I've seen that they are still making several models, the bowie, skinner, etc. and also some folders. They are more budget priced though, to be more competitive with other makers. This is a common theme in today's market across the boards. As a result, sometimes quality takes a back seat. I've read that they're still decent, but not as good as they once were.
Any Fans of Puma Knives?
- Thread starter Texas Star
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I've seen that they are still making several models, the bowie, skinner, etc. and also some folders. They are more budget priced though, to be more competitive with other makers. This is a common theme in today's market across the boards. As a result, sometimes quality takes a back seat. I've read that they're still decent, but not as good as they once were.
I have a Puma Prince folder with Sambar stag that I use all the time. I had a great little Hunters Pal that was stolen. I got another one and it seems lighter, like the blade is thinner. Still says "Hand Made in Germany" and has a serial number but I noticed that it does not say Solingen on the other side of the blade. Just seems well, cheaper made than my other one.
reddogge
Member
I own two, a Skinner from the early 70s and my original Hunter's Pal from late 60s. However my son lost my Hunters Pal when he was a boy and another friend gave me his fathers Hunters Pal of the same era. Trouble is his knife had lots of discoloration on the blade. Here are the two together and my Skinner. The Skinner gutted lots of deer and I use it today bowhunting.
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model70hunter
Member
A friend bought one in the late 60's when he was on active duty in Germany. He lost it somewhere. We worked together in the early 70's. I was in the USA reserves. He gave money to buy him one from the PX when I went to summer camp. Beautiful knife, looked like the green handled one of Bamabiker.
He immediately took it fishing with him. The first line he cut and threw in the lake he relaxed his grip and the Puma went into 80' of water. I asked him if he wanted me to buy him another. He said no, losing 2 is enough, he went to a cheaper knife. Colonial I believe.
He immediately took it fishing with him. The first line he cut and threw in the lake he relaxed his grip and the Puma went into 80' of water. I asked him if he wanted me to buy him another. He said no, losing 2 is enough, he went to a cheaper knife. Colonial I believe.
I have a couple. I bought the White Hunter in Jan/Feb 1963 when I was a freshman in college. I paid $12 and some chnge, which was big bucks for a college Frosh in 1963. I carried it hunting some but found it was too big for general use. The Hunter's Friend was purchased in about 1979/80 to replace one that was stolen while I was on leave. It is a good little knife but it seems to be lighter in construction than the older one it replaced, plus it came in a plastic box instead of the wooden one. There is a more recent White Hunter for sale in the local pawn pawn shop, they want $148 for it........wish I would have bought a few more years ago. Good knives.
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Diamondtreo
US Veteran
I started collecting Pumas over 20 yrs ago before they started to cut costs & sub work out to China. Right now, I have 4 or 5 White Hunters including one that I purchased in a fishing supply store in Singapore in 1990. That particular knife had issues that caused me to question whether or not it was a knock-off, so I carried it with me on a trip to Germany where I stopped in Solingen at the factory. It was July, & the factory was closed for holiday, but the CEO or owner invited me into his office where he verified the originality of my knife as a Puma Model 6374 Cougar which turns out to be a very rare specimine. It was one of a very few special order blades with a "cane hook" on the backside of the blade similar to a gut hook but much larger. see the Puma Collector guy's site for a good pix at: VINTAGE PUMA'S for your VIEWING PLEASURE
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Frank46
US Veteran
Texas Star, the pouch covers almost the entire knife except for the butt of the handle. And there is a leather thong that you thread through a brass eyelet to keep from loosing the knife. Think it has a 5" long blade with straight back. Sure got my money's worth. Now if I ever need to carry a sheath knife I have one that probably was made in china but sure does hold a great edge. Frank
OP
Texas Star
US Veteran
Was it Harald Lauer that you met? I met him a couple of times at the SHOT show. Seemed a nice guy with pretty good English.
They also have a later Cougar, more like a cross between a Randall Model 1 and a Loveless fighter. The older Cougar like yours with the brush hook seemed a very weird idea for a knife.
