Case Second cut jig burnt goldenrod Damascus Sod Buster Jr. pocket knife review – A long name for a beautiful knife

REVIEW – Growing up in the South, I was surrounded by men carrying a pocket knife. There was my Dad, his 5 brothers, and all my older cousins. If you asked one of them if they had a knife on them, inevitably you’d get the answer, I’ve got my pants on, don’t I? My Dad always carried an Old Timer stockman so of course, I thought that I needed one just like him. When I was old enough, that was exactly what he got me. I loved it and still have it to this day. As I grew older, I started seeing other pocket knives available at some of the local hardware stores. Some were cheaper than my Old Timer, but then there was a display of Case knives. The prices were higher but man, they looked beautiful to me. If anyone I knew carried a Case knife, I didn’t know about it. In fact, if you did carry one you were almost redneck royalty. Now the Case knife model that always drew my eye was their Sod Buster with its single blade and simple shape. Sure, there were plenty of flashier knives available, but that one spoke to me. I can’t say why, but for some reason, I never bought one. So when given the chance to review a knife from W.R. Case and Sons, I knew just what I wanted. I was thrilled when I was told I could get one with premium materials and immediately chose the Case Second cut jig burnt goldenrod Damascus Sod Buster Jr.

What is it?

The Case Second cut jig burnt goldenrod Damascus Sod Buster Jr. is a slip joint pocket knife with a skinner style blade made from carbon Damascus steel, burnt goldenrod jigged bone handles, and a nickel silver shield.

What’s included?

• Sod Buster Jr. pocket knife
• Product and warranty information

Tech specs

Design and features

First off, this is the Sod Buster Jr., not the Sod Buster. The difference is size. I’ve got a couple of full-sized trappers and came to realize that as much as I love them, I prefer a smaller knife to carry. The Sod Buster Jr. fits that bill perfectly with its 2.8″ blade. I just don’t find myself needing a huge blade on a daily basis. The Damascus steel used on this knife is down right gorgeous, and being Damascus, no two knives will be exactly alike. I do wish Case would’ve noted what types of steel were used to make the blade. It doesn’t really matter I guess. I’d just like to know. Being it’s carbon steel, it will need a little more maintenance to keep rust at bay.

The handle scales are second-cut jigged bone and I think they look great even though I admittedly didn’t know what second-cut bone was supposed to be. For those of you as ignorant as I was, I found a pretty good description online saying, “Second-cut bone is usually stained, dyed, heavily jigged, burned, and sometimes stabilized to make up for its shortcomings in appearance and possible weakness.” I don’t see any kind of flaw or imperfection that would give me pause concerning possible weakness. With Case’s reputation, I’m sure they’ve taken care of that. The length of the handle allows me to get a 3 finger grip on it and it feels good in the hand. There are no hot spots that I found.

The Sod Buster Jr. has the traditional build materials with brass liners coupled with a steel back spring. This is the type of knife I remember from my childhood, a timeless classic.

For any Case aficionados, I included the shot of the tang stamp, or should I say etching. Typically Case uses an actual stamping process on the tang but it seems they’ve gone high-tech and are using lasers now. I don’t know if that’s across all lines or just with certain ones. I know that it’s used as a dating system so I thought someone might be interested to see it. This picture also shows a better view of the depth of the Damascus etch.

Here’s the other side with the pattern etch, USA 6137 DAM.

My only nit to pick with this knife would be the blade alignment. It’s not centered. It’s probably because I watch way too many knife reviews online and the majority of those are tactical-style knives that you can take completely apart. You can sort of tune them to get them to line up better. It’s not a big deal. The blade closes cleanly and doesn’t rub.

What I like about Case Second cut jig burnt goldenrod Damascus Sod Buster Jr.

• Classic styling
• Premium materials
• Size

What needs to be improved?

• Blade centering

Final thoughts

Prepare yourself for the price of this knife. It’s expensive. This isn’t a tactical button lock front/rear flipper with a milled titanium pocket clip, timascus handle scales, and some super steel. It’s a classic slip joint knife with a mix of traditional and premium materials. Case knives are made in the US which may account for the price. Case even states with this knife that some hand-crafting is involved. Is it worth it? That’s a question you have to answer for yourself. It does come with a limited lifetime warranty so as long you don’t purposely destroy it, Case will repair it should it need to be. This is a knife that can be handed down as an heirloom.

Price: $236.99
Where to buy: Case knives and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Case. Case did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.