Time for a new knife

Panfisher · June 8, 2015, 07:49 AM

I have decided for no particular reason that it is time for a new knife. I haven't bought one in over a year so I am due. For some reason I have focused on a Puma brand, fixed blade. Either the Coyote Stag or the Elk Hunter Stag, one has a finger grove for the index finger the other is a smooth handle. I don't know if I will be able to find a store near me that has one or both in stock to handle. Anybody have any experience with the Puma's especially the ones I listed. This will be a using knife, one I plan to keep for many years, not as a safe queen though.

603Country · June 8, 2015, 04:27 PM

Go to the Texas Hunting Forum and look in the knife section. Some of those guys can build what you want and make it absolutely beautiful. Damascus steel or whatever you want. If you want a one of a kind type knife, they can do it for you.

As for me, I just use my old USMC KaBar for most utility skinning, and switch to a thin bladed folder for the backstrap. I've been thinking about getting one of those guys to make me a KaBar with a Damascus steel blade. I saw one once and could not talk the owner into selling it to me.

sicumj · June 8, 2015, 05:27 PM

I just bought a custom made knife. Four inch Damascus steel blade about 8 inches overall. Elk horn handle. I love it.

Panfisher · June 8, 2015, 06:11 PM

Nice stuff but at this point I have no need or even want of a custom knife just something nice but different. Plus I am way too cheap to put out that much money for a knife. I can get s Puma Mule deer hunter for $50. German steel but assembled in china. Heck I have spent more on less before. Father's day is coming up. Ironically much of the work of cleaning and skinning a deer gets done with a folding utility/razor knife with a hook blade and a $15 cold steel Canadian Belt knife.

Jack O'Conner · June 8, 2015, 06:59 PM

This is my favorite hunting knife: Schrade Golden Spike with custom sheath. The new ones are imported but still built very well.

Jack

psalm7 · June 8, 2015, 07:46 PM

Cold Steel and take your pick .

Panfisher · June 8, 2015, 08:38 PM

I have a Golden Spike I bought over 25 years ago, the shape never quite worked for me, recently my son has been eyeballing it though. Currently have 5 or so Cold Steel knives including a Master Hunter and SRK in Carbon V steel, an untimate hunter in Australia 8A, a voyager clip knife, and the aforementioned Canadian Belt knife. I have no shortage of knives, but I don't have a Puma or a Knives of Alaska blade. Was hoping someone has or had a Puma to tell what they thought of it.

mxsailor803 · June 11, 2015, 06:13 AM

I've got a couple custom knives that I've had almost 20 years. It took me almost 2 years to use my first one because it was a gift. I actually met the man who made it. He looked at me and said "I built these knives to use, use it". After that, I've been using it ever since. Its skinned a bunch of deer and only needed sharpening about 4 years ago.

603Country · June 11, 2015, 08:01 AM

Panfisher, I don't have a Puma, but my Dad did. Since he, in his later years, didn't skin deer or sharpen knives, much of that work fell to me. I've always been the family knife sharpener. I sharpened that Puma many times. It had good hard steel, but was rather tough to sharpen with the stones I had available to me back then. Now, with the diamond plates I use, I expect it would be much easier to sharpen. And one minor complaint I had about that specific Puma style was that the blade looked like the one on the Golden Spike knife that someone showed pics of. The edge is a constant curve. A curved blade is a little more tough to get an even and very sharp edge on. I prefer a knive with a straight blade edge and a curve at the tip, like you'd see on a KaBar.

Saltydog235 · June 11, 2015, 08:10 AM

Always wanted a Puma White Hunter but not at the $300.00 price tags I see.

Panfisher · June 11, 2015, 05:11 PM

Yeah the true german ones are expensive
The SGB models are the same steel but it is all assembled in China. I definitely prefer a drop point or straight upper edge. The worst part is once I got to looking at the models there several models that are very similar but differ slightly in blade length and handle
Gotta narrow it down some. Actually got to handle the SGB coyote stag at Bass Pro the other day, felt nice. Honestly I think is like deciding which cut of steak to throw on the grill, it will still be great.

bamaranger · June 12, 2015, 02:05 AM

Only Puma I own is a folder, relatively small one too, green scales and a perhaps a 2.75" blade. "?
The knife is a good 30 yrs old, and when I first acquired it, I carried it almost religiously for a couple of years. Put a "bandit" thumbstud on it. Seemingly good stainless blade, clip pointed. Hollow ground, it could be made incredibly sharp. The lock, scales, overall quality seemed quite high.

