Corvo Questions.

Howard Wallace

Howard Wallace

.
Moderator
Joined
Feb 23, 1999
Messages
4,856
I recently obtained a Chilean Corvo knife.

CorvoKnife.jpg


I believe that this is the knife issued to the Chilean military. The one I have is new and has not been sharpened. The blade cross-section is a flattened diamond, so both sides can be sharpened.

The knife is sturdy and has a nice heft. It seems like it would make a good utility field knife, but the blade shape is so unusual that I am unsure of its potentials. Playing with the knife will tell me a lot, but I want to learn what I can about it prior to sharpening it up.

Perhaps some of you have experience with this style of knife?

Questions:

What parts of the blade are usually sharpened? Does this differ if fighting or utility use is intended?

Can anyone tell me of proven methods for splitting wood, cleaning fish, spreading peanut butter or other common utility uses?

Can anyone tell me of combat techniques using this knife?

I do not have a sheath. Any suggestions for how to safely sheath it?

The blade is marked with a little castle symbol, with the word “Chile” and another word I can’t make out inside. What is the steel used in this model?

Thank you for any information you can give.
 
Hi Howard,

You have the civilian version of the Chilean special forces military knife. Two versions of the knife are issued, one version has the point curve about 45%, while the other (yours) curves about 90%. The latter is proported to be issued primarily to officers. Both of the issued knives have black checkered plastic handle slabs in place of the wood on your example. The issued knives, as well as your example, are manufactured by the military arms factory of chile F.A.M.A.E. (Fabrica y Maestranzas del Ejercito de Chile).

The sheath for the elisted men's version is made of black plastic and has the Chilean crest molded into the front. The officer's version is usually made of leather and features a 2-3" pocket at the bottom, where you insert the curved point, while two heavy leather straps wrap one around the blade and the other around the handle to hold the knife in place.

Both, the top and bottom of the usually straight corbon steel blade should be fully sharpened. They usually have a blued finish although some of the civilian versions may be chromed.

You may want to take a look at Bill Bagwell's article on this knife in the March 1987 issue of Soldier of Fortune. The article has recently been reprinted in book form under the title of: Bowies, Big Knives, and the best of Battle Blades (Paladin Press - ISBN 1-58160-107-7).

N2S
 
Thanks for the informative reply N2S.

My blade is the chromed version. That explains why part of the marking was illegible, and why the blade is dull. The illegible marking is, on closer inspection, FAMAE.

I found the Bagwell article and read it. Thank you for the pointer.

Time to sharpen it up and play.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top