Choils and "Spanish Notches" on Ethnographic weapons

[Ian]

In a recent thread relating to the edged weapons of the Tinguian people of Northern Luzon, I commented on the use of a small notch at forte on the Tinguian blades and mused about whether these may be related to the finger notches seen on some Spanish and Spanish colonial knives (the so-called "Spanish Notch"). Alan Maisey was quick to inform me (correctly) that these were choils used to aid in sharpening the blade and to help avoid damage to the guard, ferrule, or handle during that process.

Alan went on to say

"... The Spanish Notch is usually found in a similar position to the choil, but although it may be similar to a choil, and can also be used to indicate the point at which sharpening should begin, it is not a choil. The Spanish Notch appears to have its origins in mediaeval left hand daggers, it continued as a design element in the line of large knives that followed the left hand dagger and in these knives it eventually developed into a decorative feature.

In modern custom knives the Spanish Notch is sometimes included as a decorative element, I very much doubt if most custom makers have any understanding of its origins or original purpose."

In my experience it is unusual to find a choil on a Filipino knife but illustrations of Tinguain knives from early in the 20th C. show this as a consistent feature. One does occasionally see the Spanish Notch on Visayan knives (notably the plamingko).

Elsewhere in the former Spanish colonial network one occasionally sees the Spanish Notch. The Canary Island knife is a good example, and one finds it occasionally on Chilean corvo, and (more commonly I think) on various punales, cuchillos, etc. from Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. I'm not sure if I have seen an example of the Notch on Mexican or Central American knives. While there may be some Spanish patrimony in the appearance of the Spanish Notch in some Spanish colonial knives, Alan is of the opinion, and I agree, that parallel development may play a role in the widespread use of choils among diverse groups who have little direct contact with each other.

I have attached some pictures showing, first, drawings of the Tinguian knives that started this discussion, followed by Visayan plamingko, a Canary Island knife, and several South American knives.

I would be interested to hear about the use of choils by other ethnographic groups (apart from Europeans) and where the Spanish Notch has been observed. Please remember that this is the Ethnographic Forum and focus your observations on non-European edged weapons (otherwise the European Armory will commandeer the thread ).


Ian.

• Figure showing Tinguian knives with choils
• A Canary Island knife
• Two Visayan plamingko
• A Chilean corvo
• Two Argentinian knives (punal criollo)

[Sajen]

Hi Ian,

see here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ighlight=bedok

Regards,
Detlef

[Ian]

Just to throw some shades of gray onto the choil-notch thing, here is a 19th C. corvo that appears to have a choil, or is it a notch? What would you call it?


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[Ian]

Thanks Detlef. Those are pretty odd looking choppers. Does the narrow section on some of these between the blade and the hilt qualify as a ricasso (even though it is much narrower than the blade itself)?. Some of them obviously have finger notches (not the typical Spanish Notch however)--do they also have a choil?

[A. G. Maisey]

A good idea to open up this discussion Ian.

In respect of the choil & notch thing, I feel I was on pretty solid ground in what I wrote in the other thread, but now I'm just floating an opinion.

I doubt that we can include the finger stop feature that is found on the Canary Island knives, on gaucho knives, on the Javanese choppers, and on similar blades, as either a choil or a Spanish Notch.

Even the unsharpened length of blade on that little Bali knife that I posted a photo of should perhaps be questioned as to whether or not it is legitimate to call it a choil. On the Bali knives this unsharpened, thicker length of blade is a design feature that is intended to permit the blade to be held to facilitate delicate work, this knife is designed to perform very delicate operations --- as an aside I have used these knives for many years as bench knives, and the design, which includes a chisel grind, is superlative for delicate operations.

So, if a choil is by definition a design feature that is put in place to facilitate the sharpening process, is it legitimate to name a design feature that has been put in place for a different reason to be named as a choil? I think not. That feature may serve a similar purpose to that of a choil, but is it a choil? No.

Applying a similar line of thought to the finger stop, or hand stop, found on Canary Island knives and other Spanish influenced knives, even though this finger stop appears in a similar position to that of the Spanish Notch, what is its primary purpose? Certainly not the primary purpose of the Spanish Notch.

Then we have the ricasso, something that I feel certain we all can recognise with ease at a distance of 20 paces. But can we? The ricasso comes in many forms, and when it declines from edge to hafting area, what do we call the section of decline? Is it a choil?

I tend to be a slightly pedantic in the use of words, I guess this sort of attitude might be forced upon one by virtue of profession or calling, but careful use of language can help to avoid problems after words have been spoken or written. I have developed the habit that when in doubt I ask Oxford, that is "The Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles".

