ArfinGreebly
Moderator Emeritus
Having recently begun carrying a large sodbuster, I have had occasion to explain it's "bigness" in relation to other commonly used knives.
I haven't had to justify it's "wickedness" or "aggressive" appearance, as there it just about no more pedestrian blade profile out there. But size has come up a time or two.
In explaining that it's not really that large, I've made the comparison to common paring knives, citing the fact that it was unlikely there was a knife in [his] kitchen with a blade any smaller.
So, a couple of nights ago, I set about documenting that comparison. It turns out I have one knife in my kitchen that's smaller than a large sodbuster, and not by much.
Here are a couple of the shots:
It's interesting how context changes the perception. In the kitchen, 3.5 or 4 inches is simply not noteworthy. In a pocket, that same blade is "huge."
Some of it, to be sure, is the business of the handle having to be slightly longer than the blade on any folder, contributing to an overall verdict of "big," but it seems to me that context plays a larger part.
Also of interest is the difference a yellow handle makes. Hard to say "cute" of a large folder but, when asked about it, I usually just say it's "for safety" and that "visibility never hurts when it comes to farm tools."
So far, 100% of those with whom I've had any discussion had no idea what "sod buster" meant. "Y'see, it's a design that's been used on farms and ranches for more than a hundred years. I guess I'm just old fashioned. Heck, if John Deere made a car, I'd probably drive it."
And no, I'm not likely to start wearing bib overalls. At least not this month.
I think the Kershaw in my other pocket might take offense.
I haven't had to justify it's "wickedness" or "aggressive" appearance, as there it just about no more pedestrian blade profile out there. But size has come up a time or two.
In explaining that it's not really that large, I've made the comparison to common paring knives, citing the fact that it was unlikely there was a knife in [his] kitchen with a blade any smaller.
So, a couple of nights ago, I set about documenting that comparison. It turns out I have one knife in my kitchen that's smaller than a large sodbuster, and not by much.
Here are a couple of the shots:
Top to bottom: 3"paring , 3.5" soddie, 3.75" picnic, 4" paring, 5" utility
FWIW, everything but the soddie is Chinese in manufacture.
That little yellow-orange picnic knife is very similar to the Joyce Chen "My Handy Knife" except that the Joyce Chen knife (Japan) is way better made and costs $8 MSRP, while the little no-name (China) is cheap-cheap and is $3 MSRP (and $1 IRL).
The red-orange paring knife is an Australian design (RR Gusto) of somewhat higher quality, at $12.50 MSRP ($10 IRL). It's not bad, but I wish I were more impressed.
Arranged a little differently:
(You'll notice that I cleverly left out the slicers, carvers, chef's knives, and a little knife that got its start as a stand-in for the movie Psycho. No point in going overboard.)
FWIW, everything but the soddie is Chinese in manufacture.
That little yellow-orange picnic knife is very similar to the Joyce Chen "My Handy Knife" except that the Joyce Chen knife (Japan) is way better made and costs $8 MSRP, while the little no-name (China) is cheap-cheap and is $3 MSRP (and $1 IRL).
The red-orange paring knife is an Australian design (RR Gusto) of somewhat higher quality, at $12.50 MSRP ($10 IRL). It's not bad, but I wish I were more impressed.
Arranged a little differently:
(You'll notice that I cleverly left out the slicers, carvers, chef's knives, and a little knife that got its start as a stand-in for the movie Psycho. No point in going overboard.)
It's interesting how context changes the perception. In the kitchen, 3.5 or 4 inches is simply not noteworthy. In a pocket, that same blade is "huge."
Some of it, to be sure, is the business of the handle having to be slightly longer than the blade on any folder, contributing to an overall verdict of "big," but it seems to me that context plays a larger part.
Also of interest is the difference a yellow handle makes. Hard to say "cute" of a large folder but, when asked about it, I usually just say it's "for safety" and that "visibility never hurts when it comes to farm tools."
So far, 100% of those with whom I've had any discussion had no idea what "sod buster" meant. "Y'see, it's a design that's been used on farms and ranches for more than a hundred years. I guess I'm just old fashioned. Heck, if John Deere made a car, I'd probably drive it."
And no, I'm not likely to start wearing bib overalls. At least not this month.
I think the Kershaw in my other pocket might take offense.
