Gaucho knives and cuchillos criollos of South America

[kamagong]

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[CelloDan]

Always?




I'm curious now that we've all lived with our gaucho knives for a bit. Did you get the right size? Or do you wish you had gone a bit bigger? Perhaps smaller?

I am very happy with both my Verijeros. Their blades are about 12 cm or 4.7 inches.
I love their versatility and appreciate their compact size.

I can’t wait though to try a 15 cm ( 6 inch ) one as well
Looks to me like a great size with a nice balance/ratio of blade to handle.

Right, but the difference is the position of the ear with respect to the flap. In Uruguayan-style sheaths, they're both on the same side of the sheath, so the ear sits in front of -- not behind -- the handle when carrying the knife, thus securing it it in place.

Another interesting feature of some Uruguayan sheaths is the inclusion of an ear even with picazo format, as in the following example:

Note that the configuration is the same: the belt hook and the ear are on the same side, allowing the latter to help keep the knife in place when carrying it (though this probably doesn't help much with longer blades).

Edit: Also, Uruguayan-style sheath ears tend to be larger, and more circular than semicircular, covering a larger portion of the handle.

Very interesting ! I had not noticed this before.
I know I’ll be looking at the “ orejas” more closely from now on

We had a great day in the outdoors today.
Inside Serena’s belly now just chilling and winding down.

Tomorrow we may try “pizza “ ala rock

 

[John A. Larsen]

I recently got a German Jadgnicker knife from Frank Trzaska, traditionally carried in a special pocket of the leather trousers worn in Southern Germany. It is remarkable (to me) how similar it is in looks to your Gaucho knife. Mine has a carved wooden handle, that looks like jigged bone, and a longer than normal blade at about 5 1/2 inches. Same bolster and that triangular shaped blade too. John

 

[screened porch]

Since with this type of sheath the ear helps to enclose the handle when carrying,

Good point.

 

[CelloDan]

I recently got a German Jadgnicker knife from Frank Trzaska, traditionally carried in a special pocket of the leather trousers worn in Southern Germany. It is remarkable (to me) how similar it is in looks to your Gaucho knife. Mine has a carved wooden handle, that looks like jigged bone, and a longer than normal blade at about 5 1/2 inches. Same bolster and that triangular shaped blade too. John

Hi John, share a pic if you’re able.
Interested in seeing the similarities.

 

[John A. Larsen]

Cello Dan, I messaged you, hope I got it right, let me know if you receive it. Thanks. John

 

[screened porch]

Here's my 4" Jagdnicker by Hubertus.

 

[CelloDan]

Cello Dan, I messaged you, hope I got it right, let me know if you receive it. Thanks. John

Thanks John

Very interesting to see the similarities !

Here are John’s Jagdnicker and the Criollo his father bought in Uruguay sometime in the 1950’s to the 70’s.

The criollo is stamped “ Franz Wenk” with “Solingen” underneath.

Interesting to see the round bolster or botón redondo typical of criollos from that region as well as the “bolster guard “ in the beautiful “vaina picasa”

Thank you John

 

[John A. Larsen]

Thanks John

Very interesting to see the similarities !

Here are John’s Jagdnicker and the Criollo his father bought in Uruguay sometime in the 1950’s to the 70’s.

The criollo is stamped “ Franz Wenk” with “Solingen” underneath.

Interesting to see the round bolster or botón redondo typical of criollos from that region as well as the “bolster guard “ in the beautiful “vaina picasa”

Thank you John

Cello Dan, Thanks for posting the photo of those two knives. I have really enjoyed this subject and the paintings of the Gauchos are very interesting. I note that in some of the paintings they appear to not be wearing boots, but some kind of cloth wrapping around their feet, but with spurs. I also wonder what the Gauchos are eating these days on the Pampas? My Father told me that when he first sailed to Argentina in the 30's, you would be in Buenos Aires, and men digging ditches would have racks of beef slow cooking for their lunch meal. Then Peron and Eva came into power and soon Argentina had "Meatless" days, as it was one of the few hard exports they had to earn money. I asked him to bring back some Mate, the traditional drink, and he did along with a gourd (?) and silver straw to drink it with, but I did not like it. Might have been too dry after it traveled from Argentina to the U.S.A. John

 

[Arathol]

Thanks John

Very interesting to see the similarities !

Here are John’s Jagdnicker and the Criollo his father bought in Uruguay sometime in the 1950’s to the 70’s.

The criollo is stamped “ Franz Wenk” with “Solingen” underneath.

