Puma White hunter as bush knife?

Those teeth are very fine and were intended for starting a cut in tough tissue like tendon--they're not like Spyderco serrations and certainly are not easily sharpenable/repairable outside of the factory, even with a fair amount of skill. I, at least, have never found anything to really get in there and work on 'em!

That said, it's a true classic design. I have a few White Hunters and other vintage Puma knives in the old carbon steel and damned if they don't work very well. Fit and finish on these older guys just isn't matched in production knives these days---they came from an era of fewer office workers and more craftsmen.

I also don't see the point in safe queens, either knives or guns (even though, when not being used, mine do live in safes). For me, at least, if it's something I want to have--old Puma or old Colt--then I want to have it, not just dust it once in awhile like a lackey at a museum. Use them, and find out why they became coveted. A $19.99 United Cutlery knife sits on a shelf and looks shiny just fine, and unlike the old Puma, actually performs at its highest level when looked at and not used. :cool:
 
I just went and got it out and looked at it. The teeth are still there, just a little worn toward the front from getting bumped while sharpening. You have to do that occasionally. The knife is 43 years old. Probably won't last mor'n another 60 or 70 years.
 
this steel takes a pretty sweet edge. From sharpening all kinds of knives and "feeling" how hard they are on a stone, this steel is pretty hard. Some of the teeth on mine are ground out too, but that happened at the factory. My grandfather said he got it between 89 and 90. He said he bought it because puma was a good name and he wanted something reliable. He did a lot of hunting/shooting/fishing back in the day. It's very front heavy. Sorry if the sentences are choppy I'm on my cell, powers out!
 
The older stainless blades are pretty much the German equivalent to 440A. While not on the list of super edge holders if you're skinning, it's a tough (for stainless) steel and honestly in some ways a better choice for a heavy fixed blade than one of the super-stainlesses. Granted, the White Hunter is kind of "medium heavy" but whatever. It's a tough, well made knife and a classic pattern. :thumbup:
 
Gorgeous knife! My dad keeps promising to give me his from back in the day. Looks like I'll have to pester him a bit & get him to fork it over. :thumbup: First thing I'll probably do is grind off those serrations.
 
Obviously it's up to you, but those serrations actually do well if used for the job they were intended--getting a cut started in a fiberous material which then is continued by the main/plain edge. Saw on wood for a few minutes, however, or use them to cut a bunch of nylon ties and they won't be happy with you. It was built to be a large game-processing knife, and it does that very well.
 
Its an excellent bush blade. I got mine for my 16th birthday and I still carry it, I was 52 this past Jan
 
oldpinecricker said:
Don't worry about it, just take it out and use it and enjoy it. Life is really too short to collect things others will end up inheriting in the long run.

Use your tools, enjoy your life and be safe out there.
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+1!

Use it, don't abuse it. I won't even buy a knife (or gun) that I won't use. Even if it is a collector piece, if I buy it, I use it.
 
XIVulator said:
A beautiful knife. It was my most coveted design as a kid. I have never owned one but have researched it since it was introduced. Some say the handle is the weak point. Stag can be brittle, so be careful of overuse as a chopper. Wish Grandpa gave me one.
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Stag brittle?
Do tell...
 
have carried the same one on each safari i have been on, it is just part of africa for me, it has skinned and field dressed a lot of plains game and one very large cape buffalo, i do like it a lot ever since reading about it in field and stream a long time ago.

alex
 
The stainless they used is roughly equivalent to a 440A/440B on paper, but Puma had a very good heat treat that really made the steel shine. In my side-by-side comparison test cutting cardboard, I found it did about 10% better than Benchmade's 440C. Puma's steel from that era really takes a fine edge as well.
 
that is a lovely knife.

your grandfather gave it to you to USE, not to leave in a box.

so honour your Grandfather and USE it i say.
 
Don M said:
The stainless they used is roughly equivalent to a 440A/440B on paper, but Puma had a very good heat treat that really made the steel shine. In my side-by-side comparison test cutting cardboard, I found it did about 10% better than Benchmade's 440C. Puma's steel from that era really takes a fine edge as well.
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You're absolutely right that HT has a huge effect on steel performance. Just out of curiosity, do you remember how the edge geometries compared between the two? Geometry also has a huge impact on cutting performance, and what supports short term ease also goes against long-term durability. Just wondering aloud as I'm interested to hear--I don't have much experience with the stainless Puma knives.
 
I always wanted a WH - my wife bought one from a friend at a gunshow some years back. Sheathed, and because she is my height - 5'10" - and could secret it down her jean's pant leg. Complaining of her leg hurting (Duh!) we left for a lunch of her choice. I was shocked when she gave it to me later. I still love it, but either of the S30V Bucks shown with it are more appropriate for woods use to me.

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Oddly, either a 420HC Buck 119 'Special', $35 at WallyWorld, or a 192/692 Vanguard is a great camping knife - and will save that WH for 'special' uses... as an heirloom. Iwould use it - some.

Stainz
 
I actually feel like a knife with a stag handle is a tank in terms of toughtness. There's just something about stag that screams hard use.
 
Wow thanks for the memory, I had that knife as a kid, my Old Man gave it to me as a gift when we went huntin' together, unfortunately he had it on a huntin' trip he took Upstate NY when his plane crashed and we never recovered the knife.

I would use it, it is a great knife when used as intended, although it is also a very collectable knife I think you would enjoy it more as a user.
 
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