Lee:
Great old knives. Thanks for posting them.
I wonder whether the top one in your picture might be a Brazilian
faca da ponta -- I understand they often did not have a guard, and it does resemble some of the plated examples that are seen quite commonly. Perhaps Chris could explain the difference between the
facón and
faca (besides one word being Spanish and the other Portuguese).
I recently picked up a couple of
faca from a seller in Portugal and will post pictures when they arrive. Both appear to be 19th C. One has clearly been cut down from a longer blade.
They are here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=290033335500
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=290033333008
Ian.