Knife blades of German Stainless steel

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Your opinions ?

The Germans make some excellent knife steel, but like everywhere else, did the manufacturer choose one of the good ones to put into the blade? I have an older Puma that is so sharp it'll cut you if you look at it crosswise.

If you're referring to the famous Solingen steel, etc., then its been superseded by more modern products. Nothing wrong with it, as its high quality, but my understanding is that it's basically good 420 stainless like you'd find in a Buck knife at Wal-mart. This description doesn't apply to specialty products from German companies like Bokker, etc., which may be very modern indeed. I'm by no means an expert on the subject and someone with more knowledge may want to correct me on some of the details.

Puma on their web site say's that they use a special version of 440A, when you look at their additives, it's a type 440C likely Bohler. Bohler is Austrian but they have German mills. With the European Common Market any Europeaan steel is available.

A little investigation shows that German Stainless is often Krupp 4116. It's approximately equivalent to 420 or 440A. The Boehler 440C equivalent is N695, they also make equivalents to 420, V10, and some of the super steels. The two companies that seem to specifically target the knife market are Boehler and Sandavik.