I am going out on a limb here disagreeing with someone with the extensive knowledge of Mr. Nugent based only on a thirty-year-old memory which can at best be very faulty, but I think this knife was European made, and possibly made for Central America. Thought the scabbard does look to be South American. Btw dandon we never did see the front of the scabbard. I am 80% sure I have seen a late 19th century catalog picture of machetes for sale made in Europe and that this was one of the models sold in a few different lengths. It stood out at the time because while I had used machetes of different types and ages extensively, I had never seen a fullered model. The facsimile was a black and white line drawing of many different types of machetes with an item number relating to a description and a price. I am still looking for the book. It was in my grandfather's collection that my father now has. Many people in the Ethno Forum have said before "weapons travel during their life." The scabbard may be Brazilian but that does not mean that it started there. Therefore as to it being Sorocaban are we saying made in Sorocaba or a facao enterçado? To me the OP example being discussed differs from the enterçado in three key features. 1. handle profile, the OP item just seems to have a standard machete handle to me rather than the ottoman style pattern. 2. It has a fuller not a unadorned flatgrind 3. It lacks the defining feature of a riveted enterço. Or once again, are we just thinking that it was produced in the city of Sorocaba? Either way outside of the sheath is their providence linking this knife to that city or style, even to Brazil? I could owe Gavin a "you were right" at the end of this discussion.
I have two questions arising out of this discussion. I. Is this type of sheath always a horseman's sheath? I.e. carried in the back of the body, edge up, on the dominate side? II. A. The enterço or riveted ricasso joining the blade and the tang. Once again relying on my faulty memory is used in some Indian weapons. Was it used in Iron age Celtic blades as well? Anywhere else? B. Is it related visually, aesthetically to this style of ricasso decoration pictured below?
Edit: In the Abel Domenech article's picture as well as in in the horseman picture in the previous post there is a folded leather flap on the outside of the top of the sheath to the hold the sheath and it is carried under the belt. In the original post example, the sheath has a belt loop on the back of the sheath, meaning that it is carried on the outside of the belt.
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