Obscure Weapons: Spanish Navaja Knife

Obscure weapon, but not a forgotten weapon. Here we look at the Spanish 'Navaja' fighting knife, with a bit of its history and use.
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[@asotpan]

I am South African and live in SA. Many years ago I traveled to Spain and bought a navaja in Toledo. I am also a bladesmith and recognizing that the locking mechanism is certainly the best out of all knife locking mechanisms, I have made quite a few of these knives, the largest having and 18cm blade. My daily carry is my own handmade navaja with a 12cm blade both for protection as well as general use. I believe I am the only knifesmith making these knives in South Africa.

[@fidelgonzalezlopez9342]

Nice job mate, would love to see some of your navajas.

[@LEARSIKCIGAM]

I bet you sailors loved them, part of why the market was so strong in Spain

[@Somerandomguy2998]

Okapi knives

[@MrRugercat45]

Do you have a website or price list of your products? I love navajas, beautiful knives

[@stefthorman8548]

Get yourself an expada xl

[@caphikoki]

The stress is in the second-last syllable, naVAja.

[@javierbenabalgarcia1793]

True, I'm Spanish, from Sevilla and it's true that's the correct way to pronounce the word Navaja.

[@virginiahansen320]

I believe it's actually pronounced naRAnja.

[@fidelgonzalezlopez9342]

@@virginiahansen320 xD

[@Tareltonlives]

@@virginiahansen320 Well, if the rind's hard you will need a navaja for a naranja

[@catocall7323]

OM thank you. It was driving me crazy.

[@carlosgarciamendez8157]

As an Spaniard myself i love this video.I am from Seville,Capital of Andalusia so navajas are part of our history.During the 2nd of May many french soldiers were killed with them.Best navajas are from Albacete.The sound they make when being opened gives the goose bumps to anyone haha

[@nnmmnmmnmnnm]

My mother was from Jerez. I had a smaller version of this knife as a gift but didn't even know what it was. It has a very distinct look. I need to try and find it, somewhere in my house now.

[@oz_jones]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to get stabbed with a regular knife, let alone one of those.

[@ricardoaraoz717]

Here in Argentina, navajas similar to the one shown but much smaller (15-20cm blade) are called sevillanas. They probably come from Sevilla?

[@VFella]

There are 3 things only we Spaniards can do * Clap our hands (producing actual noise and even making music) * Open a can with the Spanish can openers * Open a navaja with a single snap You forgot to mention how lethal they are in the fight against the bollos de Alcalá de Guadaíra (with a good shot of olive oil)!

[@gabrielwolf7534]

​@@elcuencodelafelicidadyou are a bit of an ignorant I guess

[@HoJu1989]

The most reputed Spanish knife makers were in Albacete (in La Mancha, the region north-east of Andalusia), to the point that these weapons were often called "navaja albaceteña" or just "albaceteña", similarly to how swords were named "toledana" after Toledo. Other name for the navaja is "siete muelas" ("seven teeth"), a reference to the ratchet locking system you mentioned.

[@casiseguro2760]

Déjalo amigo. No merece la pena explicar nada a los ingleses. Primero le llama obscure segundo dice que es de Andalucía y tercero que ese modelo es francés.Ademas he estado viendo los títulos de sus videos y no hace referencia a ningún otro tipo de arma española,ni a a la verdadera destreza. Ningún respeto , qué se puede esperar de los herejes. Mierda pa él.

[@HoJu1989]

@@casiseguro2760 Cada uno es especialista en lo que es y para él puede ser un arma que considere oscura o poco conocida porque no es su campo, independientemente de las alusiones nacionales de cada uno. Y bien puede ser que ese ejemplar sea de fabricación francesa, los diseños viajan y se copian y desarrollan estilos diferentes. Si ha investigado que ese estilo de cachas es propio de manufacturas francesas, no veo razón para dudarlo. Respecto a la destreza, alguna vez la ha mencionado de pasada, pero como no la ha estudiado en profundidad, no quiere sentar cátedra, lo que es perfectamente razonable. Más respetuoso me parece eso que hablar sin saber.

[@alvaro701]

@@casiseguro2760 Cualquiera diría que no has visto el video.

[@LUDOVIKO8413]

la mancha? region noreste de ANDALUCIA?, .... CASTILLA, castilla la mancha, never never never is andalucia, is other region, Albacete es Castilla, never andalucia. Siete muelles, no siete muelas.

