How Do You Like Puma Solingen?

redsquid2

redsquid2

Free-Range Cheese Baby
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Aug 31, 2011
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I used to see Puma folders when I was younger - like 25 plus years ago. I thought they were something special, but out of my price range. Obviously, if you own one, you will think it is a special item. Newer ones vs. older ones, do they still have the same quality as before? I hardly see them anymore.
 
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I had a couple in the 80's well made, one a slippie and one a backlock forgotten the names now. Didn't like the steel so much and gave them both away after a while and started using Opinel's because I found the steel more to my likeing . Have stuck with carbon ever since maybe time to try a Puma again ?
 
If you get one of the old yellow and green box Puma's from the 70's or before, they were exceptional knives.
 
Have the skinner and white hunter. Gave the white hunter to my dad and he was unable to sharpen it. By the way, the foam does not hold up. Love the stage grips.
 
I have two Jadgnicker from their lineuop love each of these nice blades.

The Stockman I own is nice, but has a rather weak pull so I don´t carry it that often.

Here in Germany PUMA is a traditional cutlery with a good reputation. I´d sign this, without asking as I really like their fixed blades. The steel that is used is mostly a simple stainless steel - nothing fancy. So field sharping is usually no problem.

Oh, and they look back to almost over 200 years of cutlery history :eek: Quiet impressive.

I like 'em very much, not just due to their history. But their F&F on the knives is just great. No gaps, blade play or what ever.

In my book, at least, great company!!

BTW: I´ve never tried some of their other lines like PUMA IP or PUMA TEC, but PUMA Solingen is just awesome!
 
I have several, all at least 20 years old.

I find the quality of the older ones to far exceed the newer production.

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jackknife said:
If you get one of the old yellow and green box Puma's from the 70's or before, they were exceptional knives.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:
I have a PUMA 6396 'Original - Puma - Bowie' in stag handles, with their old PUMASTER steel (chrome-plated carbon steel), date-coded from 1981. It came in the yellow plastic box w/green lid, and shows their indentation from hardness testing on the blade. I think that might've been the first fixed blade I ever bought for myself; it's a beautiful knife. Never had any use for such a blade, but I had to have it because it was just too gorgeous to pass up. :)


David
 
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Here are a couple of Pre-64 White Hunters I have posted before.

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I had a backpacker from the 70s or early 80s (~4" lockback with checkered green ABS scales). It was pretty spectacular. Beautiful grind, fit and finish. So smooth I could flick it open holding the handle without touching the blade. It got stolen out of my desk drawer at work.

Would I be sorely disappointed if I replaced it with a modern version?
 
My dad has an old puma duke, maybe 25 years old. And one that's only a couple years old. The blade on the newer one does not look that different, but the handle is nowhere near as good. Overly thick, poorly fit stag, and sloppy gaps between the liners and bolsters. The old one had integral bolsters, I think.
 
Here's a pair that I've had since the '80s. Really nice little knives. They have integral bolsters.
The stag is a Puma Lord 895, the other a 255.

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I bought a White Hunter in 1971 for about $25 if I remember right. A princely sum at that time but I had been working a lot of overtime and felt flush with cash. Four years later, the knife broke in half due to an unseen crack behind the stag panels. It was an obvious manufacturing defect and Puma replaced the knife with a new one. I used it for years of camping and backpacking as my only fixed blade. It served me well, actually being used to fashion a crude crutch on one of my backpacking outings when I injured my leg and had to limp out of the backcountry. It's the only knife from my misspent youth that I still own. It shows every bit of the wear and abuse I've put it through for nearly 40 years and it's still a good, dependable user.
 
I have a Game Warden I have owned since 1972. Great knife, carried it daily for about 10-12 years, it's been semi-retired since I really don't carry large folders anymore. From what I've seen and heard there German made knives are still great quality.
 
I have a few Solingen made Puma folders, and as noted above the older examples seem to be much better examples of cutlery than today's. Not to say anything is wrong with today's SOLINGEN made models.

I have a 25 year old Game Warden that has taken a heckuva beating and is still an excellent knife, just a bit bruised. I have a full sized 4 star that was gifted to me in 1977. At the time it claimed to be completely hand made. Truth? Fiction? Don't know. But it is such a pretty knife with its buffalo horn scales, so well made, razor sharp out of the box, and was soooo expensive at the time that I have never carried it. That's the only knife I have ever owned that hasn't gone into rotation. I haven't seen any new examples from Puma that equal that knife.

I have another old, old Puma 4" stockman that I got used. Constructed almost like a gentleman's knife with small bolsters, fine jigging, and super thin blades is takes a razor edge and turned out to be a good work knife.

While Puma always had a tendency to put on thin, rough scales on their larger fixed knives, the new ones I have seen in the Solingen line look almost unusable in my opinion.

I think if I was looking for a Puma, I would look for some of the older models.

Robert
 
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