gaucho knives

Chris Evans · 14th July 2008, 06:13 AM

Hi,

Jim: I feel flattered by you generous remarks and will here try to add a little to the excellent post by Gonzalo and very informative article by Jones.

Discussing `gaucho'knives is a bit like discussing cowboy revolvers - The Colt SA 45 is the one most associated with the Wild West, but there were any number of others in circulation, and rarely used as depicted by Zane Gray or in the movies.

The gaucho knife that nowadays we recognize as such very much emerged in the course of the 19th century and the lore associated with it with, is enextricably bound with the stories of Martin Fierro by Hernandez http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Fierroand and Juan Moreira by Gutierrez http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Moreira. These two characters, one entirely fictional and the other depicted much larger than in life, epitomized an idealized stereotype of life on the land that the population of an emerging nation could identify with.

I hold with those who believe that the true era of the `gaucho' was before 19th century, by which time, save the outlaws in the furthest frontier regions, he was reduced to a mere `peon', an agricultural labourer, often gang-pressed into the provincial wars and afterwards disarmed - Various edicts having denied him the freedom to roam. The knife for the gaucho was primarily a tool, which could be turned to violent usage if required, but a tool nevertheless - The often made assertion that it was it was his weapon of choice over all others is sheer nonsense promulgated my literary myth makers. In real life, sabres and firearms were very much coveted, but hard to get. A humorous depiction of this fall from grace was given by George Mikes which goes something like this: The downfall of the gaucho was the fork - He was a free man as long as he was content to eat solely with his knife - But a fork requires a plate, a plate a table, a table a chair, and all this a roof and a steady job!

BTW. As Gonzalo reminds us, the ornate silver mounted knives that nowadays we associate with the genre were very much confined to the wealthy landowners, their overseers and the well to do.But the common man on the land had to content himself with whatever he could lay his hand on. With the introduction of `German silver' (Spanish:Alpaca) this style of mounting affordable knives became the norm only in the 20th century.

Until WWII, blades were imported from Europe, everything from discarded swords, bayonets and trade butchers blades, mostly German and French, which were hilted and given sheaths by local craftsmen. Blade lengths varied from the diminutive 4" `Verijero' to the sword length `Facon Caronero' mentioned by Gonzalo. Bernard Levine tells us, that as WWII interrupted the importation of trade blades, in 1943 local manufacture of the same commenced in the in the province of Buenos Aires at Tandil.

The term most often associated with gaucho cutlery is the long bladed `facon', invariably made from a discarded sword or bayonet. Its primary purpose was probably that of a slaughtering tool, but it is also the most often variant mentioned in fights. In his regard, it is worth mentioning that by the middle of the 19th century the wearing of facons was severely discouraged by landowners, or even outright prohibited, as exemplified by the rules set down by the rancher and later president Rosas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Manuel_Rosas. Nowadays the facon is completely obsolete, except as a collector's item.

The facon made from sword and bayonet blades made for a poor knife because its temper and cross sectional geometry was less than ideal. As such, the predominant form in day to day usage was what we would call a stiff butcher's knife, somewhere between 6" and 12" in blade length.

Gaucho knives were known by several names, and these were until fairly recently used loosely. Domenech has attempted to make a stricter and more meaningful classification, distinguishing between the various forms by attributes such as blade length, general shape, number of edges and hand-guard.

In closing, I refer interested readers to Osrnio's Esgrima Criolla (Creole Fencing) and Abel Domenech's Dagas De Plata.

Cheers
Chris

14th July 2008, 06:13 AM	#12
Chris Evans Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 676	Hi, Jim: I feel flattered by you generous remarks and will here try to add a little to the excellent post by Gonzalo and very informative article by Jones. Discussing `gaucho'knives is a bit like discussing cowboy revolvers - The Colt SA 45 is the one most associated with the Wild West, but there were any number of others in circulation, and rarely used as depicted by Zane Gray or in the movies. The gaucho knife that nowadays we recognize as such very much emerged in the course of the 19th century and the lore associated with it with, is enextricably bound with the stories of Martin Fierro by Hernandez http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Fierroand and Juan Moreira by Gutierrez http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Moreira. These two characters, one entirely fictional and the other depicted much larger than in life, epitomized an idealized stereotype of life on the land that the population of an emerging nation could identify with. I hold with those who believe that the true era of the `gaucho' was before 19th century, by which time, save the outlaws in the furthest frontier regions, he was reduced to a mere `peon', an agricultural labourer, often gang-pressed into the provincial wars and afterwards disarmed - Various edicts having denied him the freedom to roam. The knife for the gaucho was primarily a tool, which could be turned to violent usage if required, but a tool nevertheless - The often made assertion that it was it was his weapon of choice over all others is sheer nonsense promulgated my literary myth makers. In real life, sabres and firearms were very much coveted, but hard to get. A humorous depiction of this fall from grace was given by George Mikes which goes something like this: The downfall of the gaucho was the fork - He was a free man as long as he was content to eat solely with his knife - But a fork requires a plate, a plate a table, a table a chair, and all this a roof and a steady job! BTW. As Gonzalo reminds us, the ornate silver mounted knives that nowadays we associate with the genre were very much confined to the wealthy landowners, their overseers and the well to do.But the common man on the land had to content himself with whatever he could lay his hand on. With the introduction of `German silver' (Spanish:Alpaca) this style of mounting affordable knives became the norm only in the 20th century. Until WWII, blades were imported from Europe, everything from discarded swords, bayonets and trade butchers blades, mostly German and French, which were hilted and given sheaths by local craftsmen. Blade lengths varied from the diminutive 4" `Verijero' to the sword length `Facon Caronero' mentioned by Gonzalo. Bernard Levine tells us, that as WWII interrupted the importation of trade blades, in 1943 local manufacture of the same commenced in the in the province of Buenos Aires at Tandil. The term most often associated with gaucho cutlery is the long bladed `facon', invariably made from a discarded sword or bayonet. Its primary purpose was probably that of a slaughtering tool, but it is also the most often variant mentioned in fights. In his regard, it is worth mentioning that by the middle of the 19th century the wearing of facons was severely discouraged by landowners, or even outright prohibited, as exemplified by the rules set down by the rancher and later president Rosas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Manuel_Rosas. Nowadays the facon is completely obsolete, except as a collector's item. The facon made from sword and bayonet blades made for a poor knife because its temper and cross sectional geometry was less than ideal. As such, the predominant form in day to day usage was what we would call a stiff butcher's knife, somewhere between 6" and 12" in blade length. Gaucho knives were known by several names, and these were until fairly recently used loosely. Domenech has attempted to make a stricter and more meaningful classification, distinguishing between the various forms by attributes such as blade length, general shape, number of edges and hand-guard. In closing, I refer interested readers to Osrnio's Esgrima Criolla (Creole Fencing) and Abel Domenech's Dagas De Plata. Cheers Chris