we-are-rogue:

Mexican and South American Knives

1. Bowie knife, Mexico. Carved bone handle with engraved German silver
   guard and ivory pommel, 8 ½ inch blade marked “No me saques sin razon
   no me embaines sin honor” (do not draw me without reason or sheathe me
   without honor)
2. Gaucho knife, Chile. Ivory handle with German
   silver mounts, 10 inch blade with a Spanish notch, marked “Toledo
   Temper”, made by I. P. Cutts & Sons in Sheffield.
3. Dagger,
   Mexico. Silver and abalone handle, 6 7/8 inch blade, etched with a
   Mexican eagle, a hacienda, floral and scroll designs, made by Teodoro
   Medina in Monterrey.
4. Gaucho knife, Argentina. Silver handle and sheath with gold layering, 6 inch blade, made ca 1880.
5. Bowie
   knife, Mexico. Carved bone handle with silver mounts, 10 inch blade
   engraved and overlaid with gold and silver vignettes, incl. Montezuma
   and a Mexican eagle.
6. Gaucho knife. Silver (?) handle, 8 ½ inch
   blade marked “Viva La Libertad” on the pile side and “Viva La Ley” on
   the mark side, made by Minervus in France, 1850s.
7. Bowie knife, Mexico. Carved bone handle with the words “Colima, 1870”, 12 inch blade, engraved silver sheath throat and tip.
8. Gaucho
   knife, Brazil. Silver-mounted handle and sheath with gold overlay, 6
   ¼ inch blade, marked with a star and “Prieu, Pelotas”.
9. Gaucho knife. Handle and sheath finished in gold vermeil, 4 ¾ inch blade, ca 1884.
10. Gaucho knife. Silver and gold handle and sheath, 11 ½ inch blade marked “Libertad”, made by M. Verdes.

“South of the [U.S.] border, Bowies took on a decidedly different look. Latin culture focused on the knife more than it did on the gun as a defense weapon. The highly decorated knife had an important place in the society. […] The Argentine gaucho’s knife is shaped much like the Mediterranean dirk [the what now?]; this latter knife is thought by many to be a direct progenitor of the American Bowie. We see the Spanish notch on many blades – a notch that’s used as a thumbnail to rest to steady the point when the blade is used upside-down.”

From The Antique Bowie Knife Book, by Bill Adams, J. Bruce Voyles & Terry Moss (Museum Publishing Company, Inc., 1990)