Are puma knives still cool?

j man

j man

Joined
Aug 1, 2010
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637
Have puma knives gone out of fashon?
if so why?
They dont seem to be a big topic?
 
It would be nice if they would switch to better steel, the designs are fine, some nice and traditional, but severly overpriced for the steel they use....some of them into the custom knife price range with 420/440A steel.
I have the same complaint about Grohmann knives here in Canada....charging way too much for these for the steel they use.
There is just better buys out there for the money these days.
 
Hitzy said:
It would be nice if they would switch to better steel, the designs are fine, some nice and traditional, but severly overpriced for the steel they use....some of them into the custom knife price range with 420/440A steel.
I have the same complaint about Grohmann knives here in Canada....charging way too much for these for the steel they use.
There is just better buys out there for the money these days.
Click to expand...

Right on the money. For the price one can get a much better product.
 
Likewise the fit and finish of a lot of the recent Pumas I've seen has been abysmal. Huge gaps between the scales and guard (like, 4 sheets of paper thick!) crooked and mashed rivets and stag so porous it looked more like pumice when viewed from the spine. A shame, really, since they used to put out a top-quality product. :(
 
they now use Red deer anteler instead of sambar for the scales.
India will not export sambar stag products any more.
is the pumuster steel of the old models any good?
What about 440c?
They seen to put alot of efort in testing steels they use.
i was told the destroy every tenth blade in tests??
My puma Skinner 440c seems to hold its edge much better than my carbon old timmer
 
What would be a better production made knife ,With same class but modern steel?
 
puma facts, company started in 1700s, high quality ubtil 90s or so. used to r.r. test every quality piece. the pumaster steel along with henckels carbon [till 60s] & eye carbon [till 90s[ was some of the best factory carbon in world for knives. in 70s the better pieces were well over 100$ & their f&f was great.later quality went into decline but so many were made that an earlier stag hunter in carbon can still rate at 80% of the good factory stuff now. however many puma collectors are around & you have to dig to find a bargain. i would opt for some of the better alloyed bucks, spydies, & esse. however if you can find one of the goodies in stag , pumaster, & good shape for 80 or 90 $ i suggest you hunt with it for years & probably sell for a real gain later if you take care oif it.dennis
 
Thanks Dennis
i have about 30 somthing puma knifes.
i think i been told enough ,that i am starting to think i need better steel?
i do have a soft spot for old timers and i do have a few bucks.
I want some thing with same rolls royce feel to them, like Puma.
Any other great brands out there?
 
j. man theres a ton of real good oldies but to get a bargain go to garage sells & estate sells. also get some books on old knives so you have an idea what to look for. dennis
 
My friend has a Puma Tec folder with SS scales and wood inlays. It's done pretty well for two years, the blade shape and geometry is nice, the lock up is good (or was until he used it to chop, for some reason) and the steel holds an edge well. I'd recommend it easily for the price he paid (30 bucks)
 
DennisStrickland said:
puma facts, company started in 1700s, high quality ubtil 90s or so. used to r.r. test every quality piece. the pumaster steel along with henckels carbon [till 60s] & eye carbon [till 90s[ was some of the best factory carbon in world for knives. in 70s the better pieces were well over 100$ & their f&f was great.later quality went into decline but so many were made that an earlier stag hunter in carbon can still rate at 80% of the good factory stuff now. however many puma collectors are around & you have to dig to find a bargain. i would opt for some of the better alloyed bucks, spydies, & esse. however if you can find one of the goodies in stag , pumaster, & good shape for 80 or 90 $ i suggest you hunt with it for years & probably sell for a real gain later if you take care oif it.dennis
Click to expand...

What Dennis said. I remember when I was growing up their lockback folders were extremely popular, I still have a bunch of them, along with some fixed blades like the White Hunter, which is probably their biggest hit. But they have not upgraded their steels so it is quite difficult to justify buying one nowadays.
 
j man said:
Thanks Dennis
i have about 30 somthing puma knifes.
i think i been told enough ,that i am starting to think i need better steel?
i do have a soft spot for old timers and i do have a few bucks.
I want some thing with same rolls royce feel to them, like Puma.
Any other great brands out there?
Click to expand...

Some of the old Anton Wingen knives are really nice. I have a couple old bowies with stag handles and they are every bit as nice as an old Puma's.The key is make sure they are of the 1960's to early 70's era or you will run into the same problem you are with the Puma line. The new ones are just not up to the old standards.On the auction sites they will fetch $150.00 for a nice one.If you want a nice knife built today look at Bark River Knives.

Here are two of my Wingen knives.They are 1/4 thick carbon steel.Dark handle is compressed leather and brass and the other is pinned sambar stag.Both have heavy brass guards and an 8 inch blade.
DSCN6830.jpg

DSCN6801.jpg
 
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Hi j man -

Cool or not, I still like them.

DSC_8436.JPG


best regards -

mqqn
 
I have a bunch of old Puma folders which when I bought them had blade steel that was quite ordinary. All the other knives, at the time, were in the same boat (cheap steel). When blade steel started to improve, my Pumas were rendered obsolete. I was even more underwhelmed when I discovered that the bolsters were made out of die cast Zinc (pot metal). The knives were fat, heavy, clipless, loaded with cheap materials, and required two hands to deploy. Outside of that they were well proportioned looking ever so much like a Buck 110.
 
Thank every one .
think i may look at getting a Bark river or 2.
a bowie type and some thing between 3-4 inch?
Cheers
 
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