Interesting Spanish Canary Islands Punal

[celtan]

Nicely put, though I would add that such a grip emphasizes the use of the point, so it is not really applicable to a knife primarily intended to cut.

Very true, that what characterizes a puñal. And yet, it is still generally considered a cuchillo, or knife.

I am not sure about current Spanish colloquialisms (the old ones are largely forgotten or of uncertain meaning due to the vide spread illiteracy that persisted until WWII ) but in South America, a "cuchilla" is applied to any broad fixed blade. But the folks who use them are not all that concerned with correct terminology and cuchillo/cuchilla are often used synonimously.

Castillian / Spanish is differently used in America. (Even in Spain itself, the usage varies between regions). In Mexico, often times they call it Mexican instead of Spanish, and it can prove very difficult to understand for a Spanish national, since words and phrases from the local American tribes are often mixed with the former. Sometimes, European Spanish words may actually have the opossite meaning elsewhere.

I certainly agree with you on this one. Generally daggers were intended as companion weapons an were often lavishly decorated, but even the simpler ones had a certain gracefulness about them, albeit a deadly one.

Cheers
Chris

Yep, and they are also easier to exhibit and store, compared to pikes, montantes and fusiles. : )

I must confess a certain predilection gor the fabled main gauches...

: )

Salud y Fortuna

Manolo