If I do this with choil the entry tells me this:- First recorded use of the word "choil" was in 1888, origin is unknown, usage is related to cutlery, " The indentation in a pocket-knife where the edge of the blade adjoins the 'tang' or thick part by which it is hafted."

So it seems that the original use of the word "choil" was in the English cutlery trade and it was applied in particular to pocket-knives. The later more general use descended from this beginning. Usually the choil on a pocket-knife blade is just a little V or semi-circular shaped notch, so it would seem to me that in original usage the word 'choil' varied somewhat from the way in which this word is used at present.

This variation in use must direct our attention at the perhaps unanswerable question of just exactly where we draw the line in definition of the various names given to blade design features.

Pursuit of clarification in respect of this element of blade terminology could well see a new and better understanding of notches, choils, ricassos and finger stops --- and perhaps some other elements of blade design, the names of which presently escape me.

[Ian]

Something else to consider, Alan. Modern blade makers have added a further term to confuse the issue--a "finger choil"--set behind the "sharpening choil."


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[A. G. Maisey]

Well Ian, that's a new one for me, but logically appropriate.

[Ian]

Elsewhere on this web site, Abel Domenech has posted a masterful essay on the knives of the South American gauchos. Here is what he has to say about the treatment of the ricasso area on many of these knives, and specifically the "Spanish notch" and the finger-stop structure:

"... Much has been written regarding the true purpose of the so-called "Spanish notch." As a matter of fact, on page 7 of ABKA Newsletter # 4 there is an interesting paragraph about Mr. Sterling Wortham's tracing of an old "Toledo" marked Spanish scissors and a discussion about the possible use of its "notches" when working with twine. Another interesting discussion on this issue was written by the late noted collector and writer Mr. William Williamson on the occasion of the publishing of a special work for the famous Exhibition of La Commission des Avoyelles (Bowie Knives/Origin & Development, October 1979 - pages 24 & 25). The two Spanish daggers shown on page 25 of that work show several features usually associated with gaucho puñales, including round bolsters and half-moon cuts on the ricasso, confirming the common roots of Bowies and gaucho knives. I have often asked myself if we can really link the purpose of those notches with the menacing rompe puntas (point breakers) of those Spanish left hand (main gauche) daggers used in the past, as has often been suggested; I really doubt it. It is possible that its intended use was that of catching the opponent's blade, but the shape of the notch present in some Bowies suggests another use to me. For example, the knife pictured in the book Bowie Knives by Robert Abels (The Ohio Hist. Scty, 1962), under number 3-K1A3c 10 1/2, depicts a corresponding hole in the sheath. This feature suggests an intended use to secure the knife to its scabbard by means of a leather thong. The notch in a well known Samuel Bell knife could have accommodated some quick release retention device, like a small short chain with a ring secured to the belt. Truly, it is a thrilling view that we get when we think about a duel occurring in those far gone days, during which the duelists try to break or catch the other's knife blade. But I think that we have to remember that the fighting methods of our ancestors were more dictated by their natural instincts, survival desire and personal skill than by formally educated and learned esgrima technique, like that of the different European swordsmanship schools. Thus, it is my personal belief that the presence of the "Spanish notch" responds to a less romantic or thrilling reason: it was more a cosmetic touch of the artisan who made the piece, reminiscent maybe of those European knives he might have seen, than a feature intended to be used in parrying techniques.

I also wish to point out that the ricasso of most puñales shows a "half-moon cut" whose use, it is generally accepted locally, was for the placement of the index finger when grasping the knife. This half-moon cut is especially useful when the owner intends to make a thrust with his knife, by preventing his hand from slipping onto the blade and cutting the fingers. Do our readers remember the story of Rezin cutting his fingers in the calf episode? The primitive knife Rezin was using on that occasion didn't have a guard and when Rezin Bowie stabbed a calf to kill it, his hand slipped onto the blade edge producing a severe wound. It is said that this accident led to the use of a guard in the knives subsequently ordered by Rezin. Gauchos used to place their index finger in that cut whether using their knives as cutting tools or as weapons. The finger inside the "half-moon notch" prevented the forward movement of the hand towards the blade edge and it also allows better control of the knife. (The blade notch on a Samuel Bell knife pictured on page 25 of The Antique Bowie Knife Book shows exactly the same shape of the ones present in several gaucho puñales).

