I'm looking into a selection of there knives, what's flagged up for me is the bowie, skinner, white hunter, nicker and waidblatt all with staghorn ,they look well turned out and for there cost so they should be but are they? I have no reference to the steel they use so what do you think? have you owed any?
Puma?
- Thread starter snappingturtle
- Start date
I owned the White Hunter - actually the Auto Messer version - and found it excellent except for the handle, which I found skinny ... and I like thin handles....
Be wary of modern Pumas. Some are still German made but they cost appropriately. The lower cast ones are likely assembled in Europe from Chinese steel.
If you go to the US site, you can read more in detail about their different knife lines.
Puma SGB is assembled in Asia using German components.
Puma XP made in Asia using Asian components
Puma HCKT does not say but price indicates it is absolutely not German
Www.pumaknifecompanyusa.com
Puma SGB is assembled in Asia using German components.
Puma XP made in Asia using Asian components
Puma HCKT does not say but price indicates it is absolutely not German
Www.pumaknifecompanyusa.com
Janne has the best advise. I'm still trying to work it out myself. And yes, I misspoke (reversed) saying assembled in Europe from Chinese steel; it's the other way around.
I used mine for general bushy tasks (and cooking - one of the main things it was designed for) and I recall that it performed well.
I do not recall any issues with the steel.
It was a LONG time ago though!
I do not recall any issues with the steel.
It was a LONG time ago though!
I bought one of the Puma folders when I was 18, over 20 years ago, and the German steel was a HUGE disappointment. When I first got into knife making and was really looking critically at knives at shows (16-18 years ago) I looked at and handled a White Hunter and was not impressed by design, fit or finish. There were horrible mismatches between the stag and everything it butted up to. It screamed "nasty", but was not cheap.
It struck me that they were a 1970s/80s company trying to compete in the 2000s but hadn't improved their materials or quality to keep pace with what other companies could do and were doing. Changing manufacture to Asia is unlikely to have improved matters. Don't get me wrong, China is making some very good knives, Boker Tech tools just for example, but if the quality I saw in Puma when they were German made is how they do things now, I can't see their being the push for the best quality that Asia can produce.
The only knives I have seen or handled that used stag that I thought would be worth owning have all been hand made. Seems like it is a difficult material to do a good job with at commercial quantities.
It struck me that they were a 1970s/80s company trying to compete in the 2000s but hadn't improved their materials or quality to keep pace with what other companies could do and were doing. Changing manufacture to Asia is unlikely to have improved matters. Don't get me wrong, China is making some very good knives, Boker Tech tools just for example, but if the quality I saw in Puma when they were German made is how they do things now, I can't see their being the push for the best quality that Asia can produce.
The only knives I have seen or handled that used stag that I thought would be worth owning have all been hand made. Seems like it is a difficult material to do a good job with at commercial quantities.
The properly priced are still made in Germany.
They do one intersting QC thing, they test each individual blade for hardness.
They do one intersting QC thing, they test each individual blade for hardness.
Puma, theres a brand i used to drool over as a boy!
Even then though they struck me as more show than go
Even then though they struck me as more show than go
Germanic traditional design.
Looks a bit show off-ig, yes, but they still cut well.
Think Curry Wurst mit Bacon.
Had Hollywood have a bit of culture and taste, Rambo would have had a Puma!
Looks a bit show off-ig, yes, but they still cut well.
Think Curry Wurst mit Bacon.
Had Hollywood have a bit of culture and taste, Rambo would have had a Puma!
