Lapacho Cuchillo Gaucho (Model 4)

Product Description for Lapacho Cuchillo Gaucho (Model 4)

Maker: Perpiña & Porcel (click to see more by this maker)
Item num: 85437
*** This is handmade and one-of-a-kind ***
Blade length: 6.00 in.
Total length: 10.25 in.
Blade height (at heel): 1.13 in.
Blade thickness (near bolster): 0.16 in.
Item weight: 4.40 oz.
Shipment weight: 7.2 oz.
Blade: Satin finished 420 stainless steel
Bolster: Integral 420 stainless guard with Sterling silver fittings
Handle: Polished lapacho wood (an Argentinean hardwood also known as ipe)
Sheath: Leather sheath with sterling silver frog and throat
Description: This exceptional Gaucho is the collaborative work of Perpiña & Porcel, Argentinean cutlers. Cuchillo gaucho is a generic term for a style of knife characteristic of the gauchos, horsemen of the plains of South America -- principally Argentina, of mestizo (mixed Spanish and Indian) heritage. Analogous to the cowboy of the American West and the Mexican vaquero, the gauchos were mounted cattlemen initially living and working in vast undeveloped areas at the fringes of "civilization".
Aside from its obvious potential as a weapon in duels, which were to mark rather than kill an adversary the cuchillo gaucho has a reputation as a truly multi-purpose tool and was used for tasks as diverse as slaughtering and skinning cattle, working leather, cutting wood, and making adobe bricks. In the wilderness, the gaucho could listen for distant approaches by sticking his knife into the ground and pressing an ear against its hilt. The knife was the gaucho's primary eating utensil: a large chunk of meat would be placed in the mouth and the excess cut off with an upward stroke of the knife, stopping short of amputation of the nose. Afterwards, it would serve as a toothpick. And, of course, in the gaucho's twilight in the 20th century, its use as a can opener was inevitable.
The blade is 420 stainless steel and has been flat ground with an appleseed edge for a strong, long lasting edge. The spine has been fileworked for a secure thumb purchase. Sterling silver fittings surround the polished lapacho wood handle. Lapacho is an Argentinean hardwood also known as ipe. Accompanied by a precision fit leather sheath with Sterling silver frog and throat. Exceptional work throughout.


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