Facón / Gaucho Knife from Uruguay

RobT · 19th March 2023, 03:54 AM

gp,

Hopefully Chris Evans will weigh in. Until then, I will tell you what I have read. Because it is stamped "INOX" (stainless), your knife was made after the first quarter of the 20th century. FANACU (Fábrica Nacional de Cuchilleria) in Uruguay made these type of knives under the trade name of "Franz Wenk Solingen". I would imagine that there were other Uruguayan cutlers making similar knives.

Sincerely,
RobT

gp · 19th March 2023, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobT

gp,

Hopefully Chris Evans will weigh in. Until then, I will tell you what I have read. Because it is stamped "INOX" (stainless), your knife was made after the first quarter of the 20th century. FANACU (Fábrica Nacional de Cuchilleria) in Uruguay made these type of knives under the trade name of "Franz Wenk Solingen". I would imagine that there were other Uruguayan cutlers making similar knives.

Sincerely,
RobT

Thank you very much Rob; highly appreciated!

FYI: there is some info on this website to be found
http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/facon/criollo.html
but it doesn't specify on the issue if a Uruguayan is rare or not to find unfortunately

Lee · 19th March 2023, 02:54 PM

I suspect that they are not especially rare. I came across this pair on separate occasions at gun shows in the USA, though likely around a decade ago.

Sajen · 19th March 2023, 04:16 PM

Hi Gunar,

Is the scabbard and handle silver plated or from German silver? I guess that your example is from the mid. of 20th century. I have a very similar example which I guess is a little bit older, scabbard and handle are thick silver plated, I have shown it in this thread: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=28632
Compare the bird at the scabbard foot.

Best regards,
Detlef

gp · 19th March 2023, 05:13 PM

Yours is indeed beautiful, Detlef !

To answer your question on silver or alpaca silver or silver plated, I have to wait until I hold it in my hands (which may take a couple of weeks as it just left South America and was send by Fedex; hence going first to the good ol’ U S of A as point of transshipment).

In my opinion mine might be made between 1950-1970, but it definitely originates from Uruguay. What I also noticed that one hardly see longer gaucho knives than 30 cm on offer for sales ; the long( er) ones you see on the pictures in the wide leather belts of the men .

LG aus NL

Gunar

gp · 19th March 2023, 05:18 PM

Double…

gp · 19th March 2023, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee

I suspect that they are not especially rare. I came across this pair on separate occasions at gun shows in the USA, though likely around a decade ago.

Thank you for your feedback. Thus most likely the reason why I didn’t see the ones from Uruguay that often in Europe might be perhaps that it is or was commercially not that interesting to either offer / sell them here or no actual demand, versus the ones from “ bigger “ countries like Argentina and Brazil…

BR

Gunar

Chris Evans · 20th March 2023, 02:41 PM

Hi `gp'

Going by the maker's brand and the `boton', I have the feeling that your knife was made by the Brazilian cutler Eberle which went out of business in 1984, being taken over by another company.

My guess us that the logo Eberle was polished out of the blade.

I looked around in Spanish and could not find anything on Trompeta brand.

Cheers
Chris

gp · 20th March 2023, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Evans

Hi `gp'

Going by the maker's brand and the `boton', I have the feeling that your knife was made by the Brazilian cutler Eberle which went out of business in 1984, being taken over by another company.

My guess us that the logo Eberle was polished out of the blade.

I looked around in Spanish and could not find anything on Trompeta brand.

Cheers
Chris

Thanks a lot Chris ! The facon looks very similar to the one from your posting in 2009 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?p=87682
Enclosed a pic from the seller's website. I'll check the blade in detail upon its arrival, again much obliged!

BR

Gunar

Chris Evans · 21st March 2023, 03:09 PM

Hi Gunar,

I forgot about that post, and yes, they do look very similar. and please post again when it arrives.

Regarding your other questions, this type of knife was widely used in the Pampean flat grass lands which extend from south Brazil to Uruguay and Argentina and reflect the demands of cattle grazing.

