Puma Info /KnifeCenter of the Internet

PUMA is one of the famous trade-marks that gave Solingen its name " City of Knives " .
Founded in 1769, the Company's first rule was, and still is today, first class quality which is reflected in their hunting and sporting knives.

Since then, the skill and workmanship has been passed down from father to son, resulting in a combination of unsurpassed quality between the artisan and his art. Continuous contacts with other manufacturers, custom knife makers and designers, from all over the world led and lead to technical cooperation,exchange of experience and new models which complete the manufacturing program.

A precondition for cooperation is that quality corresponds to our own high standard submitted to strict quality control.
The PUMA guarantee stands for the utmost quality and the very best materials and craftsmanship.

Since Johann Wilhelm Lauterjung had the eldest trade-mark of PUMA works registered 225 years ago, the company has made the utmost quality a rule. On the following pages PUMA explains what this advance in quality signifies. The blade is the " heart" of the knife and most important for a first- class knife. According to the knife model and its purpose, PUMA processes several steels, chosen with regard to their flexibility and hardness, tested in assays and practice. PUMA processes hot-rolled steels as their structure is by far superior than the structure of cold-rolled steels. The blades are die-forged by hand with shape and concavity predetermined. Most important is the compression of the steel during the hot rolling process. This special process guarantees the high durability of the PUMA knife.

The blades are first wet ground on carborundum discs using coolants. The thickness of the blade is constantly controlled during the first grinding, as blade and springs have to be of the same measure to lock correctly when the knife is opened. Vital for the use of a PUMA knife is the cutting angle in proportion to the back of the blade. The flatter the blade, the better its cutting abilities. A blade with a back of 3,5 mm should at least have a width of 200 mm. Blades with a smaller width are hollow-ground, which has the same effect on the cutting abilities. Fine grinding is done on leather, felt and cloth discs. The leather and felt discs have different diameters and are coated with Naxos emery.

Fine grinding is repeated several times. Abrasives and coolants are used till the final high polish is reached. The blade backs and blades are processed on flexible belt sanders. After grinding each blade is examined carefully and hardness tested. Before being assembled, the PUMA logo and art.no. as well as other descriptions are etched onto the blade.

Rockwell :
Durability and cut of the knife depend on the hardness of the blade. The hardness of a blade is the resistance of steel against a penetrating device. To find out the hardness of a blade, a diamond is pressed into the steel with a determined load. The depth of penetration is Rockwell C, abbreviation HRC or RC. Ground blades and springs are hardened at temperatures reaching 850 - 1200 C. Quality control permanently examines the blades during the hardening process. All blades are examined after grinding. Blades below a hardness of 57 RC are consequently scrapped because of PUMA quality standards. Unique: You can prove this control, as the mark of the diamond can clearly be identified on each blade. Knife handles and scales as well as other necessary assembled parts are also subject to strict quality control. Many materials are natural products, as f.ex. horn or wood. As natural products always slightly differ from each other, the scales for each knife are carefully chosen to be as identical as possible with regard to colour, structure and veining. The riveting of the scales and of the individual parts is done by hand. Blades, springs and scales are assembled with steel, nickel-silver or brass pins. Assembled knives are roughly ground, i.e. all edges of the staghorn or wooden scales are adjusted to the shape of the knife. Next step is the final finish of knife body, scales, bolsters and spring back: the so called first-class finish, effected on leather and felt discs coated with fine emery till the final finish, polished or glazed is reached. Final grinding is done on a grinding belt with an especially fine grit. Final control examines the cut of the knife, its function and correct workmanship. Each worker has his/her special control no. and may be held responsible for any fault.

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