Both the Queen and the Moore Maker initally hit the back spring leaving a small flat spot. After the reprofile they are much better. Of all the soddies I tend to use the Moore Maker the most since it is easy to sharpen and has a blade profile that I prefer.
DSC_0586.jpg
 
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Well, I don't believe there IS a bad Sodbuster...

Refreshing simplicity and a feels good in the hand factor that cannot be argued with!

Some others you might consider are the Schatt & Morgan Stag scaled one with the keystone/coffin shield, not easy to locate but a nice find.

I have a German Bull Sodbuster that has superb stag, and I suspect the Bull refers to something else.. it's probably Chinese but it claims German parentage. Nicely made knife.

The honest Böker from Argentina is inexpensive, a little crude but a decent worker with some useful carbon.
 
I've had this large 4 1/2" Carl Schlieper Eye Brand cocabola handled sod
buster since 1963. My Dad gave me this one for Christmas that year and
the smaller version to my relatively new brother-in-law.

The tang is also marked D.R.G.M. and has a multi-digit patent(?) number as
well.

His looks much worse than mine.

I did carry it for a couple of years, but it's been put up since before I went
into service in 1967.

This knife has tremendous snap and is actually quite hard to open. I wouldn't
want it to close on my finger.

I've often wondered which knife came first, the Eye Brand or the Case.

EyeBrand20SodBuster.jpg
 
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