Interesting to see the round bolster or botón redondo typical of criollos from that region as well as the “bolster guard “ in the beautiful “vaina picasa”

Thank you John

Really not surprising considering that German culture has been influencing South American culture since the mid 19th century at least....
This one is from the last quarter of the 19th century

 

[John A. Larsen]

Arathol, Years ago I was watching the start of a Miss Universe competition where the women introduce themselves. I think it was Boliva, and the young woman said something like :Gut Naben mein..........., she was speaking German not Spanish, heavy German population there I guess. John

 

[CelloDan]

Cello Dan, Thanks for posting the photo of those two knives. I have really enjoyed this subject and the paintings of the Gauchos are very interesting. I note that in some of the paintings they appear to not be wearing boots, but some kind of cloth wrapping around their feet, but with spurs. I also wonder what the Gauchos are eating these days on the Pampas? My Father told me that when he first sailed to Argentina in the 30's, you would be in Buenos Aires, and men digging ditches would have racks of beef slow cooking for their lunch meal. Then Peron and Eva came into power and soon Argentina had "Meatless" days, as it was one of the few hard exports they had to earn money. I asked him to bring back some Mate, the traditional drink, and he did along with a gourd (?) and silver straw to drink it with, but I did not like it. Might have been too dry after it traveled from Argentina to the U.S.A. John

Welcome John
Thanks for the kind words !
The coverings on the gaucho's feet were essentially boots that the gauchos made from the leg of a horse. They called them "botas de potro".

Although the true gaucho is now a figure from the past the fact remains that Argentines are BIG meat eaters to this day .
The asado continues to be a very cherished tradition.
Those plentiful days that your Dad saw in the 1930's are sadly gone now but one can always hope that things will improve. Argentina was indeed a rich country during the first part of the 20th century however in the latter part it experienced several economic crisis.
After losing pretty much everything we had in the late 1880's, my Dad sold the family car and with that money bought a plane ticket to Canada seeking for a way to support his family. I still remember the day I saw him board that plane in Buenos Aires with his precious guitar in his hand.

Yerba Mate is a VERY acquired taste. It took my Cuban born wife about 20 years to get used to however she now loves it and gets a bit worried when the supply of yerba starts running low

Really not surprising considering that German culture has been influencing South American culture since the mid 19th century at least....
This one is from the last quarter of the 19th century

A beautiful knife and so well preserved ! Wow, to think that that knife is from 130 to 140 years old !

Your mention of German culture influencing South American culture sent me down memory lane to my high school days.

The region in the province of Entre Rios where I was born had had a large number of German immigrants settled there and their influence was everywhere.

My Dad used to sing a couple of German hymns around the house that he had learned in a local church where they were still being sang.

Today I pulled my grade 9 Yearbook from the Christian academy that I attended.
It is FULL of german last names.

The director of the school was a Mayer ( his grandfather had settled in the area at the beginning of the 20th century I believe).
I had teachers with last names like Wensell, Riffel (history), Schmidt (science).
Classmates with last names like Hammerly, Ernst, Kremmer, Reimers. There was the blonde girl I liked in grade 9 too, her last name was Krum ... and the other blonde girl that liked me LOL, hers was Kaerst

There were Polish sounding names too like Bojko my geography teacher. Another teacher, Majorov sounds more like Russian.

I could go on and on just reading names, wow !

Nice trip down memory lane

 

[CelloDan]

So I went back to my yearbook from long ago and in a five minute read I was surprised to find so many more German sounding last names.
Names like Kimmel, Vogel, Koch, Ziegler, Schneider, Sack, Utz, Richter, Fristzler etc are all over the yearbook.
A quick Google search tells me that several of them are of German-Jewish origins.

Growing up none of us kids gave any of this any thought at all of course. I don't think it even registered in us that our last names were from so many different backgrounds; Italian, Spanish, French, German, English, Arabic, etc

Thinking further about German influence in South America I realized that one of my favorite foods of all time are "kasnudeln" that only my mother learned how to make in our family.
She is not even sure now, after so many years where or who gave her the recipe but obviously it must have been a friend of german descent.

My Mother usually makes "kasnudeln" for my birthday or to celebrate a special occasion. She knows I am crazy about it
Here she is getting ready to serve her spoiled son one of his favorite foods lol

Another food/dessert that comes to mind is "rivel kuchen" that was a regular staple at the school cafeteria

But enough of germanic influence LOL , this gaucho here has Italian/French/ Spanish ancestry so last weekend it was all about "Pizza ala rock"

Letting the dough rise. The chosen rock ( the only one available after a lengthy search) in the background.

My "China" cutting up the toppings with Verijero

We are getting there

Let's light it up, shall we ?

Pizza ala rock
I soon found out that the stone was too thick and the fire not strong enough to heat it up to the required temp.
There is also the issue that I have not yet figured out of how to provide enough heat to the top of the pizza just by using stones/rocks/fire

PLAN B
Time to quickly fall back on the steel trays.

After cooking the dough by itself to make sure it was well done time to add the toppings

My "china" approved

Verijero decided to shake up its patina a bit after tasting pizza

 

[oldmanwilly]

So I went back to my yearbook from long ago and in a five minute read I was surprised to find so many more German sounding last names.
Names like Kimmel, Vogel, Koch, Ziegler, Schneider, Sack, Utz, Richter, Fristzler etc are all over the yearbook.
A quick Google search tells me that several of them are of German-Jewish origins.

