Case WR XX Pocket Knife Yellow Synthetic Sod Buster Item #038 - (3138 Cv) - Length Closed: 4 5/8 Inches

Very happy 🙂

Very nice

This review is going to be biased. Can't be helped. My first three knives were a Barlow (a really cheap one) a Victorinox and a Case stockman (or was it a trapper) . Idk, my dad stole all of these from me when I got old enough to do any damage with them. The case is the only one I miss. I'm tempted, as a 40 year old grown man, to go rifling through his drawers to find it. And my pellet gun.The Sodbuster is the biggest Case knife I've ever seen. My father-in-law carries a trapper and usually I got my Tx toothpick on me, but when I got this sucker, I was pretty impressed with its size. Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way, it's a slipjoint (a really easy one too), no pocket clip, no newfangled blade steel. It's a work knife for digging around in a garden. Some folks will be turned off by all of these things. I look at them as plusses. I'm not sure where the idea that a non-locking blade = dangerous came about. You really do have to handle slipjoints slightly differently than locking blades but they are just as safe if not safer in most contexts. It's a matter of exposure. I carved wood with my barlow for years, and occasionally the blade would stick or something but I always knew that could happen. I did have one close on my fingers once or twice but there wasn't any force behind it and not really anything happened as a result. I think most modern knife folks grew up with a slipjoint and maybe injured themselves with one as a kid, possibly while clowning around with it, to the point where as adults they think of them as an unnecessary hazard. The pocket clip... well I could take it or leave it. It's easier for a work knife not to have to fish around in my pocket for it repeatedly. That said, mostly I leave this one on my desk or table. Not sure I would carry it around in public. It's mighty big for a pocket. As for the blade steel, I generally prefer high carbon steel. I can sharpen such a knife really well with a stone. I'm not sure that I really like the edge retention of modern steels. I have an r2d2 - I have yet to sharpen it, but I'm guessing it will be a pain in the butt. I know exactly what to expect with softer steels.. In short, this is a fine knife appointed well for the last millenia. It's the folksier version of a RAT 1 and it will appeal to any who like the shape.

Case: I have many higher end knives. 10 or so Benchmades, CRK, Spartan, ZT, among many others. I have 4 or so $400+ knives. Case is one of the first knife brands I recognized when I was a kid. Dad grew up 30 minutes from the Case/Zippo factory and my grandfather always carried a small stainless Case everyday. When I knew next to nothing about knives, I knew that Case was one of the standards. My 1st and 2nd "Real" knives (not some cheap fleamarket/hardware store counter knife) were Case knives and I was very proud of them and still have them. What I love about Case is that they are handmade in the US and are very very affordable. Arguably the best traditional pocket knives made.The knife itself: Iv been eyeing this knife for about 4 months. I added it to my basket, then "save for later". "Add" "Save" "Add" "Save" for months. Not really needing it but really wanting it. Finally bit the bullet and I couldn't be happier. This knife is everything I was hoping it to be and more for the price. First off, its a monster. I knew it was big but after finally getting it in person, its huge. It is a full size folding knife but also fairly light for its size due to the use of Delrin for the handles. I believe the knife handles are sanded on a belt by hand. You can tell its not by machine because of the "imperfect" symmetry of the grinding. I honestly love the hand ground look/feel. I feel like it is perfect in its "imperfection" and kind of cool knowing that no 2 knives are exactly alike. This particular model of SodBuster has a harder CV blade over the more common Stainless blade on the majority of their knives. So far I am a fan and think the CV is the obvious choice of steel over the stainless. There is a slight higher risk of corrosion with the CV blade but I am not even slightly worried about this. As long as I oil it after any excessive prolonged use in water/acidic liquids/environments and maybe every other month depending on use, It should be fine. The blade has a bit of a mirrored stonewash finish, personally love it. Steel is very easy to sharpen/touchup compared to my other higher end steels. I use a spyderco sharpmaker and it only takes a few swipes on the angled white fine stones before hair is falling everywhere. Also really love the brass liners/pins in these knives. This knife is a slip-joint (no locking mechanism to keep the blade from closing if force is applied to the top of the blade) however it has excellent strong retention when opened and closed. Really the only thing that made me a teeny tiny bit sad about this knife was that the blade is not centered. However it isn't that big of a deal for a $28 knife. I bought this knife specifically to throw into my hiking/camping/overnight/daypack for abuse. It will be my primary outdoor knife for whittling fine tinder, cutting cordage, and all other task until I need one of the fixed blades. The quality for the price is outstanding and I have no desire to baby it, at first sight you can tell its made for abuse.