Gaucho knives and cuchillos criollos of South America

[Prester John]

Juan Moreira (? - April 1874) is a well-known figure in the history of Argentina. An outlaw, gaucho and folk-hero, he is considered one of the most renowned Argentinian rural bandits.

Fascinating, Dan. I never heard of him. Kind of a South American Pancho Villa? I need to read more about your country, my friend.

 

[Trubetzkoy]

Who is this T Trubetzkoy ? And does that silver work say Trubetzkoy on it? That is beautiful. What a collection.

Haha, do you mean who I am, or who I took my username from? If the former, simply a South American bloke with a passion for traditional knives and the tinkering and modification thereof. If the latter, Prince Nikolai Trubetzkoy was a Russian linguist and one of the fathers of modern phonology.

As for the silverwork, I take it you're referring to the handle of the knife with the fancier file work on the spine. If so, I'm sorry to say it simply says "Webster, Sterling" .

Very VERY nice mi amigo ! Great to see your collection growing ! You are very talented ! I can't wait to see what you come up with for the new sheath

Thanks, mate. I'm looking forward to starting working on the sheath too. I already got some sheet sterling silver I ordered, but need to decide what to do for the tip and the belt hook.

By the way, a few hours ago I decided to widen and deepen the false edge a bit, to make it look slightly more badass:

 

[screened porch]

Life is simpler when you don't have skills.
That's what I tell myself.

 

[Jack Black]

Prince Nikolai Trubetzkoy was a Russian linguist and one of the fathers of modern phonology.

The study of phones?

 

[Trubetzkoy]

The study of phones?

Indeed.

 

[kamagong]

The study of phones?

Indeed.

And here I thought phonology was the much more useful study of phonies.

 

[Prester John]

"More Gaucho knives, please...."

 

[Trubetzkoy]

"More Gaucho knives, please...."

Ask and you shall receive. Here are three antique gaucho knives I've found online with relatively unusual characteristics, all from Brazil (the first one for sure, as it has the phrase Primeira qualidade garantida 'Top quality warranted' etched on the ricasso, although it wouldn't be strange for the blade to be German; and the second and third ones most likely given the information on the webpages where I found them as well as their overall style):

Some relatively unusual things about these knives:
1) The first one features what appears to be a hybrid grind between of a convex and a sabre grind, with a relatively large ricasso, and the handle is made of turned wood with a non-integral nickel silver bolster (in addition to the ferrule).
2) The second knife features what appears to be a heavily Iberian-influenced style, with a brass or bronze bigotera (no idea what that's called in English), an ornately carved integral bolster, and a stamped dotted pattern on the blade.
3) The handle of the third knife is made of pieces horn and ivory forming a mosaic pattern, and the scabbard is in the picazo style (leather with metal fittings) but with almost all the leather being covered under the silver.

 

[Prester John]

Ask and you shall receive. Here are three antique gaucho knives I've found online with relatively unusual characteristics, all from Brazil (the first one for sure, as it has the phrase Primeira qualidade garantida 'Top quality warranted' etched on the ricasso, although it wouldn't be strange for the blade to be German; and the second and third ones most likely given the information on the webpages where I found them as well as their overall style):

Some relatively unusual things about these knives:
1) The first one features what appears to be a hybrid grind between of a convex and a sabre grind, with a relatively large ricasso, and the handle is made of turned wood with a non-integral nickel silver bolster (in addition to the ferrule).
2) The second knife features what appears to be a heavily Iberian-influenced style, with a brass or bronze bigotera (no idea what that's called in English), an ornately carved integral bolster, and a stamped dotted pattern on the blade.
3) The handle of the third knife is made of pieces horn and ivory forming a mosaic pattern, and the scabbard is in the "Picasso" style (leather with metal fittings) but with almost all the leather being covered under the silver.

Beautiful specimens. ¡Gracias, Señor!

The middle one reminds me of some Sardinian blades I have seen. Just gorgeous!

 

[Trubetzkoy]

The middle one reminds me of some Sardinian blades I have seen. Just gorgeous!

I guess it's the overall Mediterranean influence, but I do find it to look particularly Peninsular, especially because of the bigotera, which I've seen in many 19th-c. Spanish knives, such as this one:

 

[Prester John]

I guess it's the overall Mediterranean influence, but I do find it to look particularly Peninsular, especially because of the bigotera, which I've seen in many 19th-c. Spanish knives, such as this one:

Must be my Spanish and Portuguese blood. I love these knives!

 

[CelloDan]

"Every fish that swims in the river ends up in the grill ... (or the oven )" is this water gaucho's motto

Some of the Bluegill, Crappie, and Bass from last weekend adventures.

