Small Vintage South American Gaucho Cowboy Knife with Silver Fittings by ‘ELMO’ Gazzola & Travi, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Here on offer is a fine example of an ornate vintage South American Elmo INOX, a known maker of vintage Brazilian knives, particularly the traditional Gaucho or Facon style. Elmo was a trademark of Gazzola & Travi, a company based in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

These luxurious South American silver and sometimes gold embellished knives made their first appearances after the 1830/1840s, once the true local silversmith trade was established. In those early years, this type of costly knife was destined mainly for wealthy ranch and land owners, high ranking military or rich politicos and not for ordinary gauchos, who were usually very poor. However, the taste for flashy silver ornamented knives, horse headstalls and saddles quickly spread among gauchos and Indians, defining their most prized possessions and serving as symbols of power and rank. So, while both of these human types were usually very, very poor they tried by all means (including trade and robbery) to get some silver into their belongings.

This knife has a single edged pointed 3.5” stainless steel blade, with a bright finish.

It is stamped, very faintly, on one side with the maker’s trade mark, being ELMO and the word ‘INOX’ both above the word BRAZIL.

It has some light surface scratches to one side, and retains a good cutting edge.

‘INOX’ is a French term, being short for "inoxydable", that indicates the blade is made from stainless steel. Stainless steel was invented in 1913 by Harry Brearley in Sheffield, UK.

The cast 800 grade silver handle has four flat sides, two are plain and two have a South American country scene with some cattle. It is finished with a slightly domed pommel and a round bolster.

As it has a rounded shape bolster (known as bolster botón, meaning "button"), this indicates it is a Uruguayan or Southern Brazilian produced knife.

The sheath is in excellent condition and has been also cast in 800 grade silver, decorated in relief on both sides with a scene of a cowboy chasing down some cattle.

The long elaborate frog button depicts the image of a cow’s head.

This sheath also has the semicircular extension from the sheath mouth which covers and protects the blade's bolster while the knife is inside the sheath, a feature again usually associated with Brazilian and Uruguayan sheaths.

The knife has a 3.5” (8.8cm) long blade and the whole knife is 5.9” (15cm) long.

Inserted in its sheath, its total length is 6.9” (17.5cm) and it weighs 64g.

Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

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The responsibility lies with the customer to check with your Customs restrictions that this item can be imported into your country.

Code: 52087