[@HoJu1989]

@@LUDOVIKO8413 al norte de Andalucía, no EN el norte de Andalucía. El nombre de la región histórica es La Mancha, Castilla-La Mancha es la comunidad autónoma moderna. Y se utiliza tanto siete muelles como siete muelas, pero sospecho que siete muelas es la forma original, que luego pasó a muelles por similitud de pronunciación, no porque la navaja tenga siete muelles, que no los tiene.

[@SamuraiAkechi]

Finally, someone of major HEMA vloggers have finally decided to pay attention to navajas and navaja fighting. 4:31 This is totally a french made knife. 9:19 There are some HEMA and martial groups practicing navaja fighting, and there are some italian families on the south (South Italy is sometimes considered to be a part of spanish hemisphere) are teaching knife fighting, though it's quite easy to find different sorts of bullshido.

[@lalli8152]

Im curious how it can be seen its french made?

[@SamuraiAkechi]

@@lalli8152 The style and construction. As far as I know, most of the spanish and italian-made navajas (until late 20th century) were made with solid horn handles and had no metal liners. French navajas, as the one we see here were assembled with metal (brass) liners and grip pieces made of bone or horn. Second, the crossguard - spanish and italian-made navaja variations have simple bolsters (if they have any), french ones have this S- or Fleur-de-lis shaped crossguard, similar to italian Maniago stilettos.

[@kyomademon453]

Southern France it's also in the Spanish sphere of influence, mainly occitania

[@lalli8152]

@@SamuraiAkechi Thank you for the detailed answer. This is really interesting knife design so i was genuinly curious

[@SamuraiAkechi]

@@andrewk.5575 I've read Denis Cherevichnik, a latvian martial arts researcher, and he criticises Loriega's writings as full of errors, especially his "Sevillian steel".

[@BallisticPlate]

I see Navaja. I click. I give thumb. I share. Full interaction for Matt. Good things.

[@tamlandipper29]

Plus good

[@HoJu1989]

By the way, the treatise Matt mentions is called "Manual del Baratero", from 1849. I think there is an English version

[@Kloashut]

Yes, there is an english version. Although, from what I can remember, it is slightly limited compared to the original Baratero.

[@leighrate]

During the Napoleonic occupation of Spain, their possession was proscribed under penalty of Death. Specifically death by garrotting. Which gives you a pretty fair idea how effective they were as a concealable ambush weapon.

[@iryisa]

Appears in the famous Goya drawing "por una nabaja" - for a folding knife. fundaciongoyaenaragon.es/obra/por-una-nabaja/776

[@gerrero4504]

Finally a weapon from my country!!

[@Mister_Tac0]

Navajita xD

[@ArkadiBolschek]

@@Mister_Tac0 Navajita plateá XD

[@azazelreficulmefistofelicu7158]

It would be nice an episode about the pre roman falcata.

[@manfredconnor3194]

And an interesting one!

[@arx3516]

Rapiers, side swords, arming swords and great swords are also from Spain, they were not unique to Spain obviously, but they were widespread there. But it seems that knives have much more regional variation in Europe than swords, probably because peasants were much less cosmopolitans than nobles.

[@joaoteixeira6443]

Fun fact: in portuguese, a navalha is also the name for either most small bladed weapons, or a shaving razor.

[@tl8211]

In Brazil, a navalha is the stereotypical weapon for an old-school street smart type.

[@HoJu1989]

It's the same in Spanish.

[@eliasbram3710]

@@tl8211 Or the famous "Peixeira", the umbrella term for any knife that is not a table knife

[@tl8211]

​@@eliasbram3710 I talked once with an old farmer from Espírito Santo who said that a lot of the people who came to work there from Bahia in the old days were nasty with a "peixeira" (and that some even had left Bahia due to "misunderstandings" with one), I always associated it to that (seems like the music wasn't wrong!).

[@eliasbram3710]

@@tl8211indeed. I actually met a guy from bahia that had one of his friends stabbed in the kidney in a fight. He didn't died, But wtf...those guys sure know how to strike damage with a blade lol

[@Entiox]

Some of us still use straight razors. I've been using one for about 25 years now. I grew a beard about 10 years ago so now I just use mine to shave my neck and cheek lines, but it leaves them nice and straight.

[@butwhataboutdragons7768]

Maybe 10 years ago, there was a brief attempt here in the US to bring back the straight razor. I saw kits in Wal-Mart with the whole works, razor, shaving brush, cup for foam, and a manual to show how to use it all. Was wondering where the sudden interest came from, maybe some TV show or movie. That fad went away quickly though. My dad used one when I was kid in the late 70s to 80s. He went to a safety razor about the time I got to shaving age, probably not a coincidence, but also it was getting harder to find the straight razor and accessories too.

