Gaucho knives and cuchillos criollos of South America

[screened porch]

For some reason we Argentines make the "hoo" sound a little extra harsh than other hispanic folk (from more at the back of the throat).

Thanks!
That adds to the aptness of the name "Smoky".

 

[Trubetzkoy]

Can't wait to see the full blade
Nice to go back and check again the knives you shared before
There is also a facon in the works right ?

I still need to do some work on the handle of the Kirschbaum, then I'll show it in full of course! As for the Herder facón, yes, but I'm still on the fence about the handle. I'm probably gonna wait a bit more before proceeding.

 

[CelloDan]

Note that the term cuchillo is used only for what would appear to be a puñal in Domenech's terminology (though I agree that the cutoff point to distinguish between puñales and verijeros is funky -- for instance, I don't think anyone would wear a knife with a 8-9" inch blade in the groin, and yet according to Domenech that would be a verijero). Thus, according to the classification in the figure, one would have to conclude that verijeros, dagas, facones, and caroneros are not cuchillos

I noticed today there is an error in the conversion from centimetres to inches in Domenech's essay in his first reference to Verijeros.
I grew up with the metric system and still find it hard at times to visualize or convert to the imperial system.

He states in Photo 1:

"A group of puñales and verijeros. The difference in name relates to the length of the blade which, in turn, conditioned the place of carrying.
Verijeros usually have a blade of 13 to 15 cm (around 7 to 8 inches)"

A 13 to 15 centimeter blade would correspond to approximately 5 to 6 inches for Verijeros not 7 to 8 inches (or 8 to 9 inches as in quote above)

So far, the general consensus that I have encountered seems generally in line with this; Verijeros being less than 15 cm and puñales above that.
My two Verijeros have a blade of about 12 cm.

Domenech mentions the Verijeros again later in his essay and is consistent in describing them as knives (or cuchillos) with blades of not more than 13 to 15 centimeters in length.

"Smaller knives, with blades of not more than 13 or 15 cm and with metal or wooden handles, a smaller version of puñales, are usually carried on the front and are called verijeros. This name of verijero comes from the carry position, on the front near the right side of the belt buckle (rastra) and near the groins, a part of the body popularly known locally as verijas. Argentineans remain fond of owning a little verijero, silver handled, sometimes with silver sheath, and making it proudly shine at a Sunday barbecue (asado). Its 13 to 15 cm blade makes a very practical cutting tool indeed."


Today I got curios to see how the blade of my Pampa Verijero was held in place inside its sheath.
I was able to gently pull put out two curved thin pieces of metal from inside the sheath.
After a quick wipe back in there they went

 

[screened porch]

Today I got curios to see how the blade of my Pampa Verijero was held in place inside its sheath.
I was able to gently pull put out two curved thin pieces of metal from inside the sheath.
After a quick wipe back in there they went

A lot simpler than I'd guessed!

 

[Trubetzkoy]

I noticed today there is an error in the conversion from centimetres to inches in Domenech's essay in his first reference to Verijeros.
I grew up with the metric system and still find it hard at times to visualize or convert to the imperial system.
[...]
A 13 to 15 centimeter blade would correspond to approximately 5 to 6 inches for Verijeros not 7 to 8 inches (or 8 to 9 inches as in quote above)

Ha, I never noticed that; good catch! That makes a lot more sense, as I think even a 7" blade is a bit of a stretch to carry in the groin.

Today I got curios to see how the blade of my Pampa Verijero was held in place inside its sheath.
I was able to gently pull put out two curved thin pieces of metal from inside the sheath.
After a quick wipe back in there they went

Nice, thanks for sharing. It appears that having metal rather than wooden or paper/cardboard liners in the scabbard is a distinctive feature of Argentinian-made (not imported) enterizos. However, I thought they usually came soldered -- at least that's the impression I get with my Atahualpa. If not, that's great, as it makes the cleaning process way easier (and it would be even easier if the throat was detachable, as in many old German imports).

 

[screened porch]

I've been looking at something for months that I finally ordered: Nieto criollo gaucho. I think it will qualify here as a cuchilla (flat tang and no bolster). It looks like a kidney-flap sheath with no hanger. 1.4116 steel, which has worked fine for me in my armchair adventures in the past. Six inch blade.
I got it for something like half the original MSRP.
I have a 6" Sabatier and a 6" Hoffritz that would be free because they're already in my basement, and are pretty similar, except for the bolsterlessness. Hmm.
But they don't have sheathes!

