Gaucho knife for ID please: Argentine 'La Movediza'

[Lee]

What were these made for exactly? I take it they weren't really Gaucho knives by the 1940s, so who was buying them?

1. Check out the last paragraph of the first section and the last section in this essay by Abel A. Domenech.

2. Beyond that, for probably the same reasons there is a decent market for the works of modern custom knife makers (and swordsmiths). It is a heritage thing.

Originally Posted by Chris Evans

With the passing of time, highly esteemed old Euro blades have been re-mounted in expensive new furnishings, so apart from the blade one cannot even be sure of the age of the piece as a whole.

The age of the 'piece as a whole' derives, in my opinion, from the date of the last major reworking. Hence, the takouba illustrated at the top of this page is, in fact, a modern takouba of the 21st century - despite it perhaps having the oldest blade of any takouba I have ever handled. Whenever an edged weapon form remains 'alive' within a culture, these regular refurbishments are likely to be going on, making the task of the collector a little more complex. And, as per Chris' observation, it is usually the best old blades that are first up for remounting and enhancement - though I rather doubt that great old period silver gaucho knife mounts would be lightly discarded at this point in time.