[@Entiox]

@@butwhataboutdragons7768 there's still a pretty good interest in them online. I was a manager at a chain of cutlery shops when I started using a straight razor, and we sold them there so it made getting started really easy, and a lot less expensive with my managers discount. When the chain went under in 2006 I bought up as much shave soap as I could since there weren't many other places to buy it at the time. But starting, like you said, about 10 years ago it suddenly became much easier to get when interest in old school shaving exploded and bunches of new companies started selling razors, brushes and soaps online. I chalk it up to one of the good things to come out of "hipster" culture.

[@Trollvolk]

Me too. Got my razor knive for 10 years now. It is way cheaper in the long term compared to buying always New blades for the "normal" T shaped razors. I only habe to sharpen it 1 time a year or so and use my leatherbelt from time to time. But i habe very thin hair. Straight razors feel better and the results are better too inmyopinion.

[@beardedbjorn5520]

They have started to make a come back again as old school barbering as come back in style. Much like anything blade related though, you get what you pay for lol

[@Entiox]

@@beardedbjorn5520 man is that true. The cutlery shopa I managed offered professional sharpening services and so many times in had someone come in with a cheap knife that looked like a razor wanting to get it sharpened to shave with. Then I'd have to explain that no amount of sharpening would ever get it able to shave cleanly because the low quality of the steel and heat treatment just wouldn't allow it.

[@kahn04]

There’s a knife that was (maybe still is) popular in Jamaica that is commonly called a “ratchet” has the same locking mechanism, but much smaller. I believe the manufacturer was in South Africa called Okapi

[@SamuraiAkechi]

Yes. At first, Okapi were manufactured in Germany, now they're made in South Africa. Similar were also made in USSR (in Belarus) and Cold Steel has their own version named Kudu.

[@dansharpe2364]

Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones carried one that he was given by a Reggae musician in Jamaica, whose name escape me.

[@dansharpe2364]

And the Cold Steel Kudu which has both locking and non locking versions is incredibly cheap for a very good large knife.

[@kahn04]

@@dansharpe2364 interesting, I’ve never heard that story, and my dad is Jamaican. I’m really curious to know who it is and google is no help 😛

[@kahn04]

@@SamuraiAkechi nice, my dad had one growing up in Jamaica, and I’ve been looking all over to get one

[@Hissatsu5]

I love the Navaja I studied the Manual Of The Baratero . The Navaja is the first tactical folder in my opinion!

[@larrymccoy5394]

During Peninsular war against Napoleon French soldiers suffered the navajas fear. Because wounds never healed in a slowly and pain death.

[@wilowhisp]

In the US I carry a modern version of that every day. The Cold Steel Espada XL.

[@BigBackInk]

Now I see where the Cold Steel Espada came from... Seen videos when Lynn Thompson talked about the Navaja knives being the inspiration for his knife, but I don't think I've seen one. Cool video Matt, thanks

[@bharnden7759]

My CS XL Espada is a pocket Sabre.

[@afinoxi]

"What's with that dagger ?" "Sir this isn't a dagger." "What's that then ?" "It's just a switchblade I carry for utility uses , cutting boxes and all."

[@Sk0lzky]

Sir, it's an element of my traditional national costume so I'm allowed to carry it on board.

[@roentgen571]

@@Sk0lzky There are a shitload of Scots who still carry daggers in their socks in spite of UK knife laws... lol

[@oz_jones]

Sir, this isnt a sword, it's literally a knife. I swear.

[@gre8]

The cloak around the arm technique is still seen in the Gaucho knife-fighting style in Argentina and Uruguay called Esgrima Criolla

[@alundavies8402]

People use their jacket to wrap around your left arm and use it to catch your opponents blade here in Britain still

[@genghiskhan6809]

That style still exists in the Philippines too.

[@taylor_green_9]

Facón y Poncho is a hella cool fighting style

[@notannie4798]

The one used by Latin gangsters you see in videos?

[@pedroviriato9356]

Los Gauchos y el cuchillo Gaucho es de origen español canario y su esgrima también llevada por los españoles .

[@nievesshiratama3964]

Yay, a weapon from my homeland!!

[@hector_2999]

There might not be any HEMA manuals around, but those styles are very much alive in parts of my country.

[@ramonvelasquez8431]

Could this be where the Cold Steel folks got the inspiration for their huge "Espada" folder? That'd be quite interesting, from a historical point of view and as a novelty factor. Nice vid, mate!

