Hi Ian,
I chose my words carefully when I said that "That is not a facon, at least in the nowadays regionally and commonly accepted sense of the word"
Facon simply means a large knife and all kinds of large and small knives found their way into the hands of Gauchos. Those silver hilted and ornate knives that these days are associated with them are very much a mid to late 19th century phenomena. As well, only the wealthy could afford them - Station owners, their overseers and the like.
As you can see it is not possible to say exactly what is a facon, especially what was a facon in the old days. According to some, any knife tucked into the belt of a Gaucho is a facon. However, authorities like Domenech and the late Osornio did make an attempt to standardize the terminology, though Domenech acknowledges that there is always something or another that escapes his definitions. If you care to, you may wish to drop a line to Abel Domenech and find out first hand. He speaks fluent English and has a website (down as I write this, but do a Google later)
Be all that as it may, it is certainly a very handsome piece.
Cheers
Chris
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