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Originally Posted by Chris Evans
Hi Gene,
The Argentineans call Criollo (Creole) knives with a similar blade shape `Puņal', with the qualifier that the blade must have a false edge near the tip, not necessarily sharp, otherwise it becomes a mere `Cuchillo' (knife), or if deeply bellied, a `Cuchilla' (feminine gender). `Puņo' in Spanish means fist or a clenched hand and generally the term is used to describe an edged knife used mainly for the thrust, held with an "ice pick" grip. How they came to assign this name to what is predominantly a working cutting knife is unknown to me. I should add that the strict usage of these terms is a relatively modern phenomena, introduced by historians and curators, as in the past the mostly illiterate population and even renowned literati, both in the Latin Americas and Spain, named their bladeware very loosely. To this day, the terms `facon', `puņal', `daga', `cuchillo/a' are used interchangeably by most who are not collectors.
From an utilitarian perspective, at least my own, the handle of naifes leave a lot to be desired on account of being round and thus reducing the feel for the edge, but I suppose that one can get use to it. As for purchase, I think that the changing cross section, reaching a maximum diameter near the centre affords a secure grip. I am inclined to believe that the spacers are purely decorative, though no doubt, as the softer ones wear down the harder ones will become more prominent further improving the grip.
Cheers
Chris
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I'm happy with either designation to be honest. I think these are a bit of a missed opportunity in the colllecting field as they are rather nice.
I've had a proper Albacete punal for a while and have missed getting a few of these canary 'baby brothers' on ebay I was delighted to find this one at a boot-sale last week.
I completely see why you'd think it was the rest of the handle had worn down but its actually the other way around and the metal spacers are soft but raised. Definately there to afford better grip....Which is why I thought it was worthy of a thread.