We brought a generous catch back home enough to eat fish for a couple days.
For and easier and so called "healthier" way of preparing it I baked it in the oven.

Next time I'll experiment by giving it a couple of minutes in the "broil"setting to obtain a more intense browning of the panko covering the fillets.
The fish was very well cooked and tasted great ( not as great as fried in a cast iron pan by the river shore though )

5:45 am last Saturday morning.
Waking up at anchor in a small cove

 

[Prester John]

"Every fish that swims in the river ends up in the grill ... (or the oven )" is this water gaucho's motto

Some of the Bluegill, Crappie, and Bass from last weekend adventures.

We brought a generous catch back home enough to eat fish for a couple days.
For and easier and so called "healthier" way of preparing it I baked it in the oven.

Next time I'll experiment by giving it a couple of minutes in the "broil"setting to obtain a more intense browning of the panko covering the fillets.
The fish was very well cooked and tasted great ( not as great as fried in a cast iron pan by the river shore though )

5:45 am last Saturday morning.
Waking up at anchor in a small cove

I like the way you eat, Dan.

 

[CelloDan]

I enjoyed photographing my Verijero companion yesterday evening along some bowls I turned a couple years ago.

The wood used was from the last couple of fire logs we had used while camping at the 1000 Islands National Park.
The logs can be seen resting against the big maple tree.

The logs had some nice spalting going on however they were also a bit soft and mushy in some areas.

I was VERY happy with how the first bowl was "turning" out ... however ...

As I was polishing it for the last time, I increased the rpms of the lathe too much and the bowl came apart sending a chunk of it flying.
I was quite frustrated by this event.
I was reminded of the Japanese art of "Kintsugi" where broken bowls are repaired with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.
It is similar to the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, an embracing of the flawed or imperfect, "sometimes described as one of appreciating beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" in nature"

I glued it back together and burned the edges.
Today it is one of my favorites bowls

The spalting and the figure in the wood has mellowed out somewhat in the past couple years however it remains just as special to me.

 

[Prester John]

I enjoyed photographing my Verijero companion yesterday evening along some bowls I turned a couple years ago.

The wood used was from the last couple of fire logs we had used while camping at the 1000 Islands National Park.
The logs can be seen resting against the big maple tree.

The logs had some nice spalting going on however they were also a bit soft and mushy in some areas.

I was VERY happy with how the first bowl was "turning" out ... however ...

As I was polishing it for the last time, I increased the rpms of the lathe too much and the bowl came apart sending a chunk of it flying.
I was quite frustrated by this event.
I was reminded of the Japanese art of "Kintsugi" where broken bowls are repaired with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.
It is similar to the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, an embracing of the flawed or imperfect, "sometimes described as one of appreciating beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" in nature"

I glued it back together and burned the edges.
Today it is one of my favorites bowls

The spalting and the figure in the wood has mellowed out somewhat in the past couple years however it remains just as special to me.

Good stuff, Dan. Beautiful work.

 

[RayseM]

Beautiful Dan. Hope you are still taking time to turn.

HEY - I have some of those too!

Cello Dan turned bowls and a Big criollo ~

Gifts from Dan last summer, this turned serving platter and a very cool live edge bowl.

A little patina growing on the knife...



The live edge bowl is out on display all the time, now filled with reindeer lichen and a few pieces of turkey tail mushroom.

Just as much fun when its filled with cashews






Thank you Dan. These are extra special to us.

 

[kamagong]

That puñal looks great with patina on it RayseM . I may need a 28 cm puñal of my own, preferably with a damascus blade and stag handle.

 

[Trubetzkoy]

Finally got myself an antique clip-point verijero to add some variety to my collection:

Definitely made in Germany (despite the English phrase "superior quality" on the ricasso) prior to WW2, most likely for the Brazilian market (based on the style of the handle). It's a pretty unique piece (I've only seen a couple Herders with this blade pattern, but never with a turned handle like this one) and I paid very little money for it, so I'm happy. I might make a new chape for the sheath when I have time.

 

[CelloDan]

Finally got myself an antique clip-point verijero to add some variety to my collection

Congrats on your latest addition
More pics please
It is a very interesting piece !
What type of steel is it ?
I admire your growing collection and appreciate your knowledge and insight.

 

[CelloDan]

Good stuff, Dan. Beautiful work.

Gracias Vince

Thank you Dan. These are extra special to us.

De nada mi amigo
Nice pics
Your big criollo is looking great Ray !
Nice to see a patina started