Growing up none of us kids gave any of this any thought at all of course. I don't think it even registered in us that our last names were from so many different backgrounds; Italian, Spanish, French, German, English, Arabic, etc

Thinking further about German influence in South America I realized that one of my favorite foods of all time are "kasnudeln" that only my mother learned how to make in our family.
She is not even sure now, after so many years where or who gave her the recipe but obviously it must have been a friend of german descent.

My Mother usually makes "kasnudeln" for my birthday or to celebrate a special occasion. She knows I am crazy about it
Here she is getting ready to serve her spoiled son one of his favorite foods lol

Another food/dessert that comes to mind is "rivel kuchen" that was a regular staple at the school cafeteria

But enough of germanic influence LOL , this gaucho here has Italian/French/ Spanish ancestry so last weekend it was all about "Pizza ala rock"

Letting the dough rise. The chosen rock ( the only one available after a lengthy search) in the background.

My "China" cutting up the toppings with Verijero

We are getting there

Let's light it up, shall we ?

Pizza ala rock
I soon found out that the stone was too thick and the fire not strong enough to heat it up to the required temp.
There is also the issue that I have not yet figured out of how to provide enough heat to the top of the pizza just by using stones/rocks/fire

PLAN B
Time to quickly fall back on the steel trays.

After cooking the dough by itself to make sure it was well done time to add the toppings

My "china" approved

Verijero decided to shake up its patina a bit after tasting pizza

Looks like another fun outing.

If you want to cook the top of your pizzas without bringing too much equipment, I suggest you find a deep, rectangular steel roasting pan (9" × 13") to place on top of your steel tray. Place the inverted pan over the pizzas, then add a thin scoop of coals on top. Kinda like a lighter, bootleg Dutch oven.

 

[CelloDan]

Looks like another fun outing.

If you want to cook the top of your pizzas without bringing too much equipment, I suggest you find a deep, rectangular steel roasting pan (9" × 13") to place on top of your steel tray. Place the inverted pan over the pizzas, then add a thin scoop of coals on top. Kinda like a lighter, bootleg Dutch oven.

Yes, great idea !
It looks to be the most practical way to do it.
I'd would love to make something similar with stones but I doubt I would get enough heat to radiate from the top ( perhaps a thin, very dense stone ? )
There's guys on youtube making little pizza ovens in the outdoors with clay and stuff but it looks too much work.

Ok folks, I am in a bit of a pickle today

Argentine gauchos vs Canadian lumberjacks ?

https://www.tsn.ca/soccer/canada-argentina-open-up-copa-america-on-tsn-1.2137003

 

[screened porch]

I think the way to go might be to build a rock box and build the fire inside. (Then rake the fire out and put the pizza in.)

Quonab in Rolf in the Woods said to get your stones from the hillside for putting in a fire, because water spirits will make stones from the lake explode.

 

[screened porch]

I just bought another one. An all metal Atahualpa 16" OA in sheath. Gonna be a big one.
I got it for $16 less than my max bid, so clearly it was fated.

 

[kamagong]

I just bought another one. An all metal Atahualpa 16" OA in sheath. Gonna be a big one.
I got it for $16 less than my max bid, so clearly it was fated.

Ooh...you got a grown up Gaucho knife!

 

[screened porch]

Ooh...you got a grown up Gaucho knife!

Yeah!

[edited to add] It isn't in the mail yet, but I paid him yesterday afternoon, and I think he's Pacific Time, so it's 4 am there.
Though it was early afternoon on the Pacific.
Could be he has other commitments.

[edited to add] Actually my winning bid was $6 less than my max bid, but it was clearly fated anyway.

 

[CelloDan]

I think the way to go might be to build a rock box and build the fire inside. (Then rake the fire out and put the pizza in.)

Quonab in Rolf in the Woods said to get your stones from the hillside for putting in a fire, because water spirits will make stones from the lake explode.

Very good point Jer
Thanks for the reference to the book. I did not know about it.
Sounds like a great read !

I just bought another one. An all metal Atahualpa 16" OA in sheath. Gonna be a big one.
I got it for $16 less than my max bid, so clearly it was fated.

Oh wow Jer ! You are on a roll
It's a BIG 'UN
My Verijero stands no chance against it

Today it was time to tune up the edge of my Capybara.
A few passes on the ceramic rods and we are good to go ride the Pampas again

That's the beauty of the simple carbon steels.
I can see a gaucho quickly restoring the edge of his knife with a few skillful passes on a smooth rock.

I want to try it on the back of my ceramic coffee mug next time and if/when I find a suitable stone while out on the lake or river try that as well to see what results I get.

Interestingly, the coarse brown rods of my Sharpmaker seem to give me better edges on my Verijero than when I continue onto the finer white ones.
Today I did the brown rods, then the whites ones only to go back and finish again on the brown ones as I liked the "toothy"edge better.

One day I'll try gaucho Héctor Casale's way