 

[SwissHeritageCo]

I noticed today there is an error in the conversion from centimetres to inches in Domenech's essay in his first reference to Verijeros.
I grew up with the metric system and still find it hard at times to visualize or convert to the imperial system.

He states in Photo 1:

"A group of puñales and verijeros. The difference in name relates to the length of the blade which, in turn, conditioned the place of carrying.
Verijeros usually have a blade of 13 to 15 cm (around 7 to 8 inches)"

A 13 to 15 centimeter blade would correspond to approximately 5 to 6 inches for Verijeros not 7 to 8 inches (or 8 to 9 inches as in quote above)

So far, the general consensus that I have encountered seems generally in line with this; Verijeros being less than 15 cm and puñales above that.
My two Verijeros have a blade of about 12 cm.

Domenech mentions the Verijeros again later in his essay and is consistent in describing them as knives (or cuchillos) with blades of not more than 13 to 15 centimeters in length.

"Smaller knives, with blades of not more than 13 or 15 cm and with metal or wooden handles, a smaller version of puñales, are usually carried on the front and are called verijeros. This name of verijero comes from the carry position, on the front near the right side of the belt buckle (rastra) and near the groins, a part of the body popularly known locally as verijas. Argentineans remain fond of owning a little verijero, silver handled, sometimes with silver sheath, and making it proudly shine at a Sunday barbecue (asado). Its 13 to 15 cm blade makes a very practical cutting tool indeed."


Today I got curios to see how the blade of my Pampa Verijero was held in place inside its sheath.
I was able to gently pull put out two curved thin pieces of metal from inside the sheath.
After a quick wipe back in there they went

Damn that's clever.

 

[Franciscomv]

I've been away from the forums for a few years, it's lovely to find a thread on Argentine knives on my return.

Although I grew up and spent many years in the country raising horses and travelling around for horsemanship competitions, festivals and auctions, my taste in knives strays a bit from the strictly traditional.

Here's my latest custom. I had a plain leather sheath made for it, since the rawhide ones with decorative stitching look great but don't hold up that well in rigorous use.

This one, also by a local knifemaker, has been my favourite EDC for well over fifteen years. When I got it I was working as a hunting guide.

This Böker has been in my family for four generations. My grandfather replaced the original handle and sheath with the silver and gold ones in the picture after he made a bit of money managing sugar cane fields.

The knife on the left in this picture is a Herder that has seen its fair share of work, too. I tend to favour 4" or 5" blades. Although I've got a few larger ones.

Here's a production Atahualpa with silver handle that I got near my village in Córdoba, I lucked out. Modern blades made in Tandil are hit and miss. This one takes and holds a fine edge.

And this is a much older production "tandilero" with nickel silver sheath and handle that a mate of mine found at a flea market and I restored.

I've got to take photos of some other "criollos" in my collection, some from Argentina, others from Uruguay or Southern Brazil.

I'm also rather clumsy around computers and struggled a bit to get these pictures up, my reply would disappear while searching my gallery and it took a few tries.

 

[kamagong]

Good to see you around F Franciscomv . I look forward to hearing your thoughts on gaucho knives.

That's an enviable lineup you posted. Thanks for sharing.

Lovely Sunday knife. Beautiful platería work, its quality looks on par with the Arbolito blade.

I also like that Herder. Are they still being made? I have been unable to find them anywhere.

 

[Trubetzkoy]

I've been looking at something for months that I finally ordered: Nieto criollo gaucho.

Nice, do let us know how you like it when you get it. I expect it to be a good, serviceable knife, comparable to present-day Muelas.

I've been away from the forums for a few years, it's lovely to find a thread on Argentine knives on my return.
[...]
I've got to take photos of some other "criollos" in my collection, some from Argentina, others from Uruguay or Southern Brazil.

Welcome back! That's one hell of a collection you've got there. Looking forward to seeing more of it.

Today I got curios to see how the blade of my Pampa Verijero was held in place inside its sheath.
I was able to gently pull put out two curved thin pieces of metal from inside the sheath.

Back to liners: I don't remember if I have shown this here before, but here's an alternative method (typically seen in early European imports) for holding the knife in the scabbard -- as illustrated by the MOP verijero I've shown a few times in this thread (e.g., post #541):

Upsides: the removable throat makes cleaning and repairs easier and the wooden liners scratch the blade less. Downsides: the fit is less snug and the wood may rot with time, especially if not cleaned. Previously, in post #641, I also showed an example (by Eberle) with a paper sleeve inside the scabbard.