[@januszstrzelecki4440]

Yes, and Vaquero model was even earier example of such inspiration

[@matthewconner5545]

Yes, they say that in the advertising/product description. I have one of the XLs, and it is stupidly large. I do have a few pairs of pants with front pockets deep enough that with the clip over the edge of the pocket, are just deep enough for the handle to rest at the bottom. Only ever carried it in such a way for the lulz, though, and rarely.

[@mallardtheduck406]

Too expensive for Cold Steel, sorry.

[@IvanEqu]

@@matthewconner5545 Large navajas or folding knives are much better carried under the waistline of trouser, (front or back) than in the pocket. :-)

[@ricardosoto5770]

@@IvanEqu Yep IWB carry.

[@fuferito]

A knife so great they not only named a guy named Pedro after it, they dedicated an actual song to him and the knife.

[@eschaton7276]

Here in Spain we tipically call the "navajas" with the clickly sounds "navajas de carraca" (the "carraca" is a musical instrument that produces a similary sound). Its an intimidating sound when you hear it, something you could compare to a pump-action shotgun in our context.

[@fricki1997]

Many know the folding knife. Few are aware of the folding shortsword.

[@bewarethegreyghost]

The Navaja was also probably an inspiration for the American bowie and why bowies were so popular with in Mexican culture as well.

[@leofedorov1030]

Absolutely. Spanish design hunting blades specifically were all the rage in the States around the time of Bowie knife development.

[@derrickguffey4775]

@@leofedorov1030 remember also there are a great many similarities between the Bowie and the Anglo saxon seax. Compare the two side by side and it is apparent. There was more than one influence in the design of the Bowie knife. Both blades were very versatile and used similarly as well

[@pedroviriato9356]

​@@derrickguffey4775Busque cuchillo Macho Riojano español y vera el primer modelo Bowie.

[@jamesdolan5236]

The Navajo of North America most likely were called such for some sort if cutting weapon. There's another Spanish fighting style I have heard of that was practiced among the tailoring guilds that used large cutting shears (scissors) as a weapon. The scissors were opened and the cutting edges were held along the forearm.

[@andreweden9405]

These were very popular and commonly used in late 18th/early 19th century New Orleans as well, due to the Spanish influence there.

[@pedroviriato9356]

Si Luisana un tiempo fue española .

[@adroy4169]

As a lot of this were made by french cutlers in Thiers, they also were used by the parisian «apaches » of 1900 and a simplified version (nicknamed cra-cra) was sometimes used in the trenches of WW1 as a utility knife.

[@alantheinquirer7658]

First time I saw a Navaja was in my childhood, while watching the feature film "The Pride and The Passion", as used by the Spanish rebels. :-)

[@chrisosh9574]

You can find and download the 'Manual de Baratera' online, it's a 66 page pdf. I know of a few Andalusian Gitanos who still practice the Baratera' fighting style with sticks and jackets. On a couple of occasions I have had a chance to handle one of these Navajas and the balance is pretty good.

[@cameronflint1378]

Love Spanish duelling culture. Have you seen Captain Alatriste and if so what did you think of the fight scenes?

[@facundobinelli7564]

I have seen it, i love the fighting scenes. And i love Diego Alatriste. Didn't read the books yet though.

[@mallardtheduck406]

That was an Awesome Movie, I Loved the calmness before the storm with Inigo's Revenge scene, very realistically brutal.

[@beardedbjorn5520]

Matt’s seen it. I’ve literally been asking him to do a review on it for 3 years haha

[@SuperOtter13]

@@beardedbjorn5520 as have I🙂

[@Aivahr1]

The best of Spanish duelling culture was with swords

[@timothycampbell495]

An astoundingly good, and fully functional, modern interpretation is the Cold Steel Espada XL.

[@ricardocastillo5485]

This is an absolutely outstanding and well researched and accurate video, thumbs up, the only minor issue I take is calling them "obscure", since they're moderately well known among people I know.

[@GYMJAX]

I think the average person has never seen one in there life

[@meaninglessname123]

Obscure is relative, isn't it?

[@anderbarongonzalez3356]

Another idea for obscure Spanish weapons, Matt, since you seem to like 18th-19th century style blades so much: Check the traditional knives from Sastago (in Aragon) out.

[@mallardtheduck406]

Spanish tranistional dueling rapier's, beautifully odd. Phasing out the cup-hilt.

