Looking for a good hunting knife - as good as an old puma

C

cjordan

Joined
Jul 29, 2012
Messages
85
Alright yall ive got a problem. Now in this post I am not trying to run down any company by any means. About 6-7 years ago my dad gave me a Puma prince that he bought around 1975-1978 the best he could remember. That knife was probably the best one Ive ever used for skinning deer. It was easy to put an edge on it, and it would hold that edge extreamly well. Dad has done it several times and I done it a few times while I had it.... which was complety skin and quarter 6-8 deer and that thing would still try to shave a little bit. The problem is my knife was lost in a house explosion about 3 years ago. Since then I have bought a couple of knives but nothing has compared to that Puma. The question is can anyone tell me a production knife that will preform the same way or better than that Puma? Easy to sharpen, and hold an edge extreamly well. It could be a fixed blade but I would like to keep the whole knife around 8" or so. I havent tried another Puma because I have heard their knves are nothing like what they use to be, and if I spend the money they are asking I expect something like what I described with the original knife. The reason I am asking about a production knife is because Im pretty sure I cant aford a custom blade. Thanks for any help and input.
 
cjordan, I don't think that without going custom, you stand a good chance of finding what you're looking for. Those old green and yellow box Puma's were exceptional knives by any yard stick. That's why they command such high prices on the great internet market place. The old Puma's were like the old Smith and Wesson revolvers with pinned barrels, or the old Volvo 544 or 122's in their heyday.

You could always belly up to the bar and pay what it takes to get an old one. They're out there, but it's gonna cost ya. You only live once, so it it makes you happy, go for it.

Some of the puuko's from Finland are very top notch, and give outstanding performance.

Carl.
 
Howdy,
I think you will get more answers in one of the other sub-forums.
As I read it, you are looking for a hunting knife. Not a survival knife and not a general camping knife.

Benchmade and Bark River make some nice hunting knives. Buck makes hunting knives in S30V and I think well of them as well.

But none of those are makers of traditional blades. None of those would normally be talked about in the Traditional Forum.

Hows about we try the Hunting and Fishing Forum?
 
I'm in the same situation. My father had an "old" puma that was the only knife he used hunting, he lost it on one of our trips. I thought I could just buy him new one. The new puma knives are nice, but it doesn't compare to the older ones. I've bought several different knives trying to find one as good. So far I haven't been able to find one.
 
knarfeng said:
Howdy,
I think you will get more answers in one of the other sub-forums.
As I read it, you are looking for a hunting knife. Not a survival knife and not a general camping knife.

Benchmade and Bark River make some nice hunting knives. Buck makes hunting knives in S30V and I think well of them as well.

But none of those are makers of traditional blades. None of those would normally be talked about in the Traditional Forum.

Hows about we try the Hunting and Fishing Forum?
Click to expand...
Sorry about that sir, sure didnt mean to step on anyones toes. I have only been a member on this forum for a couple of days, and I have been like a kid in a candy store reading. I didnt even realize there was a hunting and fishing section on here. The reason I put it in the traditional forum is because its an old knife thats been around for a while, and I was looking for a knife that would be easy to sharpen and hold the edge real well. Again didnt mean to post int he wrong place, I will pay better attention for now on. Thanks
 
There's a few decent ones I can think of:

Folders

- vintage Buck 110 (from the auction site or a fellow member)
- A GEC offering
- A Case Hammerhead or Mako

Fixed Blades

- Buck 103 Skinner
- Buck 102 Woodsman


But I think you may need to ask yourself whether it was the knife that was great or the fact that it was a treasured gift from your father. Chances are nothing will live up to it.

In the offchance that you really get into it, a YouTube member called virtuovice puts out more minutes of video about hunting knives then I thought possible. He tests all of them and sharpens them obsessively. His collection is incredible, but he also talks about inexpensive knives too.

Hope this helps,
 
cjordan said:
Sorry about that sir, sure didnt mean to step on anyones toes.
Click to expand...

