Three sodbusters

miso2

miso2

Joined
Nov 19, 2014
Messages
2,633
Hi all,

I am still new in traditionals and have found myself a sucker for sodbusters.
So I recently got three common sodbuster knives.
Sodbuster Jr. (Pocket-worn model) from Case with bone (2018), Country Cousin (NKCA Youth knife) from Queen with bone (2003), and Bullnose from GEC with linen micarta (2018).

Sod_busters2.JPG



They are all great, great knives with their own characters.
I bought them because I wanted a light use EDC pocket knife.
Below is what I thought about them as such and what I chose in the end.
 
Sod_busters5.JPG



Major differences

Blade steel: 420HC (Case), Supposedly D2 (Queen), 1095 (GEC)
Blade grind: Hollow (Case), FFG (Queen), FFG (GEC)
Mechanics: Cam (Case), Cam (Queen), Half-stop (GEC)
Size: 3.625" closed (Case), 3.625" (Queen), 3.875" (GEC)
Handle thickness: 0.31" (Case), 0.43" (Queen), 0.51" (GEC)


Edit: The steel of Queen might not be D2 but a stainless steel (420HC?). Thanks to Obsessed with Edges Obsessed with Edges .
 
Last edited:
Sod_busters3.JPG




What I like

Case:
Good F&F. Really excellent on my sample. Perfect blade centering. Everything except the edge is rounded nicely in this Pocket-worn model.
Thinness. Very pocket friendly. This Pocket-worn model knives seem to be thinner than the original bone handle knives (0.31" vs 0.44").
Blade grind. I was surprised by the full-height hollow grind. This and the thin blade stock makes this knife a real slicer.
Action. Very smooth out of the box. Even better after flushing out grits. The spring tension and preload are just perfect with a pull at 6 or so (with my SAK as a reference at 5). Feels very secure in hand. On par with my GEC #15. And the edge does not hit the spring.

Queen:
Steel. D2 is a good semi-stainless steel. Easy to sharpen on diamond hones and keeps the edge long enough.
Pointy blade tip.
Strong spring. Pull around 7 or so. Very snappy when open.

GEC:
Superb F&F.
Blade grind. FFG to a very thin edge. This knife is also the thinnest among three in the stock thickness.
Action. I like the strong spring. Probably 7 or 7.5. Very smooth out of the box.
Handle. The thick linen micarta handle feels great in hand and secure.
 
Things I don't like

Case:
Blade steel. It would be great if it has something better than 420HC, like 154CM or D2. I got try their CV at some point.
Blade tip. Too blunt.

Sod_busters4.JPG



Queen:
F&F. It's not bad, but could be better. Particularly, the pivot should be little tighter to eliminate blade play. Also, the edge hit the spring before edge reprofiling.
Spring preload. The tension is perfect. The preload is little weak, such that the blade can be pushed too easily from the open position.
Blade grind. I wish it has a better deeper grind to a thin edge. I had to reprofile the edge heavily to make it work right. It now has a wide convex edge.

Queen_edge2.JPG



GEC:
Handle thickness. It would be perfect as a work knife. But for EDC, it is little too thick and bulky in pocket for me.
Blade tip. Too blunt.
Blade. The tip is too close to the edge of the handle. Yet, the blade edge is too close to the spring and hits it. I have to take the tip down soon.

GEC_dent.JPG
 
Verdict

To me, Case Sodbuster Jr. is the winner.
The thin handle and thinly ground blade seem perfect for a pocket carry.
Particularly, this Pocket-worn model feels more refined and like a good gentleman's carry.
I need to see how I like it in actual use.

Case1.JPG
 
Agree!
Queen worked well in the yard to cut some branches off.

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I am sure GEC works in this kind of tasks as good as or better than Queen, owing to its longer blade and thinner edge.
So, I am using GEC at home as a work knife (and Queen as my travel knife).

Case has a significantly thinner blade than the other two.
I am not sure if Case can take something like that.
I have to see.
 
I have a full size Case cv yellow soddie that I use in my job at a farm store. It is a hard use knife, no questions asked, and it keeps coming back for more. I have seen multiple cutting tools fail to handle thick plastic shipping bands, but when I show up with my knife, it’s never a problem. If it gets a little dull, a few quick passes on a $1 AlOx stone during lunch break brings it right back to hair-popping sharp.
 
miso2 said:
Sod_busters5.JPG



Major differences

Blade steel: 420HC (Case), Supposedly D2 (Queen), 1095 (GEC)
Blade grind: Hollow (Case), FFG (Queen), FFG (GEC)
Mechanics: Cam (Case), Cam (Queen), Half-stop (GEC)
Size: 3.625" closed (Case), 3.625" (Queen), 3.875" (GEC)
Handle thickness: 0.31" (Case), 0.43" (Queen), 0.51" (GEC)
Click to expand...
Why “supposedly D2”??
 
