19th century Latin American fighting knife?

[wildwolberine]

Originally Posted by M ELEY

I would wager Spanish colonial and perhaps Brazilian. The star and SS patterns I've seen on a few Brazilian sword hilts like the one I used to own. Of course, these decorations are seen with other cultures (Moroccan, Algerian), but the overall look of the piece, the 'facone'-style blade and even the squared guard are more Central/South American. My 2 cents...

Ok, thanks for your input! Will look into a Brazilian origin for this knife.