Moved to a flat grind blade of another make after a bit, believing such a bevel more durable for general use.

psalm7 · June 12, 2015, 10:23 AM

I have both the Army and USMC Kabar's . A Cold Steel GI Tanto and Bowie next CS will be a OSS . I found a old German made butcher knife at a fle market I am going to refinish to make a frountier Mnt Man knife to go with my black powder set . I do not have the golden spike but do have the one like it with the curved skinning blade the Schrade Uncle Henry anaversry edition I carry Deer Hunting . Nothing wrong with Puma but there is so much compitition around them I just never bought one .

Sure Shot Mc Gee · June 12, 2015, 11:45 AM

And old Boker (215) pruner for daily carry. A chrome Wyoming & a wood handled EKA lock blade fillet for in the field duty's. Havalon Piranta in camp for skinning. I have always liked the idea of having hunting knives with a removable blade. Always sharp & sanitary clean is my motto. Being old school about things "Oops I forgot to re-sharpen it last year" will never be a acceptable excuse with me or spoken by me.

Panfisher · June 12, 2015, 01:47 PM

I believe I have made my choice in the Puma SGB Elk Hunter Stag with leather sheath. When I get it in my hand I'll give a quick review of it.

Panfisher · June 19, 2015, 08:06 AM

Quick review as promised. The Puma finally showed up in the mail yesterday.

First impressions, nice solid, heavy duty knife, with a wide blade, handle feels good, overal very handsome knife.

Blade, didn't seem all that sharp but didn't matter to me as I am a sharp edge freak and would have sharpened it if it had been a straight razor. I will say that it sharped up very very well.

The sheath is a pocket or enclosed type, knife is held in by friction. The leather seems thin and a little stiff, but have given it a dose of mink oil and hopefully it will soften up. It does hold the knife well enough that it is almost difficult to get out.

Fit and finish. not bad, if it were a $300 german hand finished I would be realled upset at the finished quality. But for an $83 delivered to my door it isn't bad. Almost wish I could buy one that they left the handle & tang oversized on and I could finish it myself.

Obviously I haven't gotten to use it on anything yet, but I think I like it so far.

rickyrick · June 19, 2015, 12:10 PM

Look into zvord. Hand made blades. High carbon steel. Can be sharpened to a crazy level of sharpness. They are finished quite rough, but are sold really cheap.

Very tough bush knives, they have a few different styles.

Many people buy them and refine them, but they work as is.

rickyrick · June 19, 2015, 12:17 PM

Sorry, didn't notice that the choice had been made, I still present Svord as a viable option as some knives can be found for 10-11$ and hunters 40 or so.

Geezerbiker · June 20, 2015, 06:02 AM

I have an old Puma Skinner that has been passed down though the family. It seems like a nice knife. I might carry it hunting if I can find a sheath for it...

Tony

22-rimfire · June 20, 2015, 12:34 PM

I have the Puma SGB Elk Hunter with a nylon sheath. I very much like this size of knife and I think it will make an excellent hunting knife. It was very sharp when new. My only real criticism of the Puma is that I can feel the pins (slight protrusion past stag handles) and probably enough to catch a thread. I can live with it.

Have the Cabelas Buck 192 in the Alaskan Guide Series in what I suspect may be better steel (S30V).

Zorro · June 20, 2015, 11:12 PM

Instead of one great knife carry 6-7 small good ones.

I learned this by losing my knife hunting and had to walk 10 miles round trip to get one.

Put a Spiderco in every pocket and you will be good.

Water-Man · June 20, 2015, 11:34 PM

http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Steel-Mas.../dp/B0011MYRN2

Gunplummer · June 21, 2015, 09:44 PM

I carry a small (6" OAL) knife I made out of tool steel many years ago. Hunters are pretty superstitious and it would really bum me out to lose my "Lucky" knife.

June 8, 2015, 07:49 AM	#1
Panfisher Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,337	Time for a new knife I have decided for no particular reason that it is time for a new knife. I haven't bought one in over a year so I am due. For some reason I have focused on a Puma brand, fixed blade. Either the Coyote Stag or the Elk Hunter Stag, one has a finger grove for the index finger the other is a smooth handle. I don't know if I will be able to find a store near me that has one or both in stock to handle. Anybody have any experience with the Puma's especially the ones I listed. This will be a using knife, one I plan to keep for many years, not as a safe queen though.

