As promised
here is a bit of info that I've been able to gather in regards to the blade on my new Verijero.
First , just as a little background and from what I understand from Domenech's essay and other sources in Spanish it is still not entirely clear as to the exact origin of the cuchillo criollo.
Suffice it to say that the first knives were brought in by the early settlers of the area who originated mainly from Spain.
The early gauchos would fashion blades out of whatever was at hand and the revolutionary wars of the early 1800's and subsequent decades of civil wars provided plenty of broken swords and pieces of metal to use in the making of knives.
From the mid 1800's onwards european manufactures tapped into the the South American market with heavier emphasis and started exporting large numbers of knives.
In Spanish, these manufactures are referred to as "Marcas Mayores" or major brands such us Boker, Herder, Dufour, Joseph Rodgers etc.
The local cutlery trade was still active to some extent and hundreds of minor brands have been catalogued however the was a big reliance on importing blades from Europe.
For this purposes, importing houses in Buenos Aires and Rosario would import the knives stamped with Spanish names such as Libertad, Patria, etc
When WW2 broke out in Europe there was an abrupt halt to the importing of knives. This had a big impact as knives are to this day an essential and indispensable tool in Argentine rural culture and way of life.
Enter Carlos Allende who in 1942 along with an associate, opened a knife factory in the city of Tandil, province of Buenos Aires.
Mr Allende was an autodidact and very talented man who in his youth also worked as a "peon" or ranch hand and was very familiar with the life of the rural worker and the use of criollo knives.
The knife factory was called "La Movediza" in reference to a very famous landmark in Tandil called
Piedra Movediza, a balancing rock located close to the city. Its weight was about 300 tons. It attracted attention and tourists because of the way it was balanced on the edge of a hill. The stone fell and broke on 29 February 1912 and today a replica stands in its place.
"La Movediza" operated from 1942 until 1963 when Mr Allende sold it.
Out of La Movediza, former employes and associates went onto open many other knife factories in Tandil, establishing the city as the knife making capital of Argentina, sometimes called the "Solingen" of Argentina. Some of these other manufacturers are Ju-Ca, El Chaja, Manantial, Atahualpa etc.
"La Movediza" also stamped blades with other names for third parties, something like an SFO I would say.
This is where "Pampa", the stamp on my new Verijero comes into play
I found this information on a catalog of blade stamps and it was also mentioned on videos by Argentine knife collectors.
I was happy to learn about the connection my knife has with "La Movediza"
After selling "La Movediza" Mr Allende went onto pursue the arts and in particular sculpting with several of his works on display in Tandil.
One of his most notable ones is the "
Monumento al Gaucho" ( Monument to the Gaucho ) proudly on display on the major avenue entering the city of Tandil
maxipescie
A professional or "expert" sharpening of a blade is not a detriment or compromise. My 2¢.