As I said before, the blades for South American puñales came from Europe. Some of the most well regarded brands were "Arbolito" (Boker), "Defensa" (Weyesberg) and "Herder" from Germany; "Dufour" from France and "Joseph Rodgers & Sons" from England (By the way, we all know that Joseph Rodgers produced very high quality cutlery, including Bowies!!) The list of blade brands used in the making of gaucho puñales is very long and it is never complete. Local importers ordered blades from German cutlery firms and requested the stamping of special markings, usually in Spanish, and/or with prominent figures of related objects or animals well known in the South American region: a mate (small gourd or pumpkin used as a vessel to contain the typical local hot beverage sipped with a metallic straw), a running ostrich, a sheep, the sun, a hunter firing his gun, a bull, a stirrup, a tree, etc., etc... Generally, local consumers of knives of those bygone times were incapable of reading or writing, so they needed the logo on the blade to recognize their favorite brand. ..."

Ian

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Ian

... (otherwise the European Armory will commandeer the thread )...

Oh, the European Armory would never dream to even touch such Scholar essay in Ethno utensiles .

The maximum one would dare add is that:
... la característica muesca en la parte posterior de la hoja, con objeto de favorecer la ergonomía para pulgar e índice a la hora de "segar" las hojas de las plataneras, una indicación para que los operarios que venían detrás supieran qué piña de plátanos había que recolectar.

Which in a lousy translation would mean:
... the purpose of the characteristic muesca (notch) would be to facilitate the ergonomy of thumb and index when reaping/cutting the leaves of banana (platano) trees, to indicate the workers that followed which banana bunches they should collect.

(Courtesy: historiayciencia.com/cuchillos-canarios.htm)

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Ian

Thanks Detlef. Those are pretty odd looking choppers. Does the narrow section on some of these between the blade and the hilt qualify as a ricasso (even though it is much narrower than the blade itself)?. Some of them obviously have finger notches (not the typical Spanish Notch however)--do they also have a choil?

I would describe it as finger notch, after the finger notch is a ver small section what you can describe as ricasso, I am unsure if you can describe this area as choil. When my time it allows I will take some close-ups.

Regards,
Detlef

[A. G. Maisey]

By the grouping of notches, choils & etc into a single element for discussion, two (well, at least two) things have been achieved. The first is that all these elements of blade design have been put onto the table for us to examine and consider. I feel that this is a positive initiative.

However, by this grouping of disparate elements, elements that have been added to blade design for different purposes or reasons, we run the very real risk of confusing one element with another.

Ian has given us the term "finger choil", which is apparently a comparatively modern usage, but a very appropriate one. The term itself tells us precisely what that particular indentation in the blade is intended for.

We know exactly what the original use of the word choil referred to, and its purpose. Once again Ian has clarified this matter by providing an illustration that names the usual choil as a "sharpening choil".

So choils are no longer any sort of a problem.

But the Spanish Notch is an element that could generate more than a few opinions.

I think we can probably accept that in latter times this Spanish Notch was simply a decorative feature that served no practical purpose. However, if we consider the design elements that appear in edged weapons that have been used throughout history, and by different societies, for close combat, what we will find is that time and time again either the back of blade, or the base of a blade carries protrusions or indentations that have been put in place to interrupt the travel of an opponent's blade.

These indentations are sometimes referred to, or thought of, as "blade breakers", but that is an erroneous classification in most cases. The purpose of the notch in blades that carried an edge was primarily to interrupt the free travel of an opponent's blade, and by the impact of blade on notch to permit the combatant to drop or divert the angle of his weapon in order to deflect the opponent's blade. On a blade that did not carry a notch, or notches, the opponent's blade could travel the length of a blade and not be felt until it reached either the guard or the hand.

Often a cut, or a stab is not felt in the heat of combat, in fact in any life threatening situation quite severe injury is not felt until after the threat has passed. This is a natural reaction that permits us to preserve life at the cost of perhaps a finger:- little injuries don't count, big ones do.

If we want to see this phenomenon in action we need look no further than top level sporting competitions. Elite sportsmen will continue to compete even though they have suffered an injury that would ordinarily put them into the emergency ward.

In the case of police work, security work, armed combat, I have known men who have been severely wounded in the course of duty, and they were not aware of the wound until after the emergency had passed.

So the reality, on the ground, is that in a combat situation you need to try to avoid being wounded unknowingly:- little wounds can accumulate and open you to the death blow.

The purpose of notches on a blade is to make the holder of the knife aware that he needs to deflect a blow.

The original intent of those notches was not for ornamentation, nor to break an opponent's blade, rather, it was to give warning of imminent danger.

[Rafngard]

Could we think of this as a "Finger notch" on this Luzon (Tinguian?) knife?

Thanks,
Leif

[Ian]

Leif:

Thanks for posting this interesting knife. It was great to meet with you last night and handle this piece. I would say it is likely Tinguian in origin, based on that choil/notch. After handling it, I think it is probably of approximate WWII vintage, maybe a little earlier or later. It is actually an unusual Filipino knife based on that blade feature. Congrats on a good find.

Ian.