I found this forum while searching for Colonial knifes for a friend that grew up in Acapulco, Mexico and used them when he worked at the local slaughter house as a teen. He says that they were the best they had to do their job back them. He tells me that the company was out of Mexico City and was owned by man that had immigrated from Spain to Mexico. Upon further searching, I found that the company no longer exist. After the founder died, his children closed or sold the company. It was relocated, not sure if the children or the new owners to Colombia in South America. There they continued with the same brand for some time and later changed the name to Serazu. Everything indicates that the quality is not the same as when they were made in Mexico. Therefor if you have a Colonial Forjado, I would keep it... From what I have seen there are comparable to a J. Russell Green River knife. Stamped Colonial and Serazu's are like Old Hickory's in quality.
Another Mexican knife to look out for is a Jamees. They were made in Monterrey, Mexico by an American blacksmith that established himself in the 1940's. Form what I head, they were made out of chevy spring leaves. I remember seeing them at hardware stores in North Eastern Mexico thru the 80's. My grandmother's brothers were ranchers and their Do-it-all knife was a 14" Jamees . They would use it to butcher a hog or a cow, as to cut fence posts and even barbwire and nails without leaving any marks in the edge. One of my cousins has one reserved for me that belonged to one of the uncles. The tricky part is bring it back to the U.S. with the drug was going on in the region.