Puma Experts Help

TOMBSTONE

TOMBSTONE

Joined
Oct 31, 1998
Messages
3,037
I'm thinking of getting a Puma bowie that I see on sale.It is recent manufacture,and it does say "Germany" on the blade.Are these still ,made in Germany because I've heard other rumors,and how do people like the quality?It isn't an expensive knife but I don't want an Asian piece of garbage,so what's the story on these?Thanks
 
Puma, eh? Never heard of em, i dare wonder if they have any affiliation to the sporting apparel brand
 
Better spend your money on a vintage Puma, if you can get one.
The versions they make nowadays do not compare with the earlier handmade ones in any way.

I have 3 vintage Puma's, a 4 star fixed blade, a jagdnicker fixed blade, and a Medici folder.
I have checked out the newer versions personally, i don't even want to have any of the newer versions for free if i couldn't sell them.:barf:
 
Stay away unless you can handle the knife in person. Puma has slipped in quality over the years As to where they are made now? You can't really tell as lots of German companies now use various rebranding scemes.
 
I have a newer puma original bowie, not a bad knife,very nice sheath imo.Handle is small in my hands and of course came dull as a shovel,but still a solid knife. That being said, I've bought more puma lockblades than I'd like to admit, and out of them all only 2 were exeptable,(to stuburn to give up lol) and I bought a trailmaster or something along those lines, which was made in china, and had a 1/2 or so tang and rubber handle,you couldn't even shave a curl of wood with out the handle bending. All I can say is proceed with caution:eek:
 
Agree with kwackster and bob_bowie.

Quality on newer Pumas is spotty. A pity. They used to be uniformly top of the line.
 
Spam removed. :rolleyes:
The newer manufacture Puma stuff is hit or miss, and mostly the latter in my experience. Like Boker and others, they're farming out manufacture of may models to other countries. Still, I'm pretty sure the older, established models like the White Hunter and others are still being handmade in Germany.

Check out http://www.pumaknives.com/ if you haven't already. These good people specialize in Puma's, and have answered questions on them via email for me over the years.

Good luck!

Professor.
 
I recently acquired an unused older (25yr?) 'White Hunter' in great shape to add to my Bowie from last year. I also have a Pal II and Skinner - all German made. I cannot see the quantum difference in QC. Sharpness on most new knives is spotty at best - some will shave, some won't. Buck knives have always been pretty sharp - at least arm hair shaving sharp - as delivered. I bought my Bowie from an E-bay store - 'Sportsman Guide' perenially offers them at a decent price - then refuses to sell many places due to their 'legal' dept, local laws be damned. I won't buy from them any more as they refused the Puma Bowie sale to me.

Be aware, Puma IP is their 'Int'l ' sourced - mostly Spain - division. I only but their German items - inc pocket knives - and they are quite good.

Now - the best recent hunting knives I've seen include the 'Alaskan Guide' version of the Buck Vanguard (192), made exclusively for Cabela's with a black Ti-Al-N coated S30V blade and the brand new Kalinga Pro (#408) - in S30V. What a beaut!

The Puma's are still fine knives. So are the Marble's - if you can find some of the leftover 'Made in Gladstone, MI' examples (I don't recall if the Trailmaster is available from MI.). The majority of the rubber handled Marble's are PRC-made with a non-descript SS - check the price differential! I won't own one.

Stainz
 
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