 

[CelloDan]

I've been away from the forums for a few years, it's lovely to find a thread on Argentine knives on my return

Hola Francisco !
Que alegria verte de nuevo por estos pagos !

We referenced you a while ago in this thread from a post you wrote way back in 2005

We were discussing Arbolito criollos and shared this post from the archives.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/boker-arbolito-gaucho-knives.344038/post-3034438

kamagong remembered you well as he had been interested in gaucho knives from way back as well

Wonderful collection you got !
The family heirloom Arbolito is a true treasure

Looking forward to your insights about criollos and see more of your collection.

Have a mate mi amigo

I've been looking at something for months that I finally ordered: Nieto criollo gaucho

Nice Jer !
Looking forward to it !

Back to liners

Very informative !
Thanks for referencing back
A great way to learn and retain information.

Interested to see how it was done in your Atahualpa

 

[Franciscomv]

I also like that Herder. Are they still being made? I have been unable to find them anywhere.

I'm not a true collector, more of a user with hoarding issues, so I don't know exactly when Herder stopped making these. I still see folders (sodbusters and such) with Herder markings pop up from time to time.

We had an official importer a couple of decades ago but there was an issue with somebody copying the stamps and selling fake Herders (I don't recall if it was Herder's agent in Argentina himself or somebody else who did it). So you've got to be really careful, loads of phony blades floating around.

Mine came complete with it's handle and sheath from Europe, I replaced the sheath after a few years of use (I've got this nasty habit of riding through storms and getting soaked). But the knife itself is still in one piece (other than some scratches and stains).

 

[Franciscomv]

Hola Francisco !
Que alegria verte de nuevo por estos pagos !

We referenced you a while ago in this thread from a post you wrote way back in 2005

¡Gracias por la bienvenida!

I hope I didn't say anything stupid back in 2005 I'm a weird kind of country boy, most of the time I carried a Scandi of some sort.

I used to have an outdoors equipment shop, and Abel Domenech was kind enough to come and give some talks for collectors. I learned a lot from him.

Here are couple more criollos, with Uruguayan and Southern Brazilian influence. The largest one, made by a Brazilian bladesmith, has a full tang.

 

[Trubetzkoy]

¡Gracias por la bienvenida!

I hope I didn't say anything stupid back in 2005 I'm a weird kind of country boy, most of the time I carried a Scandi of some sort.

I used to have an outdoors equipment shop, and Abel Domenech was kind enough to come and give some talks for collectors. I learned a lot from him.

Here are couple more criollos, with Uruguayan and Southern Brazilian influence. The largest one, made by a Brazilian bladesmith, has a full tang.

How do you like the D'Avila? I've seen some pretty handsome examples by them online. If I recall correctly (I wanted to get a knife from them on Ebay a while ago), they're a business run by a Brazilian family in Canada.

 

[Franciscomv]

How do you like the D'Avila? I've seen some pretty handsome examples by them online. If I recall correctly (I wanted to get a knife from them on Ebay a while ago), they're a business run by a Brazilian family in Canada.

They came to Buenos Aires for a knife show and, through a dealer mate of mine, I managed to get it for a pretty good price.

Fit and finish are a bit rustic, fine for a user. They use a basic carbon steel that works well, so far I've only carried it in a couple of outdoors trips because I tend to favour much smaller knives.

A former colleague from my hunting guide days uses one to hunt hogs and loves it.

 

[John Cahoon]

Here's my latest "westernized" version in 52100 steel, leather and elk with G10 and copper spacers. It's about 11 1/4" overall.

 

[screened porch]

My Nieto is out for delivery!
It's been in transit without a current location for a while; I was fearing it would turn up in York PA before coming back.
Here's a pic of my putative Juca second or overrun, so I won't have dragged anybody here for nothing.

[3:12 pm, still out for delivery and still in transit to next facility. It might still be here by 9:00 pm.]
[Sunday a.m.: still expected yesterday but in transit to next facility and arriving late. I don't think they'll know where it is unless it gets scanned again somewhere.]
[Glad I spent the $0.45 for insurance.]

 

[CelloDan]

 

[echoscout]

Glorious pic

 

[Trubetzkoy]

New video from a great YT channel about Hispanic (mostly Spanish) edged weapons (feat. Domenech):