Hi,
In Sth America, smaller cuchillos and cuchillas, that is narrow and broad bladed knives are known as "verijeros", sometimes spelled as "verigeros". Now, "verije" in Spanish means the groin/genital area and why these knives are known as literally "groiners" is less than entirely clear, but conventional wisdom has it that they acquired the name from the manner in which they are carried; Verijeros are usually tucked into the belt on the LHS and in between the hip and the belly button, pointing towards the groin.
The maxium size for a verijero is limited by the comfort that it can be carried in the above mentioned position. This consideration usually restricts them to a blade length of less than 6". Longer knives having to be carried across the small of the back. Verijeros are used for those tasks that require a small blade and are considered tools rather than weapons.
Fernando's gaucho kife with the 18cm blade is a little too big for a verijero and too small to be carried in the small of the back, so it would be simply known as a cuchillo and by a few as an oversized verijero. Knives of this size were usually tucked into the belt near the hip, though at times also at the small of the back.
The blade and cross guard, of the second is typical of facons, albeit in this instance very much undersized and probably made to serve as a souvenir. The dimensions of the third firmly makes it a verijero, although its handle is not that of typical South American knives.
However we have to keep in mind that contrary to modern perceptions, apart from blade commonalities, there was no universal typology in handles until the 20th century because the Sth American nations lacked a manufacturing base up to that time, most tools, weapons and other implement having to be imported from Europe. As a result, all kinds of knives found their way into the hands of the Gauchos, which included knives fashioned from broken sheep shears. The general style that nowadays is associated with gaucho knives emerged from a desire to conform with a national cultural sereotype, that of a mythical gaucho, and is based on what a wealthy "campesino" (man of the land) would have owned in the second half of the 19th century and worn only on festive occasions.
Cheers
Chris
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