Another curiosity

[Marcus]

Found in a gun store. Maybe from South America. Only the inside (concave) edge is sharp

[spiral]

Cool... Chilean corvo probably...

Spiral

[Marcus]

Thanks. I guess military ones are double edged but there are also references to single edged ones supposedly for animal butchering. I thought there was some resemblance to a skinner.

[spiral]

Many are single edged, I expect at one time they all were, I think they were originaly a utility knife for farm labourers & miners of Chile, also carried & used as a weapon, but because of that, also a sign of masculinity etc. same as the jambya in the yemen, but because they were so famous for the horrific disembowelling injury's inflicted in the mostly drunken fighting that was common they became adopted by the army as the weapon of choice, {Who I guess recruited from the mine & farm labouring classes.}

spiral

[Marcus]

Would you hazard a guess on how old this one is? I was going with something like 1930.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Marcus

Would you hazard a guess on how old this one is? I was going with something like 1930.

Hello Marcus:

I believe the presence of a guard on these daggers signifies post WWII manufacture. The guard and stacked hilt have been seen on pieces made for the tourist trade in the second half of the 20th C, sometimes with a nationalistic slogan ("Viva Chile", etc.) inscribed into the blade.

The origin of "corvo" in relation to these blades has been the subject of some discussion. One explanation is that corvo is from the Spanish word for curved or hooked, which describes the shape of the blade.

The alternative view is that it comes from Latin in which corvo means a raven. Apparently there is an ancient Roman reference to corvo in relation to weapons. In this case, the resemblance of the blade of a corvo to the curve of a raven's beak may have some credence.

However, given that the corvo knife comes from a Spanish speaking country, I prefer the simpler explanation that it is a Spanish word describing the shape of the blade.

It is also possible that the Spanish word, corvo, is based originally on the same Latin word for raven, but we need a linguist to adjudicate on that.

There are a few old posts on corvo on this web site and you will find some similar examples to yours.

Ian.

[spiral]

Originally Posted by Marcus

Would you hazard a guess on how old this one is? I was going with something like 1930.

Sorry Marcus, I don't know enough about them to reliably date that piece, multi stacked layered handles were common 140 years ago, but Id guess or suspect yours would be middle third 20th century piece., given the inclusion of red plastic? in the handle layers.. Good that the blade has the raised projection though, not just flat sheet steel.

For your & Ians interest, & for the forum in general, here's an excellent & quite in depth article on them & there extensive history. {Hit the translate button unless you speak Spanish.}

I thought it made excellent reading. It translates very well.

spiral

linky to corvo history..