Choils and "Spanish Notches" on Ethnographic weapons

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Ian

... (otherwise the European Armory will commandeer the thread )...

Oh, the European Armory would never dream to even touch such Scholar essay in Ethno utensiles .

The maximum one would dare add is that:
... la característica muesca en la parte posterior de la hoja, con objeto de favorecer la ergonomía para pulgar e índice a la hora de "segar" las hojas de las plataneras, una indicación para que los operarios que venían detrás supieran qué piña de plátanos había que recolectar.

Which in a lousy translation would mean:
... the purpose of the characteristic muesca (notch) would be to facilitate the ergonomy of thumb and index when reaping/cutting the leaves of banana (platano) trees, to indicate the workers that followed which banana bunches they should collect.

(Courtesy: historiayciencia.com/cuchillos-canarios.htm)

[A. G. Maisey]

By the grouping of notches, choils & etc into a single element for discussion, two (well, at least two) things have been achieved. The first is that all these elements of blade design have been put onto the table for us to examine and consider. I feel that this is a positive initiative.

However, by this grouping of disparate elements, elements that have been added to blade design for different purposes or reasons, we run the very real risk of confusing one element with another.

Ian has given us the term "finger choil", which is apparently a comparatively modern usage, but a very appropriate one. The term itself tells us precisely what that particular indentation in the blade is intended for.

We know exactly what the original use of the word choil referred to, and its purpose. Once again Ian has clarified this matter by providing an illustration that names the usual choil as a "sharpening choil".

So choils are no longer any sort of a problem.

But the Spanish Notch is an element that could generate more than a few opinions.

I think we can probably accept that in latter times this Spanish Notch was simply a decorative feature that served no practical purpose. However, if we consider the design elements that appear in edged weapons that have been used throughout history, and by different societies, for close combat, what we will find is that time and time again either the back of blade, or the base of a blade carries protrusions or indentations that have been put in place to interrupt the travel of an opponent's blade.

These indentations are sometimes referred to, or thought of, as "blade breakers", but that is an erroneous classification in most cases. The purpose of the notch in blades that carried an edge was primarily to interrupt the free travel of an opponent's blade, and by the impact of blade on notch to permit the combatant to drop or divert the angle of his weapon in order to deflect the opponent's blade. On a blade that did not carry a notch, or notches, the opponent's blade could travel the length of a blade and not be felt until it reached either the guard or the hand.

Often a cut, or a stab is not felt in the heat of combat, in fact in any life threatening situation quite severe injury is not felt until after the threat has passed. This is a natural reaction that permits us to preserve life at the cost of perhaps a finger:- little injuries don't count, big ones do.

If we want to see this phenomenon in action we need look no further than top level sporting competitions. Elite sportsmen will continue to compete even though they have suffered an injury that would ordinarily put them into the emergency ward.

In the case of police work, security work, armed combat, I have known men who have been severely wounded in the course of duty, and they were not aware of the wound until after the emergency had passed.

So the reality, on the ground, is that in a combat situation you need to try to avoid being wounded unknowingly:- little wounds can accumulate and open you to the death blow.

The purpose of notches on a blade is to make the holder of the knife aware that he needs to deflect a blow.

The original intent of those notches was not for ornamentation, nor to break an opponent's blade, rather, it was to give warning of imminent danger.

[Rafngard]

Could we think of this as a "Finger notch" on this Luzon (Tinguian?) knife?

Thanks,
Leif

[Ian]

Leif:

Thanks for posting this interesting knife. It was great to meet with you last night and handle this piece. I would say it is likely Tinguian in origin, based on that choil/notch. After handling it, I think it is probably of approximate WWII vintage, maybe a little earlier or later. It is actually an unusual Filipino knife based on that blade feature. Congrats on a good find.

Ian.