Proper care and sharpening of PUMA knives

To ensure that you can use your PUMA knife for a very long time, proper handling, regular maintenance and care, as well as correct resharpening of the cutting edge are of crucial importance.

Here we show you how to do it correctly:

PUMA - Knife Care and Sharpening Instructions

a) Maintenance of Puma knives:

1. Knives that have been stored for a long time often have blades that are difficult to open. A drop of oil and opening and closing them a few times usually solves the problem.

2. Clean after use to remove dirt and sweat. This can be done under running water, but dry thoroughly afterwards. Never expose the knife to high heat to dry; warping of the handle scales and cracks in the staghorn or wood due to shrinkage are inevitable consequences.

3. Lightly rub the entire knife with gun oil, lightly oiling the springs along their entire length, especially at the rubbing points.

4. Never partially open two parts that share a spring at the same time. Otherwise, the spring will be under double tension, overloaded, and could break.

Fig. 1

5. Sharpening the blade with PUMA honing steel Art. No. 90 3574 and 91 3575. Honing the blade on PUMA Arkansas oilstone Art. No. 90 3576 and sharpening oil Art. No. 90 3579.

6. It is wrong and ruins any edge to use a sharply honed blade like an axe, to split wood, or to pry like a crowbar, or even to use the edge as a screwdriver. The edge will inevitably be damaged. Chips will form, the blade will bend, or it may even break. CAUTION: A knife blade is solely a cutting tool.

b) Sharpening instructions:

Never sharpen a knife on an emery stone. The blade burns very easily and will need to be replaced.

Fig. 2

If the blade is still wedge-shaped and thin,

Fig. 3

It then only needs to be honed. For this, use a PUMA Arkansas oilstone, item no. 90 3576, and PUMA sharpening oil, item no. 90 3579. Thoroughly coat the stone with sharpening oil and hold the knife at an angle of 30° to the surface (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4

Then, with the back of the knife facing right, pull the firmly pressed blade diagonally towards you, towards the edge. After two strokes, turn the knife and, with the back of the knife facing left, stroke away from you, towards the edge.

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

When resharpening, you should feel like you are cutting a thin slice off the sharpening stone. Repeat this process until the knife has the desired sharpness.

If the knife has been sharpened several times and the blade is convex and thick,

Fig. 7

The knife must then be professionally resharpened or sharpened on the PUMA sharpening stone Art. No. 90 3578 as described below:

1. Before sharpening the blade, thoroughly soak the PUMA sharpening stone with water, or at least wet the surface well. Then place it on the table, resting on its edge. Keep the surface of the stone continuously moistened with water so that an abrasive slurry forms during the sharpening process.

2. First, the blade is honed thinly on the coarse, light-colored side of the sharpening stone. To do this, hold the knife in your right hand and place the blade almost flat on the stone. Now, rub a few strokes to the right or left against the edge. Then, repeat the same number of strokes with the blade tilted to the left. The blade must be pressed firmly against the stone, as if you were cutting a thin slice from it. Once the blade is sufficiently honed thin, a distinct burr will appear on the edge. Honing can also remove minor damage to the edge.

3. Now the knife needs to be honed, i.e., the thin burr removed. For this, use the dark, fine side of the sharpening stone. Hold the knife at an angle of approximately 30 degrees (Fig. 4) to the surface of the stone. Then, with the blade pressed firmly against the stone, draw it diagonally towards you. Make two strokes with the spine tilted to the left and two strokes with the spine tilted to the right, and after just a few strokes the knife will be sharpened.

c) Repairs:

We cannot supply replacement blades or spare parts, excluding leather sheaths. As a customer service measure, we charge for all repairs and sharpening work at cost.

Please observe all points and your PUMA knife will thank you with a longer lifespan, good function of the springs and locking mechanism, and a good cut.