Facón / Gaucho Knife from Uruguay

[gp]

I just managed to buy a facón from Uruguay from a seller in South America. See enclosed pics . Details:

Cuchillo de acero inoxidable hoja Trompeta con mango y vaina de metal blanco
Cuchillo con botón Uruguayo vaina trabajada con flores y arabescos , en las fotografías se aprecian los detalles del trabajo
En buenas condiciones
Medidas largo total con vaina 23,5 cm aprox
largo total sin vaina 22 cm aprox
largo de la hoja 12,3 cm aprox
ancho de la hoja en su parte mas ancha 1,7 cm aprox
ancho del lomo 2,5 mm aprox

Now I am awaiting the arrival and having several ones from Brazil and Arginentina, this is my first from Uruguay.

My question to you forum guys:

are the ones from Uruguay rare or hard to find ?

as I never stumbled on an Uruguayan before in the last 5 years or even more

[RobT]

gp,

Hopefully Chris Evans will weigh in. Until then, I will tell you what I have read. Because it is stamped "INOX" (stainless), your knife was made after the first quarter of the 20th century. FANACU (Fábrica Nacional de Cuchilleria) in Uruguay made these type of knives under the trade name of "Franz Wenk Solingen". I would imagine that there were other Uruguayan cutlers making similar knives.

Sincerely,
RobT

[gp]

Originally Posted by RobT

gp,

Hopefully Chris Evans will weigh in. Until then, I will tell you what I have read. Because it is stamped "INOX" (stainless), your knife was made after the first quarter of the 20th century. FANACU (Fábrica Nacional de Cuchilleria) in Uruguay made these type of knives under the trade name of "Franz Wenk Solingen". I would imagine that there were other Uruguayan cutlers making similar knives.

Sincerely,
RobT

Thank you very much Rob; highly appreciated!

FYI: there is some info on this website to be found
http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/facon/criollo.html
but it doesn't specify on the issue if a Uruguayan is rare or not to find unfortunately

[Lee]

I suspect that they are not especially rare. I came across this pair on separate occasions at gun shows in the USA, though likely around a decade ago.

[Sajen]

Hi Gunar,

Is the scabbard and handle silver plated or from German silver? I guess that your example is from the mid. of 20th century. I have a very similar example which I guess is a little bit older, scabbard and handle are thick silver plated, I have shown it in this thread: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=28632
Compare the bird at the scabbard foot.

Best regards,
Detlef

[gp]

Yours is indeed beautiful, Detlef !

To answer your question on silver or alpaca silver or silver plated, I have to wait until I hold it in my hands (which may take a couple of weeks as it just left South America and was send by Fedex; hence going first to the good ol’ U S of A as point of transshipment).

In my opinion mine might be made between 1950-1970, but it definitely originates from Uruguay. What I also noticed that one hardly see longer gaucho knives than 30 cm on offer for sales ; the long( er) ones you see on the pictures in the wide leather belts of the men .

LG aus NL

Gunar

[gp]

Double…

[gp]

Originally Posted by Lee

I suspect that they are not especially rare. I came across this pair on separate occasions at gun shows in the USA, though likely around a decade ago.

Thank you for your feedback. Thus most likely the reason why I didn’t see the ones from Uruguay that often in Europe might be perhaps that it is or was commercially not that interesting to either offer / sell them here or no actual demand, versus the ones from “ bigger “ countries like Argentina and Brazil…

BR

Gunar

[Chris Evans]

Hi `gp'

Going by the maker's brand and the `boton', I have the feeling that your knife was made by the Brazilian cutler Eberle which went out of business in 1984, being taken over by another company.

My guess us that the logo Eberle was polished out of the blade.

I looked around in Spanish and could not find anything on Trompeta brand.

Cheers
Chris

[gp]

Originally Posted by Chris Evans

Hi `gp'

Going by the maker's brand and the `boton', I have the feeling that your knife was made by the Brazilian cutler Eberle which went out of business in 1984, being taken over by another company.

My guess us that the logo Eberle was polished out of the blade.

I looked around in Spanish and could not find anything on Trompeta brand.