Some of the new knives are made in Solingen, some in Spain, some maybe in China or Pakistan. The latter countries are the scourage of the traditional Western knifemaking nations. Their cheap prices are driving our old makers out of business.
OP
Texas Star
US Veteran
Frank-
Your Buddy was almost certainly made in Solingen! Yes, it has a five-inch straight blade that holds an edge well.
You did well to buy when you did.
The man posting about the White Hunter in a pawn shop for $148 should consider that a good price if the knife is in excellent to new condition. Pawn dealers usually try to cheat you on price.
Diamondtreo
US Veteran
I believe it was Harald Lauer that I met. He had his secretary type up a letter of authenticity describing the knife and the imperfection that I had questioned in particular. His office wall was covered with every type of knife that Puma had made up till then including a selection of the high-dolar lance or spear tips that I drooled over. He offered to have the shop fix the defect in question if I would leave it at the factory, but I chose to keep it intact if for nothing else than it made for a good story.
The store I found it in was in Singapore's "Change Alley" which was part of the old Government Pier where we landed our USN liberty launches in 1971. I stopped there in 1990 on a business trip & stumbled into an old fishing supply store. The guy had hundreds of knives & we bartered for at least an hour before agreeing on a price. I believe he started out at $375 & I ended up paying $125.
The only time I have ever seen another of these Cougars is in the movie "Full Metal Jacket" where the FNG steps on a mine & the Gunny yards one out & slides it under the guy's boot to deactiviate it while everybody sweats a lot. Harald described the hook as a "cane hook" used to strip the leaves off a cane stalk, mostly ordered during the Vietnam experience by guys that knew what they wanted & for a particular purpose (maybe making punji sticks?) Anyway,it makes a good compliment to my others, including an Auto Messer, which is a White Hunter blade with walut stock panels instead of the sambar stag.
At that time, all Puma knives were still forged while all other makers in Solingen were grinding from flat bar stock. Most of my Pumas have never seen a whetstone, let alone cut anything, but I do have a couple of beaters that are 35+ years old & still get used now & then. I carried an orignal Buck folding lockback from 1966 till 1975 when it was lost. Never having heard of Puma knives I purchased a model 270 (now called "the General") to replace the Buck & I was impressed! The Puma did everythng the Buck would do & held an edge better, plus it was all stainless & thinner than the Buck - not to mention easier to sharpen. It still gets hung on my belt now & then if nothing else than for nostalgia. LOL.
OP
Texas Star
US Veteran
I have a Buck 110-like Puma that differs from the basic Game Warden (wood scales) or Prince (stag scales) in that it has white Micarta scales. I think it was a limited production item. The blade is marked as Whitetail. Like the other Pumas in this series, it is better finished than a Buck. Of course, it cost more, too.
I also have a No. 943 traditional German folding hunter with a spear main blade, a saw blade that incorporates a bottle opener and a screwdriver tip, and a hook to dislodge a stuck ctg. And a corkscrew!
My other Puma folder is a Model 921 (?) with a spear or drop point blade in a trim handle with long German silver bolster and ebony scales. It won a prize for Industrial Design in Stuttgart about 1989. Very nice knife. I think it's still made, with several handle options. Without getting it out to measure, I think blade length is about 3.5 inches.
I carry these in belt pouches, usually of black Cordura that doesn't shout "KNIFE!" like a floral tooled cowboy style pouch does. But the 943 came with a nice tan leather sheath, or I bought one at the same time that I've used with it when the appearance didn't matter. I used to carry the 943 or the Whitetail alongside my wallet until I began using sheaths. Or, I'd keep the knife in my coat and rely on just a Swiss Army knife on me.
Today, I often rely on a Gerber Applegate-Fairbairn or a Benchmade No. 710 for a belt pouch knife and leave the Pumas at home. But they work fine and have a more traditional look and feel. I think I'll carry them more.