[@anderbarongonzalez3356]

@@mallardtheduck406 Let's go even further into obscurity, how about covering the Almarada? Basically a medieval fighting icepick.

[@Aivahr1]

Very good proposition.

[@VFella]

@Matt : Navajas are still easy to find. They are used as working all-purpose knifes by hunters or even gardeners, just like a normal switch blade. You can find them in many cutlery stores of specialized "cuchillerias" (knife stores) sold also as decoration. Until the 1980s many people carried one for personal defense. And the smaller ones are still widely used for everyday stuff: You can open a bottle with the bottom side of the edge or open cans with it. And it is the standard knife for cutting Jamón Serrano. If you are interested, just search for a local cutlery in any city or larger town in Spain, they will surely have the bigger models too. Or if you happen to go to Albacete, you will certainly find excellent exemplars.

[@winkleried]

I actually own two ratcheting Spanish Navajas. One was made by Vicente Haya, it has a blade length of 3 & 3/8ths inches and an overall length opened of 7 & 5/16 inches. I purchased it at a Spanish “Truckstop” in one of the industrial towns in the North of Barcelona. The other is a J.J. Martinez with a 5 and 9/16ths blade and overall length of 11 & 3/4 inches. I ordered it online. I tend to like the looks of the thinner narrower blades. Great knives though.

[@sarchlalaith8836]

Lovely to see things other than swords, a lovely knife!

[@junichiroyamashita]

Many italian dueling knives looks or somewhat resemble the navaja. Like the Santa Smacola Roman Knife, the Balestra Avellinese,neapolitan and sicilian dueling knives and so on. After all,those parts were under spanish rule.

[@Deeznutz002]

The Spanish Navalha reminds me of Italian folding knifes. Love Opinel knives an they are a fantastic example of folding locking knifes.

[@slingshotwarrrior8105]

A very nice fighting folder, with a rich history!

[@abaddonpaladin]

A nice Navaja de baratero, as we call it in spanish. In some cases, it was used with a hat in the other hand, just like the illustrarion given. I belive it was a really popular way to fight in Chile, in the colonial era. In Argentina, we used a cape (a poncho) as a offensive and defensive tool.

[@IlBaroneRozzo]

Italy has (well, had...) a similar knife culture. Every region has its own traditional style of knife, and there were knife fighting schools until the 1960s, because it was a form of traditional martial art. The cloaked arm for parrying was a thing in Italy as well, and some knife styles are similar to the spanish navaja. Also, some styles had 3 clicks when opening the blade: the first was used as a warning to the rival in a potential fight, the second was a challenge and the third used to mean "I'm going to stab you".

[@oz_jones]

Yeah, using a cloak as a shield seems natural, especially if carrying a buckler is restricted in some way (either by law or social status).

[@lornbaker1083]

I've heard of knives that had multiple up 7 notches. The idea was the sound of releasing it was going to be similar to a violent hissing crackling sound as if you're a cat or a snake ready to just outright murder Most folks would run away. According to folk lore, at the sound of one being released, the ratcheting being a signal that anybody who is not involved in the fight needs to leave now or die, which is pretty cool. It basically had its own early warning system. In addition to basically being the best Close combat collapsible weapon that's ever been designed

[@joejones9520]

@@lornbaker1083 some people say the ratcheting navajas were so it could be locked open halfway and easily used for shaving. I know that the first notch is a good way keep it from swinging open when closed and the last notch of course it keeps it locked open but the ones in between are the puzzling ones..carraca is what the cool sound they make is called.

[@pedroviriato9356]

Sicilia y todo sur de Italia perteneció a España 200 años,algunas tradiciones españolas llegaron a Italia ,en el tema cuchillería puede que también .

[@robmdq]

You should take a look at the Argentinean Facón, the Gaucho's knife, still used nowadays

[@pedroviriato9356]

El Facón argentino fue llevado por españoles a ese país ,es el cuchillo canario.

[@ArkadiBolschek]

0:00 Pffft, what's so "obscure" about a navaja, that's one of the most common weapons arou- 0:03 _NEVER MIND_ 7:57 OMG that's the _Manual del baratero!_ I've got that in pdf! :D

[@andypanda4927]

Fascinating item - your inventory of blades and histories informative, almost consuming. Hope your inspiration continues. Thanks, again, Matt.

[@TheMrcassina]

This weapon is used by one of the characters of a late XIX-early XX century italian novel "il Corsaro Nero" from "italian jules verne" Emilio Salgari

[@fuferito]

Indian actor, Kabir Bedi played Salgari heroes, _Sandokan_ and _Corsaro Nero_ perfectly. Childhood hero to many 70s kids.