Cheers
Chris

Thanks a lot Chris ! The facon looks very similar to the one from your posting in 2009 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?p=87682
Enclosed a pic from the seller's website. I'll check the blade in detail upon its arrival, again much obliged!

BR

Gunar

[Chris Evans]

Hi Gunar,

I forgot about that post, and yes, they do look very similar. and please post again when it arrives.

Regarding your other questions, this type of knife was widely used in the Pampean flat grass lands which extend from south Brazil to Uruguay and Argentina and reflect the demands of cattle grazing.

However, Uruguay has a much smaller population and pastoral areas than the two other neighboring countries and as such Criollo knives with an identifiable Uruguayan provenance are by necessity smaller in numbers.

Regarding size, blades up to around 6" were known as `verijeros' and were carried as an auxiliary to the main working knife, being kept for eating and other detailed work. Nowadays the upmarket variations are mostly used during the traditional `asado', the barbecue to us or kept as evocative memorabilia.

Larger bladed knives are more easily found in Argentina where thy are quite numerous. And the antiques fitted with the old European trade blades command the highest prices.

During WWII due to the scarcity of imports, cutlers in Argentina commenced making blades from recycled steel, mostly in the Tandil region of Buenos Aires province. However, these failed to earn the same reputation as the older
trade blades from the highly regarded European manufacturers.

Cheers
Chris

[gp]

Hi Chris,

they arrived ; the seller offered me a 2nd one, which I gladly took.
Unfortunately no "Eberle" sign on both of them or trace that it ever had been there...

best regards

Gunar

[Chris Evans]

Hi Gunar,

Thank you for posting details of the knife and congratulations on your new acquisition.

The horn seems identical to the one with the `EBERLE', so my guess is that it was marketed by the company that took over that firm.

Cheers
Chris

[kronckew]

The pounce of the Grammar Police.

Google Translate is your friend: text Postings should be in English. Or in both languages.

Post #1: Spanish translated:

Trumpet blade stainless steel knife with white metal handle and scabbard Knife with Uruguayan button sheath worked with flowers and arabesques, in the photographs you can see the details of the work In good conditions Measurements total length with sheath 23.5 cm approx. total length without scabbard 22 cm approx blade length 12.3 cm approx width of the sheet at its widest part 1.7 cm approx spine width approx 2.5 mm


My knotted bugle one and a couple more EDC, less formal ones, not Uruguayan. Both are Argy ones if I recall.

[gp]

Originally Posted by kronckew

The pounce of the Grammar Police.

Google Translate is your friend: text Postings should be in English. Or in both languages.

Post #1: Spanish translated:

Trumpet blade stainless steel knife with white metal handle and scabbard Knife with Uruguayan button sheath worked with flowers and arabesques, in the photographs you can see the details of the work In good conditions Measurements total length with sheath 23.5 cm approx. total length without scabbard 22 cm approx blade length 12.3 cm approx width of the sheet at its widest part 1.7 cm approx spine width approx 2.5 mm


My knotted bugle one and a couple more EDC, less formal ones, not Uruguayan. Both are Argy ones if I recall.

Thnx for the update and feedback !

A pitty they are not from Uruguay as the Argy's broke by (little) heart in 78 ...Kempes and Ardilles ( talking the footty game..☺☺☺)
Nevertheless I am very happy with them! ☼

[gp]

Originally Posted by Chris Evans

Hi Gunar,

Thank you for posting details of the knife and congratulations on your new acquisition.

The horn seems identical to the one with the `EBERLE', so my guess is that it was marketed by the company that took over that firm.

Cheers
Chris

Thank you very much Chris !

[Rick]

there seems to be an almost infinite amount of design variations in the handles and scabbards; I like them and have a few, none from Uruguay.

[Ian]

From time to time I'm asked what "INOX." means on South American knives. It comes from the Spanish word "INOXIDABLE," which is short for "ACERO INOXIDABLE," meaning Stainless Steel. This helps in a couple of ways. INOX. is used almost exclusively on knives from Spanish-speaking countries in S. America (not usually from Brazil where Portuguese is spoken), and it indicates the knife comes from the era of stainless steel being available for knife-making (mostly post-WWII).