Boot Knife / Fighting Knife Puma Solingen - Ia Gusstahl - Drop Point Blade

[Sleepwalker]

Hi there,

I would like to introduce you to one of the well-known German combat knives from Puma Solingen.
These knives are available with three different logos and two different blades.

Here is the variant with the manufacturer's logo "Ia Gusstahl Puma Solingen" and the drop point blade.












Here are some details of the knife:










The handle scales are made of Bakelite and are triple riveted to the tang.










The shock leather consists of imitation leather








The guard is made of zinc alloy.






It is still not finally clear whether these knives were procured privately or by the military or both.
Interestingly, this piece even has the price tag on the blade. Accordingly, the knife cost 5 Reichsmarks (RM).




The scabbard with clamp is typical of this model.














Also included was a carrying bag to carry the knife on the belt. It is difficult to say whether these could be bought separately or whether they were made by the soldier himself.

[ivanjoaquin]

Another great knife

[gerrit]

Thank you for this great informatic post.
Great pics and described very well, you schooled me thx for that!

Best
Ger

[Anderson]

Superb example.

[Frogprince]

Great thread, and a top end example. I don't think that I've ever seen a price before, but from one perspective it does make sense. With government marked items it's clear that they were government property. Conversely - a permanently marked price would indicate that an individual purchased the knife, and it was his personal property. Best Regards, Fred

[Anderson]

A good point Fred. A price mark does rather suggest private purchase. And that makes sense give the quality of these Puma knives. And at 5 RM, twice the price of a HJ knife (according to my WKC price list).

[gerrit]

Great thread, and a top end example. I don't think that I've ever seen a price before, but from one perspective it does make sense. With government marked items it's clear that they were government property. Conversely - a permanently marked price would indicate that an individual purchased the knife, and it was his personal property. Best Regards, Fred

Well compared to an army dagger that 5 RM was pretty good value for money.
The army dagger costed 11.50 - 12.00 RM

Ger