[@TheMrcassina]

@@fuferito kabir bedi worked in italy...they movies were italian

[@fuferito]

@@TheMrcassina, Yes, I know, but he was an international star.

[@SamuraiAkechi]

@@fuferito And spanish children were very fond of Curro Jimenez tv series back then

[@TheMrcassina]

@@fuferito absolutely

[@gallardoguitar]

The mentioned 19th century navaja fighting treatise is called "Manual del baratero", if someone is interested in.

[@complementarychaos]

My favorite aspect about these old Spanish folders is the legend that followed. I know Im four months late to the game pn this post, bare with me. The rough crowd at the time would call them "Carracas!", referring to the ratcheting sound the blade makes opening up. They used to say, "If you see the blade you lived. If you heard the blade...", well y'know.

[@BattleBro77]

What a gorgeous weapon

[@MasoTrumoi]

I found out about these about 7 years ago and grabbed one for myself not long after. The small ones are as cheap as any folding knife really. Love them tho. In some regions they're called Carracas because of the clicking noise their locking bar makes when you open them

[@39MercFlathead]

In Spanish, a navaja is a blade, not a specific type of blade. In Mexico an "arma punzocortante" (sharp pointed weapon) is illegal to carry. However, a sharp pointed tool is not. Whether the object is a weapon or tool depends on how it is used, or what the policeman who stops you thinks your intentions are. As one policeman explained to me, if you attack someone with a pencil, you were carrying an illegal arma punzocortante, and if you convince him that you are carrying a machete to do work, it is a tool.

[@dgd666]

In Spain you can legaly carry a knife only if it's a foldable blade and no longer than "cuatro dedos" (4 fingers) that is about 10cm (4 inches). Longer blades or fixed ones requires a deeper explanation to justify its presence in public places.

[@lrdkuzco]

@@dgd666 Not exactly so. You can carry non-automatic knives less of 11 cm in length and a single edge. Knives can be carried regardless of their length as long as they are not double-edged. In any case, a police officer can search them and even punish the bearer if he considers it appropriate.

[@markstockford9109]

Cold Steel Espada XL was modeled on these traditional knives, according to Lynn Thompson

[@inregionecaecorum]

I think the influence of that on the Bowie is quite clear.

[@sebastianiglesiasperez8472]

Actually, these are earlier than the bowie and quite probably influenced the bowie!😁

[@ricardosoto5770]

Jospeh "Pepe" Llure is said by some sources to had a spanish fencing school in Lousiana in the early 1800s, He taught the sword and the navaja. a couple of brothers last named Bowie might has been their alumni. The bowie is raelly a short sword with a navaja style blade.

[@mattfick5502]

Here In South Africa, smaller knives similar to that are called Okapi. They also have the ratchet mechanism and ring-pull. Here, because they're dirt cheap and disposable, they have quite a reputation for being used in crime Cold Steel make better versions

[@Sk0lzky]

Funny name, okapi is also a congolese animal which looks like a weird cross between a zebra and a dog

[@mattfick5502]

@@Sk0lzky Yep, that's a real Okapi :) I don't remember if you get them in South Africa. That animal is the logo for the knife company

[@EmilReiko]

I have one pulled at me in a somalian small store in a coloured neighbourhood, by a dude plastered in bob marley merch... the store owner pulled a panga on him and he left quickly.

[@astonemason9222]

I have my fathers antique collection of navajas. The knife shown here with the rattlesnake tail has a blade fabricated in Toledo, the knife however was assembled in France. Good video, great knives.

[@ptonpc]

I first read about using a coat on the left arm from a novel in then 1980s. Good to know there was a historical basis to it.

[@12clr12]

Beautiful Navaja, Thank You for sharing.

[@deniskozlowski9370]

Awesome, I've been waiting for a good video detailing the navaja for a long time! Some people believe that the Bowie knife was an evolution of this design.

[@fidelgonzalezlopez9342]

The shape the modern Bowie Blade has, is registered to exist in northern Spain since the 13 century.

[@outyonder33]

That's really curious that looks so much like the cold steel espada I can see where Glenn Thompson got his inspiration

[@Willy_Tepes]

Was the ratcheting meant as intimidation? I know that some places in Norway they put small steel balls inside a hollow tube in the knife handle to warn their opponent that a weapon had been drawn.