However, Uruguay has a much smaller population and pastoral areas than the two other neighboring countries and as such Criollo knives with an identifiable Uruguayan provenance are by necessity smaller in numbers.

Regarding size, blades up to around 6" were known as `verijeros' and were carried as an auxiliary to the main working knife, being kept for eating and other detailed work. Nowadays the upmarket variations are mostly used during the traditional `asado', the barbecue to us or kept as evocative memorabilia.

Larger bladed knives are more easily found in Argentina where thy are quite numerous. And the antiques fitted with the old European trade blades command the highest prices.

During WWII due to the scarcity of imports, cutlers in Argentina commenced making blades from recycled steel, mostly in the Tandil region of Buenos Aires province. However, these failed to earn the same reputation as the older
trade blades from the highly regarded European manufacturers.

Cheers
Chris

19th March 2023, 04:16 PM	#4
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 9,207	Hi Gunar, Is the scabbard and handle silver plated or from German silver? I guess that your example is from the mid. of 20th century. I have a very similar example which I guess is a little bit older, scabbard and handle are thick silver plated, I have shown it in this thread: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=28632 Compare the bird at the scabbard foot. Best regards, Detlef Attached Images

19th March 2023, 05:13 PM	#5
gp Member Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 830	Yours is indeed beautiful, Detlef ! To answer your question on silver or alpaca silver or silver plated, I have to wait until I hold it in my hands (which may take a couple of weeks as it just left South America and was send by Fedex; hence going first to the good ol’ U S of A as point of transshipment). In my opinion mine might be made between 1950-1970, but it definitely originates from Uruguay. What I also noticed that one hardly see longer gaucho knives than 30 cm on offer for sales ; the long( er) ones you see on the pictures in the wide leather belts of the men . LG aus NL Gunar Last edited by gp; 19th March 2023 at 07:23 PM.

20th March 2023, 02:41 PM	#8
Chris Evans Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 685	Hi `gp' Going by the maker's brand and the `boton', I have the feeling that your knife was made by the Brazilian cutler Eberle which went out of business in 1984, being taken over by another company. My guess us that the logo Eberle was polished out of the blade. I looked around in Spanish and could not find anything on Trompeta brand. Cheers Chris Attached Images

19th March 2023, 03:54 AM	#1
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 548	gp, Hopefully Chris Evans will weigh in. Until then, I will tell you what I have read. Because it is stamped "INOX" (stainless), your knife was made after the first quarter of the 20th century. FANACU (Fábrica Nacional de Cuchilleria) in Uruguay made these type of knives under the trade name of "Franz Wenk Solingen". I would imagine that there were other Uruguayan cutlers making similar knives. Sincerely, RobT

19th March 2023, 02:54 PM	#3
Lee EAAF Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Upstate New York, USA Posts: 937	I suspect that they are not especially rare. I came across this pair on separate occasions at gun shows in the USA, though likely around a decade ago.

19th March 2023, 05:18 PM	#6
gp Member Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 830	Double…

21st March 2023, 03:09 PM	#10
Chris Evans Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 685	Hi Gunar, I forgot about that post, and yes, they do look very similar. and please post again when it arrives. Regarding your other questions, this type of knife was widely used in the Pampean flat grass lands which extend from south Brazil to Uruguay and Argentina and reflect the demands of cattle grazing. However, Uruguay has a much smaller population and pastoral areas than the two other neighboring countries and as such Criollo knives with an identifiable Uruguayan provenance are by necessity smaller in numbers. Regarding size, blades up to around 6" were known as `verijeros' and were carried as an auxiliary to the main working knife, being kept for eating and other detailed work. Nowadays the upmarket variations are mostly used during the traditional `asado', the barbecue to us or kept as evocative memorabilia. Larger bladed knives are more easily found in Argentina where thy are quite numerous. And the antiques fitted with the old European trade blades command the highest prices. During WWII due to the scarcity of imports, cutlers in Argentina commenced making blades from recycled steel, mostly in the Tandil region of Buenos Aires province. However, these failed to earn the same reputation as the older trade blades from the highly regarded European manufacturers. Cheers Chris