Gaucho knives and cuchillos criollos of South America

Because, as they say, lo prometido es deuda (with the book El gaucho y su cuchillo as a bonus):

QNIai5g.jpeg

dbwJMJP.jpeg

m5w9O2l.jpeg
 
kamagong said:
Is that yours? It's beautiful and appears to be in remarkable condition. Looks to be a big one too, 30cm or more.

👍
Click to expand...
Yes, it's the knife I teased in post #1,144. I found it for sale in Germany (online), so I bid and had it shipped to my parents-in-law, who are German and still live there. It was actually listed as a letter opener, which is crazy since, as you point out, it's huge, with a 10" blade.

As for the condition, indeed the blade still has most of its mirror polish intact and appears to have never been sharpened after the factory. The handle was a different story though, as it was attached incorrectly (with the broader facets aligned with the edge and spine rather than the sides of the blade) and had the butt severely damaged from sloppy peening (perhaps also due to the tang's being too short for the handle). I took care of both things.

Unfortunately, it came without its sheath, but I'll make a new one when I have time, probably picazo style with nickel silver fittings and repurposed German sheath hardware.

Edit: The blade might be nickel-plated, but I'm not sure. Either way, it's so reflective that I struggled taking the pictures 😅.
 
Last edited:
Trubetzkoy said:
Because, as they say, lo prometido es deuda (with the book El gaucho y su cuchillo as a bonus):
Click to expand...

Nice work as always !

I wonder about the handle that was installed incorrectly. It seems unlikely that it was from factory. Perhaps it had come apart and someone attempted to reinstall it ?

Have you been able to find out how old this knife is approximately ?

Looking forward to its new sheath 👍😎
 
CelloDan said:
Nice work as always !

I wonder about the handle that was installed incorrectly. It seems unlikely that it was from factory. Perhaps it had come apart and someone attempted to reinstall it ?

Have you been able to find out how old this knife is approximately ?

Looking forward to its new sheath 👍😎
Click to expand...
Thanks! I actually think the incorrect handle attachment came from the factory. After all, these knives -- like Sheffield bowies and other highly regarded period knives, especially made for export -- were mass produced, and cutlers didn't always pay a lot of attention to detail when putting them together. Also, I find it hard to believe that someone owned the knife with the handle correctly attached and then reattached it and peened it the other way around.

As for the age of the knife, it's definitely very old, but I'm not sure exactly how old. I know that Kirschbaum and Weyersberg (two Solingen brands that had their names on lots of gaucho knives back in the day) merged in 1883, at which point they began to use the initials W.K. & C. and both brands' trademarks -- Kirschbaum's helmet and Weyersberg's king's head (see the official WKC history here). That would suggest that my puñal was made before 1883. However, I'm also aware that even after this year, some blades for export continued to be stamped only with the helmet and the phrase "El Casco," and I tend to think, based on the handle type (which by the way was stamped in Germany), that my puñal was made around 1910-1920.

Maybe someone else will know more about this maker's chronology.
 
Rykeric said:
A guy from Reddit told me to check this post. I seem to have a very similar one as you. Very cool trying to learn the history of this beautiful knife. https://www.reddit.com/r/knifeclub/s/ZZ03fJWWNd
Click to expand...

Very nice !!! 👍

Great to see another Pampa so similar to mine ! 😊

On this post and a couple of subsequent ones I shared a bit of info about what I found out about my “Pampa”.

Post in thread 'Gaucho knives and cuchillos criollos of South America'
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...iollos-of-south-america.1919172/post-22471212

Allow me to share pics of your knife from reddit
Awyu0RB.jpeg

SZIE1u2.jpeg

s6PV7RG.jpeg
 
kamagong said:
I found this blog with some pretty good information.
Click to expand...
That info (including the drawings, if I recall correctly) is from Domenech's Dagas de plata. Since the book is pretty hard to come by, I often use this page for reference. It does have some unupdated or incomplete information, though. For example, Mailhos knives and, in general, knives marked with a crowned "D" (including Mailhos examples) are listed as having had their blades made in Belgium. It turns out, however, that Mailhos also made knives in Germany and France, all blades with the crowned "D" having been made in France by Delaire.

CelloDan said:
Riding the water pampas aboard my “Serena” this weekend on a solo trip.
Click to expand...
Crazy beautiful pics, mate.
 
SwissHeritageCo said:
Did you set the bevel on a fixed angle sharpening system before the sharpmaker "maintenance"? I don't think I see a microbevel but I'm not sure ;)
Click to expand...

Yes, I did an initial big reprofile with a guided sharpening system and set the bevel at 17 degrees per side. I took it to mirror finish just for kicks 😊

For maintenance and tuning up the edge I use the brown sharp maker rods at 20 degrees.

I like the toothy micro bevel, it cuts better than the more polished micro bevel I get if using the white rods
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top