June 8, 2015, 06:59 PM	#5
Jack O'Conner Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2005 Location: Manatee County, Florida Posts: 1,976	This is my favorite hunting knife: Schrade Golden Spike with custom sheath. The new ones are imported but still built very well. Jack __________________ Fire up the grill! Deer hunting IS NOT catch and release.

June 12, 2015, 02:05 AM	#12
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,296	Puma Only Puma I own is a folder, relatively small one too, green scales and a perhaps a 2.75" blade. "? The knife is a good 30 yrs old, and when I first acquired it, I carried it almost religiously for a couple of years. Put a "bandit" thumbstud on it. Seemingly good stainless blade, clip pointed. Hollow ground, it could be made incredibly sharp. The lock, scales, overall quality seemed quite high. Moved to a flat grind blade of another make after a bit, believing such a bevel more durable for general use.

June 12, 2015, 10:23 AM	#13
psalm7 Senior Member Join Date: March 7, 2014 Location: Middle TN Posts: 543	I have both the Army and USMC Kabar's . A Cold Steel GI Tanto and Bowie next CS will be a OSS . I found a old German made butcher knife at a fle market I am going to refinish to make a frountier Mnt Man knife to go with my black powder set . I do not have the golden spike but do have the one like it with the curved skinning blade the Schrade Uncle Henry anaversry edition I carry Deer Hunting . Nothing wrong with Puma but there is so much compitition around them I just never bought one . Last edited by psalm7; June 12, 2015 at 12:06 PM.

June 19, 2015, 12:10 PM	#17
rickyrick Senior Member Join Date: March 15, 2010 Posts: 8,236	Look into zvord. Hand made blades. High carbon steel. Can be sharpened to a crazy level of sharpness. They are finished quite rough, but are sold really cheap. Very tough bush knives, they have a few different styles. Many people buy them and refine them, but they work as is. __________________ Woohoo, I’m back In Texas!!!

June 8, 2015, 04:27 PM	#2
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	Go to the Texas Hunting Forum and look in the knife section. Some of those guys can build what you want and make it absolutely beautiful. Damascus steel or whatever you want. If you want a one of a kind type knife, they can do it for you. As for me, I just use my old USMC KaBar for most utility skinning, and switch to a thin bladed folder for the backstrap. I've been thinking about getting one of those guys to make me a KaBar with a Damascus steel blade. I saw one once and could not talk the owner into selling it to me.

June 8, 2015, 06:11 PM	#4
Panfisher Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,337	Nice stuff but at this point I have no need or even want of a custom knife just something nice but different. Plus I am way too cheap to put out that much money for a knife. I can get s Puma Mule deer hunter for $50. German steel but assembled in china. Heck I have spent more on less before. Father's day is coming up. Ironically much of the work of cleaning and skinning a deer gets done with a folding utility/razor knife with a hook blade and a $15 cold steel Canadian Belt knife.

June 8, 2015, 07:46 PM	#6
psalm7 Senior Member Join Date: March 7, 2014 Location: Middle TN Posts: 543	Cold Steel and take your pick .

June 8, 2015, 08:38 PM	#7
Panfisher Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,337	I have a Golden Spike I bought over 25 years ago, the shape never quite worked for me, recently my son has been eyeballing it though. Currently have 5 or so Cold Steel knives including a Master Hunter and SRK in Carbon V steel, an untimate hunter in Australia 8A, a voyager clip knife, and the aforementioned Canadian Belt knife. I have no shortage of knives, but I don't have a Puma or a Knives of Alaska blade. Was hoping someone has or had a Puma to tell what they thought of it.

June 11, 2015, 06:13 AM	#8
mxsailor803 Senior Member Join Date: February 8, 2010 Location: SC Posts: 1,344	I've got a couple custom knives that I've had almost 20 years. It took me almost 2 years to use my first one because it was a gift. I actually met the man who made it. He looked at me and said "I built these knives to use, use it". After that, I've been using it ever since. Its skinned a bunch of deer and only needed sharpening about 4 years ago.

