To begin with, the page 111 shows the killing of a cow by two CRIOLLO cowboys, and it does not correpspond with the description of a single GAUCHO on page 11 killing a cow, which illustrates my argument in the sense that meanwhile cattle or livestock is taken care of by men on horses, namely cowboys or sheperds, the facón was a useful knife and not an updated item. Do you know the difference among "gaucho" and "criollo"? A criollo can be any inhabitant of the land descended from the original settlers and linked to the old traditions. A gaucho is a special kind of man, as described by the Domenech´s article on this forum.
Yes AGRICULTURAL labouresrs didn´r really need a facón, but the cowboys or sheperds did. Domenech´s quote is refering to the fact that the indiscriminated use of the facón by all the population on the countryside only meant the extensive use of this knife as a weapon to duelling, which the estancieros wanted to avoid to all cost, as it was not convenient to their interests.
About Roberto´s facón: yes, of course I did a guess based on my small knowledge of the argentinean knives, with which I have daily contact throught the Armas Blancas forum and argentinean collectors, and of course, my own books and articles. My guess is based on the items I have seem throught my life, and the fact that I have never encountered this geometric hilts and this thin metal separators between the pieces of horn until mid 20th Century. I believe the use of this small metal discs, which appear as metal thin lines, is something that could be alien to the traditional decorative uses in Argentina, although today are very popular, and I can be wrong in this point, but this is the best guess I can honestly make with my actual knowledge without any pretention. I don´t have any illustration on my hand, as I also don´t remember in which specific place I have seen many items, even from this Ethnographic forum. But at least I have a more precise idea of the origins, materials and styles of this weapons, not to be making wild guesses and speculations among countries, continents, materials, methods of production and so on.
The making of this guard is much simpler than the use of a die. Argentineans never used dies to handcraft their knives, and this guard, from Robert´s facón, is a very simple one which requires only to forge and the use of a file. The botones, pommels and handguards on the argentinean, uruguayan and brazilian criollo knives are always made in this way. They make even the most beautiful and precise spiraled adornments with just only files and sandpaper, still today. Just take a look on that forum and see for yourself.
Gonzalo
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