Back in the day, every hardware store or farm co-op had a knife display case. The old hemp hay-bale twine was notoriously hard on a blade, so a farm knife had to be durable, keep an edge, yet be easy to sharpen. Time and time again I'd try a new knife but the one I kept coming back to was the Case Sodbuster.
It's a simple design, actually. A single blade made from good steel, sandwiched between micarta handles. Nowadays you can get them in any color of the rainbow, but when I started buying them, the colors were black and yellow. I still prefer the black handles.
If you find me with pants on, I'll probably have one of these knives in my pocket. I've been carrying them since the late '70s and I've gone through several, mainly from losing them. I don't believe I've worn one out. What I like about these knives is that the outside profile is rounded like a bar of well-worn soap. There are no square corners to poke holes in your pocket or pinch when you sit down, and of course, the blade is a time tested design that easy to sharpen
For simple, basic cutting tasks from hay-twine to skinning large animals, it's hard to beat a Sodbuster.
2 comments:
Riddle me this batman.....I've had mine for +7 years; paid $15 for it at a swap meet. I can't lose that thing! It's always "there". Now some of my more expensive knives.....I think they all took a "walk about", can't find them. Kinda like the kids when chores are a'waitn' to be done.
Steve
I can see why you'd get attached to that Sod Buster. But since I've never had anything to do with a hay bale, but I've been around boats, fishing, hunting and hiking since I was a sprog, I have a Victorinox Tinker on me at all times. I've lost and loaned many of'em so I keep several in my sock drawer.
Gerry N.
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