Pete Moore reviews an iconic German hunting knife from the masters of the craft - Puma of Solingen Comment, or read more at gunmart.net Contact: Heinnie Haynes; heinnie.com
My dad gave me a White Hunter just like the one in this video in 1971 when I started hunting at 16. The knife went on every hunting and fishing trip we went on. In the course of moving around during my life, I lost track of it. A couple of years ago, I was reunited with it when I found it in the bottom of an old tool box. It was a mess, corroded and rusted. I put it on a shelf in my workshop as a reminder of my times hunting and fishing with dad. One day I went on the Puma web site and e mailed them to see if they refurbished old knives. They referred me to Terry Renner, TR Knives, in Fla. He said he could make the knife look like new so I sent it off to him. If it had come back to me in a factory box, I would have thought it was a brand new knife! I don't say this lightly, but what he did was magic. I now have a knife I can pass on to my grand daughter.
👍. Good overview of this excellent knife. I’ve had and used mine for 54 years and nothing has come loose. I was fortunate enough to get one with the stag scales (luck, not planning - stag was the only option at the store at the time), I have XL glove sized hands and the handle is very comfortable for me. Thank you for sharing.
just bought a vintage example in wood grips and hasn't arrived yet but I was put off the stag because I was concerned that in use the stag might stain if I get anything on it, the wood being darker would at least not show as much, if the grip proves too small I'll probably paracord or leather wrap the grip
@@Shadow_Hawk_Streaming In 56 years my stag grips have not stained, cracked, or shrunk in size. Some of the wood grips can also be very attractive from what I have seen. The handle diameter is a little smaller than I would normally prefer, but so much so that it has ever been a problem. I hope you enjoy your knife when it arrives, by pure luck, it was one of my better knife purchases. I hope with time you will feel the same way.
Your wood scaled PWH is a rare collectors item, because Puma only made them for a very limited time. Usually the wood scaled version of the White Hunter for public is called "Automesser" (car knife). Also, Puma supplied it to the German airforce and special forces as the "pilots knife". For budget reasons Puma made these army knives only until 1983 when Hirschkrone took over with a very similar design.
My parents gave me one last year that my mother bought for my dad when they were dating in 1968. I checked the code and it is dated from that year. It is one of my prize possessions.
supposedly it was issued to German Pilots right into the 80s, and was even bought and carried by American aviators in Vietnam, I can see how the robust tip would make for a great aircrew knife because similar to the ww2-cold war era U.S. aircrew knife it's very capable of can opening it's way out of an aircraft, but the difference in grind to that knife would make it a far more practical field knife as from what I've heard those U.S. aircrew knives the whole blade was geared as an escape tool so the edge wasn't practical for finer work
Found my brothers in the storage shed, still in the wooden box with a sealed booklet (did not open) , the leather has started to mold so I need to clean it properly.
I've got a puma white hunter 6375 with a date code of 13971 which makes it a first half of the year 1979 when I googled it . Are they valuable ?? It's never been used. It has a Stag textured handle and a light tan sheath and the green and yellow plastic case .. it was my late father's knife ..
Indeed they are valuable.....Of course first and foremost these are awesome knives......I have a 74 model and it still is in great condition. The 79s sell for around 300-500 dollars here in Germany....just check how they go on eBay in the US (or your actual location). I would suggest to hold on to it, as they are hard to beat in quality and history. Definitely something worth having in your collection.
What you show is the "Auto-Messer" from Puma, not the White Hunter knife. They are very similar. The White Hunter has stag handles, the Auto-Messer has wooden handles. This is the only difference between these knives.
The Original White Hunter has deer stag handles. This one with wood scales Must be the Puma Automesser or the Pilotenmesser. But it´s quality is similar high.
That's what one might think on the first glance. But for a rather short time Puma also made wood scaled White Hunters 6399 and 6377. Those are rare collectors items. If you zoom in at 2:52 you can read it the etching on the blade.
Ermmm, Pete. According to the Puma website ''Your Puma knife was made in the 2nd quarter of year 1977'' S/N 47772 Your story of 1972 might be inaccurate.