June 11, 2015, 08:01 AM	#9
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	Panfisher, I don't have a Puma, but my Dad did. Since he, in his later years, didn't skin deer or sharpen knives, much of that work fell to me. I've always been the family knife sharpener. I sharpened that Puma many times. It had good hard steel, but was rather tough to sharpen with the stones I had available to me back then. Now, with the diamond plates I use, I expect it would be much easier to sharpen. And one minor complaint I had about that specific Puma style was that the blade looked like the one on the Golden Spike knife that someone showed pics of. The edge is a constant curve. A curved blade is a little more tough to get an even and very sharp edge on. I prefer a knive with a straight blade edge and a curve at the tip, like you'd see on a KaBar.

June 11, 2015, 08:10 AM	#10
Saltydog235 Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2010 Location: Pawleys Island Posts: 1,563	Always wanted a Puma White Hunter but not at the $300.00 price tags I see.

June 11, 2015, 05:11 PM	#11
Panfisher Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,337	Yeah the true german ones are expensive The SGB models are the same steel but it is all assembled in China. I definitely prefer a drop point or straight upper edge. The worst part is once I got to looking at the models there several models that are very similar but differ slightly in blade length and handle Gotta narrow it down some. Actually got to handle the SGB coyote stag at Bass Pro the other day, felt nice. Honestly I think is like deciding which cut of steak to throw on the grill, it will still be great.

June 12, 2015, 11:45 AM	#14
Sure Shot Mc Gee Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,876	And old Boker (215) pruner for daily carry. A chrome Wyoming & a wood handled EKA lock blade fillet for in the field duty's. Havalon Piranta in camp for skinning. I have always liked the idea of having hunting knives with a removable blade. Always sharp & sanitary clean is my motto. Being old school about things "Oops I forgot to re-sharpen it last year" will never be a acceptable excuse with me or spoken by me.

June 12, 2015, 01:47 PM	#15
Panfisher Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,337	I believe I have made my choice in the Puma SGB Elk Hunter Stag with leather sheath. When I get it in my hand I'll give a quick review of it.

June 19, 2015, 08:06 AM	#16
Panfisher Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,337	Quick review as promised. The Puma finally showed up in the mail yesterday. First impressions, nice solid, heavy duty knife, with a wide blade, handle feels good, overal very handsome knife. Blade, didn't seem all that sharp but didn't matter to me as I am a sharp edge freak and would have sharpened it if it had been a straight razor. I will say that it sharped up very very well. The sheath is a pocket or enclosed type, knife is held in by friction. The leather seems thin and a little stiff, but have given it a dose of mink oil and hopefully it will soften up. It does hold the knife well enough that it is almost difficult to get out. Fit and finish. not bad, if it were a $300 german hand finished I would be realled upset at the finished quality. But for an $83 delivered to my door it isn't bad. Almost wish I could buy one that they left the handle & tang oversized on and I could finish it myself. Obviously I haven't gotten to use it on anything yet, but I think I like it so far.

June 19, 2015, 12:17 PM	#18
rickyrick Senior Member Join Date: March 15, 2010 Posts: 8,236	Sorry, didn't notice that the choice had been made, I still present Svord as a viable option as some knives can be found for 10-11$ and hunters 40 or so. __________________ Woohoo, I’m back In Texas!!!

June 20, 2015, 06:02 AM	#19
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,908	I have an old Puma Skinner that has been passed down though the family. It seems like a nice knife. I might carry it hunting if I can find a sheath for it... Tony

June 20, 2015, 12:34 PM	#20
22-rimfire Senior Member Join Date: February 19, 2005 Location: Tennessee Posts: 5,323	I have the Puma SGB Elk Hunter with a nylon sheath. I very much like this size of knife and I think it will make an excellent hunting knife. It was very sharp when new. My only real criticism of the Puma is that I can feel the pins (slight protrusion past stag handles) and probably enough to catch a thread. I can live with it. Have the Cabelas Buck 192 in the Alaskan Guide Series in what I suspect may be better steel (S30V).

June 20, 2015, 11:12 PM	#21
Zorro Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2000 Posts: 1,072	Differet Appoach Instead of one great knife carry 6-7 small good ones. I learned this by losing my knife hunting and had to walk 10 miles round trip to get one. Put a Spiderco in every pocket and you will be good.

June 20, 2015, 11:34 PM	#22
Water-Man Senior Member Join Date: March 23, 2008 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 2,126	http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Steel-Mas.../dp/B0011MYRN2

June 21, 2015, 09:44 PM	#23
Gunplummer Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2010 Location: South East Pa. Posts: 3,364	I carry a small (6" OAL) knife I made out of tool steel many years ago. Hunters are pretty superstitious and it would really bum me out to lose my "Lucky" knife.

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