Oh: now that I think of it, the Model 943 came with a deep brown drawstring pouch that is probably supposed to protect it in a hunter's larger bag or coat pocket. I got that tan pouch from a Carl Schlieper dealer, for another knife. I liked the Germanic hunting folders in part because they were the first lockblades I saw and they reminded me of the first knife carried by Matt Helm in Donald Hamilton's books.
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Bell Charter Oak Holsters
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I have a White Hunter that was inherited from my Uncle when he passed. I imagine it was made in the 50's. Another one, that was a gift from the wife, is the Bowie II, made much more recently, I think in the 80's. I've never used that one and although it is well constructed, it pales in comparison to the quality of the older White Hunter. At a glance you can quickly determine that the newer knife has had little hand finish work and looks as though it came off an assembly line at General Motors. It has none of the character or pleasing "hand" you experience when you hold the older knives of similar size, weight and overall construction. Both of these knives are a bit too large for White Tail dressing, maybe more practical for bigger game like Moose or Elk. Both are marked Solingen, so that in itself no longer impresses me as a single benchmark of quality as it once did, except on older knives.
Cheers;
Lefty
Cheers;
Lefty
OP
Texas Star
US Veteran
I own two, a Skinner from the early 70s and my original Hunter's Pal from late 60s. However my son lost my Hunters Pal when he was a boy and another friend gave me his fathers Hunters Pal of the same era. Trouble is his knife had lots of discoloration on the blade. Here are the two together and my Skinner. The Skinner gutted lots of deer and I use it today bowhunting.
That poor Hunter's Pal looks awful! Have you tried metal polish to get some of the rust?
Maybe if you find Puma's US importer, they will send the knife back to Solingen for refinishing. That would save you postage and any customs issues. They might charge for the service, as the damage is clearly not their fault, just of neglect.
What happened? Did the prior owner leave blood on the blade, or just store the knife in a damp garage?
reddogge
Member
When I saw it the year before it was in great shape but when I received it a year later it was in this condition. The owner stored it in a saltwater tackle box. It was free so I didn't complain. The discoloration is in the finish and not on it but it's not pitted, just discolored.
OP
Texas Star
US Veteran
Well, the saltwater tackle box explains that! Try Simichrome or Flitz on the blade.
BTW, my son was diving off of Guam and found that if he scrubbed the blade of his dive knife with fresh water, and oiled it, it didn't rust. Just rinsing the blade without scrubbing resulted in rust on his friends' knives. I think that might apply to getting blood residue off a blade, too.
The late outdoor writer John Wootters told me that he had a blade rust overnight after cleaning a frog with it. Some acid in the frog ruined it, but I don't think that was a stainless blade.
I guess you got that knife free because of the damage. I hope it can be restored. The blade is probably plain carbon steel with a chrome plating.
Frank46
US Veteran
Texas Star, just looked through one of the links preveiously posted and its not a "Buddy" From what I can see its a "Trailguide" Front bolster or guard on mine is nickle silver with stag grips. Frank
OP
Texas Star
US Veteran
Frank-
Okay. That was the other possibility, but the pouch sheath sounds like the Buddy. Both were advertised as having a five-inch Swedish blade shape, and were meant to appeal to Swedish buyers in particular, I think. (The blades are not the same, although the shape is similar, with a blood groove.) Shape aside, I think the Trail Guide was always non-stainless, the Buddy stainless. And the knives are clearly different models. The Buddy has almost no guard below the blade line. Has a front silver bolster and butt cap.
I have a Trail Guide that I may sell, but need to find the sheath. It's a very nice knife. I may try to swap for a spare Outdoor model, which I like a little better. Puma dealers at shows usually want cash, but someone with an assortment of knives may trade.
Does your knife have thumb grooves along the blade spine? I bet new ones don't. That had to add some labor time.
I tried to price a replacement sheath Online and some wanted $60! I need to find the new importer and see what spare sheaths cost, I guess. My Trail Guide looks new; I've never actually used it.
b3337
Member
I bought a 960 Puma Cub at the Rod and Gun Club when stationed at Graf in 1978. I don't carry it anymore, but still have it. I paid just under 25.00 if I remember correctly.
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