No worries. A good skinning knife has a specific set of characteristics. And they aren't the characteristics we usually talk about in the Traditional Forum. I just think you will get better answers to your question here in a forum devoted to hunting and fishing, than you would in Traditional.
 
I have a few handmade knives for sale in the $125-$150 dollar range. I do the heat treat myself and they are very comparable to knives in the old Puma class. Skinning, gutting, & quartering 6-8 deer without sharpening is no problem. Even more if you do a slight touch-up after each use. I allow a 5 day inspection period and all my knives have a common sense lifetime warranty. If you're interested, send me a email at the address below and I'll send you some pics and prices of what I have ready for sale. I can also make you pretty much anything you want and you can choose the design, steel type, handle material, etc..
 
I would suggest a Schrade sharpfinger. Not the current, off-shore production versions though. Get one of the older original U.S Schrades.
They can easily be found on the big auction site, and the old ones were 1095 carbon steel. They are extremely comfortable in hand too.
They can be found for 30 - 45 dollars.

Nothing wrong with going custom either though. There are some members here, that make great knives
 
Looking at current and completed auctions on that auction site, I see several older Pumas currently under $200, and in completed auctions, some went under $100 for good users, and not much more than $200 for NIB examples, except for the really large ones which fall outside of your parameters of a good skinner knife. I guess it depends on your patience and what you are willing to spend, and the condition you will be satisfied with.

But as others have mentioned, there are plenty of other knives that are excellent skinners by other makers if you would consider one of them.
 
Warning - Beckerhead content - Check out the Becker BK17. It's replaced my Benchmade Rant and Buck Omni Hunter. Ka-Bar does an excellent heat treat and though I haven't tested it on multiple deer (yet), I have no doubt of it's ability to live up to the task.

I can't really comment on a folder, though, as I stopped using folding knives for deer processing quite a long time ago.

A custom, as Darrin mentioned, is a great idea as well. There are lots of knifemakers here who are in the sub-$200 price range who could set you up with exactly what you want.
 
338375 said:
I would suggest a Schrade sharpfinger. Not the current, off-shore production versions though. Get one of the older original U.S Schrades.
They can easily be found on the big auction site, and the old ones were 1095 carbon steel. They are extremely comfortable in hand too.
They can be found for 30 - 45 dollars.

Nothing wrong with going custom either though. There are some members here, that make great knives
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. If you want to go custom, Keith Willis here on the forum makes a wonderful "sharpfinger too. He's really reasonably priced as well.
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thanks guys. I will check into these knives both custom, and production just as soon as I can get a few things lined out.
 
If the old puma is what you like pick up one of ebay. I have seen some nice ones about.
 
Queen makes several styles of hunter/skinners for under $50 with wood or bone handles and high quality D2 steel. If you have the ability to sharpen hard steel (61 HRc), these will be the most knife for the money you can get.
 
black mamba said:
Queen makes several styles of hunter/skinners for under $50 with wood or bone handles and high quality D2 steel. If you have the ability to sharpen hard steel (61 HRc), these will be the most knife for the money you can get.
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I have to second this, the Queen knives are an incredible value for the money. Also, you might want to look at Bob Dozier, if you don't mind being in the $200 to $250 range. Great knives for hunting.
 
I'm not sure if you're even still paying attention to this thread, but I'll second the Queen/GEC recommendations, and add a few links. TKC, (paid BF dealer,) has some pretty awesome deals on GEC fixed blades; the Bird and Trout Bowie looks especially good:
http://www.the-knife-connection.com/great-eastern-cutlery--fixed-blade-knives.html

They also have some pretty good prices on Queens:
http://www.the-knife-connection.com/queen-cutlery--fixed-blade-knives.html

And while I'm not sure I would really consider the Gunny a hunting knife I figured I might as well add this:
http://www.the-knife-connection.com/bark-river-knives--gunny.html
 
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