[@jairogarcia3901]

Yeah, that's basically it. Just as a sword sound when you take it out or a gun clicks when loading it, the ratchet is there for intimidation. In fact that's its only purpose, since it is very bad for the locking mechanism.

[@RCZM64]

Number of clicks varied, but the most "iconic" was/is seven. That gave them their most common nickname here of "siete muelles" ("seven springs"), despite having only one.

[@joesierolon5171]

finally somebody talked about the navaja they are BEAUTIFUL

[@Josh-rs6bj]

That is one incredibly beautiful piece!

[@robertschlesinger1342]

Interesting and worthwhile video.

[@AlSAMSAMA]

I don't know the origin of the word "Navaja" in Spanish (Castilian) , but it sounded familiar to me and resembled the Arabic word : nafaha/nafah (نفح) , which is a verb that means : blow/blow away , and the source of it : monaafaha (منافحة) which means : pushing away , and is usually used to describe resistance against assailants , and what is even more interesting is that I just found a more obscure meaning of "nafaha" in the dictionary that means : to strike someone lightly with a sword or other means (presumably to deter them and push them away without killing them).

[@jdzencelowcz]

I have a timber rattler extra large folder. It's more of a novelty, but it is pretty functional, the catch is on the end of the handle. Nice to see something familiar.

[@smolknife]

2:22 I will mention that a slipjoint (non-locking knife) can be used fairly safely with a point down edge in grip, with a plunging and plucking motion. The forces generated by the motion of your stab and rip would be working to force the knife open, rather than closed.

[@BCSchmerker]

+scholagladiatoria *The **_navája_** is a large folding utility knife that meets some (but not all) of the requirements that James Bowie wrote up for a fixed blade* in the wake of the 19 September 1827 rumble at Vidalia, LA, USA. The clip should be at keenest an ax edge at the back to mitigate damage to pocket liners; the main edge can be close to a razor in angles.

[@ricardosoto5770]

Bowie might has been exposed to spanish knife fighting in while in LA. it was a former french and before that spanish territory.

[@gillesmeura3416]

Mentioned in Carmen, the opera by Bizet, based on Posper Mérimée's livret, indeed in dueling context.

[@barnettmcgowan8978]

Excellent review of a rather intersting knife.

[@artawhirler]

Fascinating video, Matt! Thanks! You said that the navaja was so popular that it was also made in places outside Spain. I once heard that one of these places was the French city of Thiers which had been a knife-making center since Medieval times, and that the navajas they made there later became the inspiration for the famous "Laguiole" knives, named for a nearby French village, although many "Laguioles" were, and still are, made in Thiers.

[@corrugatedcavalier5266]

Great video! I've always been interested in these.

[@colinmcgrath2392]

They always make me think of Asterix in Corsica!

[@Sophocles13]

The Government is going to show up at Lynn Thompson's house to confiscate his Time Machine...

[@andrejmucic5003]

Very nice vid. I learned stuff. Thanks Matt!

[@gfhjkfghj4208]

Everybody who read comics by Francisco Ibáñez, like Mortadelo y Filemón (aka Mort & Phil and Clever & Smart), probably recognises that style of knife. But I always thought the size was a cartoonish exaggeration.

[@brunojesusguilperez8407]

Usually they are not that big. At least the ones from nowadays. But as you have seen in the video, they used to be huge when carried for fighting

[@odinlordofasgard9748]

Great video as always. We need more content about spanish weapons.

[@rhinolife13]

That is awesome. Now I have to find one. Great video

[@1Thunderfire]

I love the artistry of knives like these.

[@ryansandwich1086]

Really cool to see this unusual knife... Great video, and awesome work as always!

[@flapjakhatstak]

If you want a quality ratchet Navaja, JJ Martinez makes wonderful ones from four inches to ginormous ones the size of the one in this video. I have the standard bone handle one about 4-5 inches long and its been my primary pocket knife for about a decade.

[@andrewnawarycz3026]

Absolutely wonderful to see a navaja of decent size, I love the one I have it being a wonderful multi purpose knife

[@neonbebop]

You can buy this kind of navaja at every spanish road gas station. Any size you want, from smaller "legal to carry around" to the larger ones.

[@CeltKnight]

Thank you for this one! The Navaja is one of my favorite old-world fighting knives. I do not *yet* have one in my collection but it's on my bucket list. I do have several overly large folders (a folding Kukri from Boker, for instance) and I can see the attraction to what is essentially a folding short sword. Anyway, excellent video, as always.

[@powerplay4real174]

Really classy looking piece , true work of art for the blade series of the martial arts.