Nice write up, Miso. Thanks for sharing your opinion. I used to have a large Case sodbuster in blue delrin, and another small one. The big one I exchanged for the small one, and then the small one was confiscated by the theme park police when I forgot to leave it behind in the parking lot.

I should pick up another one, but I've been debating whether to try a GEC instead of a Case.

You might be interested to know that Maserin makes a sodbuster pattern as well. The original model is called "plow" and is a very budget-friendly knife with some significant F&F issues. However, they second run soon to come out will have better F&F and still come in around $50. PM me if you are interested in where to get one.
 
miso2 said:
It is a NKCA year knife, which is based on Country Cousin, but I can't find the definitive steel info of this particular model.
So it's a guess.
Click to expand...

Might not be D2. Looking around at other sites offering these for sale, some advertise the 2003 NKCA Youth Knife in red bone as 'stainless steel' (which D2 isn't), and still others also show these 'NIB' knives in boxes marked 'Queen Steel', which is how Queen classified knives made in stainless steel, rather than D2. 'Queen Steel' was 440C since post-WW2 (still probably in 2003), and maybe 420HC later, not long before Queen closed their doors.

In boxing the D2 knives, those were normally labelled as 'Tool Steel' on the boxes, if other markings like the 'Tool Steel' etch on the blade or the 'PH-D2' stamping on tangs were omitted or replaced with different etches or stamps.

Whether D2 or not, yours is a nice one, and good review as well. :thumbsup:
 
JTB_5 said:
Nice write up, Miso. Thanks for sharing your opinion. I used to have a large Case sodbuster in blue delrin, and another small one. The big one I exchanged for the small one, and then the small one was confiscated by the theme park police when I forgot to leave it behind in the parking lot.

I should pick up another one, but I've been debating whether to try a GEC instead of a Case.

You might be interested to know that Maserin makes a sodbuster pattern as well. The original model is called "plow" and is a very budget-friendly knife with some significant F&F issues. However, they second run soon to come out will have better F&F and still come in around $50. PM me if you are interested in where to get one.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Joshua.
Sorry to hear that yours was taken away.....

Maserin Plow looks very appealing to me.
I only know a dealer exclusive model.
Unfortunately, they don't ship to Japan, and I have to use a mail forwarding service, which I have never tried.
If you are talking about a different model, please let me know.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Might not be D2. Looking around at other sites offering these for sale, some advertise the 2003 NKCA Youth Knife in red bone as 'stainless steel' (which D2 isn't), and still others also show these 'NIB' knives in boxes marked 'Queen Steel', which is how Queen classified knives made in stainless steel, rather than D2. 'Queen Steel' was 440C since post-WW2 (still probably in 2003), and maybe 420HC later, not long before Queen closed their doors.

In boxing the D2 knives, those were normally labelled as 'Tool Steel' on the boxes, if other markings like the 'Tool Steel' etch on the blade or the 'PH-D2' stamping on tangs were omitted or replaced with different etches or stamps.

Whether D2 or not, yours is a nice one, and good review as well. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...


The knife did come in a box with "Queen Steel" printed.

I don't have any other D2 blades, so I can't make a comparison.
But the blade seems pretty stainless.
Since the knife was for a "collectors" association, they might have wanted it to be stainless?
I read that Queen has used 440C, 420HC, and ATS-34, and hope that it is the last one :)

Thanks for the info, David!
 
I'd guess that Queen is one of their 420c efforts. D2 blades were tang stamped as such, they are very good performers indeed and retain the edge for a long time.

I find the CASE jigged bone Sodbusters to be well finished, nice to look at but too thin in the hand for work, their delrin feels more comfortable.

The GEC is very well turned out, thick slabs are very comfortable for long use and micarta is tough yet pleasant. Be better if it were all stainless though as rust soon turns up on a work-knife, especially one with steel liners.

Thanks for your review, extremely well put together.

Regards, Will
 
miso2 said:
Thank you, Joshua.
Sorry to hear that yours was taken away.....

Maserin Plow looks very appealing to me.
I only know a dealer exclusive model.
Unfortunately, they don't ship to Japan, and I have to use a mail forwarding service, which I have never tried.
If you are talking about a different model, please let me know.
Click to expand...

Those are the only ones I know of as well. If you really want one send me a PM and maybe we can work something out.
 
Will Power said:
I'd guess that Queen is one of their 420c efforts. D2 blades were tang stamped as such, they are very good performers indeed and retain the edge for a long time.

I find the CASE jigged bone Sodbusters to be well finished, nice to look at but too thin in the hand for work, their delrin feels more comfortable.

The GEC is very well turned out, thick slabs are very comfortable for long use and micarta is tough yet pleasant. Be better if it were all stainless though as rust soon turns up on a work-knife, especially one with steel liners.

Thanks for your review, extremely well put together.

Regards, Will
Click to expand...


I agree, Will.
The bone handle of Case is too thin for a work knife.
I feel very much so especially after handling Bullnose.
What a comfortable handle!
Much better than my beloved #73.
Thanks,
 
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