Gaucho knives and cuchillos criollos of South America

[screened porch]

What material is the handle ?

Horn, I'll bet.

 

[Trubetzkoy]

I am a bit concerned about the handle and its potential for creating hotspots

It is a very interesting knife.
Likely done for artistic purposes mainly.
What material is the handle ?

Haha yeah, I guess these fancier antique knives were more status pieces than anything else, and any duels or self-defense situations requiring their use likely wouldnt've lasted too long anyways. That said, I think the handle is fairly round, so maybe it's not too uncomfortable.

The handle is horn, as screened porch already pointed out -- cow horn, most likely.

 

[Jack Black]

We were just having the same conversation about Spanish, in my local cafe, as on the previous page! Me, a lady from Costa Rica, and a well-travelled Algerian guy

 

[screened porch]

One of my favorite Argentinians and one of my favorite Brazillians.

 

[Trubetzkoy]

One of my favorite Argentinians and one of my favorite Brazillians.

One of my favorite Argentinians and one of my favorite Brazillians.

I really like those Brazilian knives two, especially the less "cowboy"-themed ones, even if they were mass-produced. I see no "inox" mark, so I take it it's is carbon steel, right?

A couple days ago I found a verijero of that type relatively cheap, so I ordered it. You're a terrible influence, guys ! Of course I'l share a picture when it arrives -- it seems to be just like the one shared by Jack Black .

 

[screened porch]

I see no "inox" mark, so I take it it's is carbon steel, right?

There's a tiny inox under the tiny twisted bugle.

They're good, hard steel, mass-produced thought they be.

 

[Trubetzkoy]

There's a tiny inox under the tiny twisted bugle.

They're good, hard steel, mass-produced thought they be.

Nice! I personally don't care either whether it's stainless steel or not -- in fact the one I ordered is stainless too. I was asking more from a dating standpoint. In any case, from what I've seen some of these stainless Brazilian knives were made pretty early -- as early as the 50s, and maybe earlier.

 

[screened porch]

I think these are an interesting pair, being almost the same size but not.

The cowboy one is the first one I bought, for $30 from the practical widow of the guy who'd had it marked $130 years before.
The slim one has some gold wash surviving above the belt hook.

 

[Trubetzkoy]

I think these are an interesting pair, being almost the same size but not.

The cowboy one is the first one I bought, for $30 from the practical widow of the guy who'd had it marked $130 years before.
The slim one has some gold wash surviving above the belt hook.

I really like the etching on the bottom one.

 

[Trubetzkoy]

So, how do you guys feel about clip-point gaucho knives? I know they are by no means the norm, but they did exist, even back in the day, and they seem to have been most common in Brazil:

As a big bowie knife enthusiast, I like them quite a bit, and have been wanting to make myself one using an old chef's knife blade.

 

[kamagong]

Pics or it didn’t happen

I was thinking that!

I didn't take pictures the first time I used my puñal, but I remembered to do so this time.

 

[Prester John]

I didn't take pictures the first time I used my puñal, but I remembered to do so this time.

View attachment 2262088

Very nice, Christian. Are you using it often for food prep? Looks like it would make a great chef's knife.

 

[Prester John]

So, how do you guys feel about clip-point gaucho knives? I know they are by no means the norm, but they did exist, even back in the day, and they seem to have been most common in Brazil:

As a big bowie knife enthusiast, I like them quite a bit, and have been wanting to make myself one using an old chef's knife blade.

Beautiful pics. Do you have any?

 

[Trubetzkoy]

Beautiful pics. Do you have any?

I do not, yet, but I already started working on one:

 

[screened porch]

I do not, yet, but I already started working on one:

If I ever finish turning my Sabatier into a punal, I won't be showing it here!

I've gotten as far as sawing off the pinkie-hook. Then I thought, nobody's going to believe my handle workmanship came from Patagonia. Just make a sheath!

Or better yet, find one.

 

[Trubetzkoy]

If I ever finish turning my Sabatier into a punal, I won't be showing it here!

I've gotten as far as sawing off the pinkie-hook. Then I thought, nobody's going to believe my handle workmanship came from Patagonia. Just make a sheath!

Or better yet, find one.

A Sabatier blade could make for a very handsome gaucho knife, IMO. The issue with Sabatiers (in the narrow sense, i.e., in the French style) is that they tend to be pretty thin. I'd suggest keeping an eye for used German-style chef's knives, as some (especially older models) have fairly thick blades.

In the last few months (basically since I found this thread ), I've been working on several gaucho-style projects with German blades in my free time. Here's one that I did with a Hoffritz blade from the 80s (stainless, 8" long, 4.5mm thick) and the handle of an older Webster bread knife (sterling):

I still need to polish the handle, glue it to the blade, hand-sand the latter, and make a sheath, but you get the idea. Here's how it looked before:

 

[Kiteman72]

Always such a pleasure to peruse this wonderful thread!

Thanks sooo much to all the contributors!

 

[screened porch]

A Sabatier blade could make for a very handsome gaucho knife, IMO. The issue with Sabatiers (in the narrow sense, i.e., in the French style) is that they tend to be pretty thin. I'd suggest keeping an eye for used German-style chef's knives, as some (especially older models) have fairly thick blades.

In the last few months (basically since I found this thread ), I've been working on several gaucho-style projects with German blades in my free time. Here's one that I did with a Hoffritz blade from the 80s (stainless, 8" long, 4.5mm thick) and the handle of an older Webster bread knife (sterling):

I still need to polish the handle, glue it to the blade, hand-sand the latter, and make a sheath, but you get the idea. Here's how it looked before:

Nice. That's a lot of work, taking down the fat heel brace. Beautiful work with the sterling handle, too.

The Sabatier I've de-pinkied, and the one in my kitchen, are both pretty thick in the fort before they taper in the feeble. I reach for the kitchen one for splitting squash and such. I have an old carbon Henkels with the same strong fort.
The ones I've set aside are all 10-inchers. Of course, the bigger we make these, the less suitable they are for stabbing hamstrung beeves under the ear, and the more we'd better hope that our assailants will square off like gentlemen in open spaces.

Old pic; I'm out of batteries:

 

[kamagong]

Very nice, Christian. Are you using it often for food prep? Looks like it would make a great chef's knife.

I'm using it for some food prep, but my puñal will get smoked by a proper chef's knife. The blade is just too thick compared to an optimized kitchen knife, using it would get fatiguing too quickly.



I do think it will shine when cutting things like a squash, pineapple, or a whole chicken. Foods that might ding the fine edge on my gyuto will get shrugged off by this tough gaucho.

 

[RayseM]

Yeah it is a hefty blade that Maxi makes. I like the feel of it though.