[@rix3333]

Opinel! My childhood's knife.

[@shuvoaps7271]

I want buy this knife,,,,place send me se sms buy & callecd address & way to collect this knife,,, how much price this knife

[@Eviligniter]

I didnd't find anything lacking with this vid, great job, its a very dear kind of knife to us spaniards,as you said, it was made famous during the napoleonic wars.

[@ziggydog5091]

Beautiful knife!

[@marclacey2263]

The film 'The Pride and the Passion' features a fight with these knives between Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant. I believe they are competing for Sophia Loren, which is a very good reason I'm sure you'd agree, but it's a long time since I saw it. As well as trying to impress Sophia, they are dragging an enormous cannon across the Spanish countryside. A ripping yarn, and worth the watch, if you're interested.

[@mpetersen6]

Grant uses Frank's knife against a different character. The mountain scenery was spectacular was it not.

[@cemetery895]

This is cool, I have the Espada XL, but if I wanted to go even larger than that, or an opinel 13, or a timber rattler scarab the only option I know of would be a old school navaja.

[@M.M.83-U]

Such an iconic weapon! Can I suggest the Italian duelling knives for the next episode? They are extra stabby.

[@Tareltonlives]

I'd love to learn more about Spanish knife fighting through the centuries and its permutations in the colonies (melding with native knife fighting)

[@miguelpestana314]

Bro. I don't know if you speak Spanish. Or if the channel has English subs. It should buy antiguo acero español Is a Spanish channel and it's full with exactly that sort of information

[@Tareltonlives]

@@miguelpestana314 Thanks! Spanish was my first language, so I'll check that out!

[@Tareltonlives]

I do wonder about the etymology of navaja vs cuchillo; technically speaking a cuchillo is a knife and navaja is a folding one, but I'd overheard people use navaja for "solid" knives as well.

[@Pablo_Abajos]

@@Tareltonlives in Spain we don't use navaja for fixed knifes

[@Tareltonlives]

@@Pablo_Abajos Must be a colonial thing then, since I've seen it in Mexican and Cuban texts

[@freman007]

The lock is a safety feature. It stops the blade closing on your fingers when you're cutting. Governments that ban locking knives want their citizens to be injured.

[@billzielke6798]

Thanks for that. The blade shape puts me in mind of a Bowie. Maybe the navaja influenced its development.

[@SamuraiAkechi]

There was a version about it, but very first Bowie knives looked more like butcher knives (like Bauernwehr, spanish flamenco knife, or brazilian puñal) rather than like the clip points we know

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

now I'm wondering if the Navajo tribe has anything to do with that

[@simonacerton3478]

@@SamuraiAkechi Bowie knives remind me a bit of the Saex in some ways but knife design rarely changes. The Navaja though is a unique design and looks quite effective for stabbing, cutting and even work.

[@ArkadiBolschek]

@@Yarblocosifilitico Fun fact: there is a connection! The name comes from _navahuu_ which is a native word, but when the Spanish came into contact with it, they heard it as "navajo" because of the similarity with "navaja".

[@HoJu1989]

@@Yarblocosifilitico As far as I know, no. The name first appears in Spanish colonial sources as "Apaches de Navahu" or something like that, so it's probably a native word that sounded similar and ended up a bit mixed up.

[@RiderOftheNorth1968]

I have a few newly made "ratchet" knifes by J.J. Martinez, the largest have a about 12" blade. I think one spanish term for the type is "caraca" or something like that?

[@MadNumForce]

In French the ratchet heel is called "cracra", from the sound it makes. But the lock system is called a "palme".

[@RiderOftheNorth1968]

@@MadNumForce Yes! There is a onomatopoeic word for it in spanish that is very alike the french word. And i am not talking about what the technical term for the mechanism is, i mean that it is called/nicknamed.

[@junichiroyamashita]

The ratchet system looks like the Cold Steel Kudu one,or Eland. Must be the same used for the Okapi.

[@LuxisAlukard]

That looks wicked!

[@joesierolon5171]

great video 👍🏻

[@Scarlet_Soul]

Classic intro there

[@salvadorsempere1701]

The maximum siza of a navaja that you can carry legally in Spain today it´s a 11 cm blade.

[@josesanchez-zf5sz]

i'm from granada in andalusia and i'm aswell a very big fan of navajas i will love to see more videos about how they were used because i allways have discussions about it but i think its pretty difficult to find reliable sources on this topic

[@phillipnunya6793]

Looks like an antique Cold Steel Espada.