Oaxaca, Mexico: Another short sword, "Machete Costeño" from Angel Aguilar's collection of Toledo Steel knives, swords and cutlery.

In the previous post, I displayed a short sword, called a "Machete Americano", which was developed by the Spaniards in the 16th century to both handle the heavy mangrove not found in the caribbean as well as to serve as a weapon, much like the naval cutlass. These fine, hand forged and hand tempered knives, swords and cutlery make cherished gifts and fine collectibles. Know one knows how much longer these processes, dating back to the 15th century, will survive.

Well, here we have another version, called the "Machete Costeño" or coastal machete. This short sword was developed prior to the Machete Americano for use along the coastal areas of Mexico, Central and South America. The plants growing along the coastal regions were much heavier than anything the Spanish had found in the Caribbean.

23.5" Machete Costeño

You can note the guard on the sword is much like that found on naval cutlasses, indicating that the Machete Costeño was used as a weapon. You can also note the distictive hump in the middle of the back of the blade. This hump of extra steel gave the Machete Costeño added weight for hacking through the dense, coastal underbrush. The 23.5" Machete Costeño with 18" blade comes with a hand tooled and sewn leather scabbard.

You can meet Angel Aguilar, master swordmaker form Ocotlan, Oaxaca, Mexico, and read all about his 16th century Toledo Steel techniques, by clicking here.

You can see and buy any of Angel Aguilar's hand forged and hand tempered knives, swords and cutlery at the Pale Horse Galleries online store. Just click on the link or copy and paste this address into your browser:

http://palehorsemex.vstore.ca/index.php/cPath/5?osCsid=fb0c59b59455753457d125fe2e62fccd


Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
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