Canary Island knife and leather sheath

[Ian]

On looking through the archives here, I was surprised to find that there is relatively little information about Canary Island knives.They are distinctive, attractive, and fairly common. While many of them may have been produced for those who travel, they are usually well made and functional. The knives are clearly Spanish Colonial in origin, and they seem to have been made mainly from the second half of the 19th C until WWII. Several years ago I found a company online that still appeared to be making them, but that link is not functioning now.

A recent inexpensive purchase prompted me to post some pictures here, and hopefully obtain more information about these knives. The following knife is a small example of the Canary Island type. It measures 9 inches overall and the blade is 5.5 inches. The blade shows evidence of lamination and an old patina, suggesting it may be 19th C in manufacture. There is a faint swedge to the spine over the distal 2 inches. As usually found, there is a "Spanish notch" on the blade adjacent to the hilt. The blade appears unmarked, although occasionally there are dot designs or a date punched into the blade at forte.

The hilt is a typical stacked variety with horn, bone, and wood discs, with brass fittings at each end. The hilt swells in the middle, similar to Spanish knives from Albacete and Ripol.

The brown leather sheath has been stitched down the middle of the back, and the front has been lightly cross-hatched to create a series of diamond shapes. Missing is the usual flap to retain the knife at the waist when worn inside trousers.
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[Ian]

The following examples are taken from sold items on the web site www.oriental-arms.co.il.


Knife 1. An example similar in size to the one I have shown in the original post of this thread. A single edge blade 5.5 inches long, dot punched decoration on the one side. Hilt composed of alternating discs of horn bone and brass. Total length 9 inches. Very good condition. No scabbard.

Knife 2. A single edge blade 6.5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide, dot punched decoration on the one side. Hilt composed of alternating discs of horn bone and brass. Original leather scabbard. Total length 10.5 inches. Very good condition.

Knife 3. A single edge blade 7 inches long, dot punched decoration on the one side. Hilt composed of alternating discs of horn bone white metal and brass. Total length 10 inches. Very good condition. No scabbard.

[Sajen]

Hi Ian,

Here are my two examples. 28,3 cm and 27,5 cm long.

[Ian]

Continuing with examples from the Oriental Arms website ...


Knife 4. A big blade 10 inches long and 1.5 inches wide, dot punched Eno (?) 16 de 67 (January 16 1867) on one side and punched dot decoration on the other side. Hilt composed of alternating discs of horn and brass. Total length 15 inches. Very good condition.

Knife 5. A single edge blade 5.5 inches long, dot punched decoration on the one side. Hilt composed of alternating discs of horn bone and brass. Total length 9 inches. Very good condition. No scabbard.

Knife 6. A single edge blade 6 1/2 inches long and 1 ½ inches wide, dot punched decoration on the one side. Hilt composed of alternating discs of horn bone and brass. Original leather scabbard. Total length 10 1/2 inches. Very good condition.

[Ian]

And the last three examples from Oriental Arms ...


Knife 7. A single edge blade 6.5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide, dot punched decoration on the one side. Hilt composed of alternating discs of horn bone and brass. Original leather scabbard. Total length 11 inches. Very good condition.

Knife 8. Single edge blades 5.5 and 4 inches long with dot punched decoration on the one side. Hilt composed of alternating discs of horn bone and brass. Original leather scabbards. Total length 9.5 and 6.5 inches. Very good condition. The seam of the small knife scabbard is open.

Knife 9. A single edge blade 7 inches long and 1.5 inches wide, dot punched decoration on the one side. Hilt composed of alternating discs of horn and brass. Original tooled leather scabbard. Total length 11.5 inches. Good condition Old grinding and re-sharpening signs on the blade.

[Ian]

Hi Detlef,

Thanks for posting your examples. It is remarkable how consistent these knives have been in their style and manufacture. Note the one dated 1867 and how similar the others are to it. Seems that they likely came from a limited number of smiths, hilt makers, and leather workers. Perhaps an early example of industrialization.

Regards, Ian.

P.S. I was having problems again with posting to the site. I uploaded the pics again to my earlier post. The links seem to work now.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Ian

Thanks for posting your examples. It is remarkable how consistent these knives have been in their style and manufacture. Note the one dated 1867 and how similar the others are to it. Seems that they likely came from a limited number of smiths, hilt makers, and leather workers. Perhaps an early example of industrialization.

Hi Ian,

Yes, I also think that they come from a limited number of manufacturers. I had but sold an example from the mid. of the 20th century with plastic instead of horn and bone. And I am nearly sure that they are made until today, it's some time ago that I searched for them but there seems to be at least one person who made them still today.

Regards,
Detlef

[Sajen]

Here are some pictures of these knives from recent manufacture.
They are called "naife".

[Sajen]

And two historic pictures of Canary men wearing such a naife.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Ian

They are distinctive, attractive, and fairly common.

Good examples are not very common and sometimes very expensive. When they would be common I would have more in my collection!

And here a little bit more information: https://marcacanaria.com/el-naife-o-...ario-artesano/