Sorocaban knife

Commonly known today as the Sorocaban knife, it was also known by different names in the past and other regions of Brazil. In the first half of the 20th century, it was known as enterçado machete (facão enterçado) or Sorocaban machete (facão Sorocabano) in other states of Brazil.[1] The different names may preserve clues about its origins and are discussed by enthusiasts and researchers of the weapon. The word enterço could suggest a relationship with a Portuguese infantry sword known as terçado. Another possibility is that enterçado is a corruption of the Portuguese verbs interserir and inserir (meaning "insert") or intercalar (meaning "intercalate"), due to the peculiar construction method in which the blade is inserted between two metal plates that stem from the handle, forming the weapon's ricasso.[1][2]

Town of Sorocaba in 1827, painted by Jean-Baptiste Debret.

Of uncertain origins, the Sorocaban knife probably began its development at the end of Brazil's colonial period, achieving its defining characteristics around the 1830s, during the Empire, according to iconographic evidence of the time.[2] The uncommon enterçado construction technique may have been used due to the relative difficulty to obtain or manufacture good blades in Brazil before the 20th century, making it necessary to repurpose broken imported sword blades and adapting them to a new, locally manufactured, handle.[2][3]

Sorocaban knife belonging to Pedro Nolasco de Oliveira (Pedrão), one of Antônio Conselheiro's chiefs during the War of Canudos.

Even though it was also manufactured in other cities of São Paulo and Paraná, the toponym Sorocabana derives from the fact that the city of Sorocaba used to be an important center of its manufacture and probable place of origin. Since the discovery of iron deposits in Araçoiaba, in 1597, by Afonso Sardinha,[4] the region of Sorocaba attracted rustic small-scale smelters. However, only in 1810, after the transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil, did King John VI of Portugal grant permission for large scale industrial exploitation of the ore, allowing for the appearance of many local and foreign cutlers in the city. Also during the 19th century, the centrality of Sorocaba in the network of trading routes established by the tropeiros allowed for its diffusion throughout the southern hinterlands of the country and consolidated the relationship between the city and the knife.[2] A versatile weapon, the Sorocaban knife was widely used in several internal conflicts in Brazil, such as the War of Canudos[5] and Constitutionalist Revolution.[2]

From the end of the 19th century onward, the Sorocaban knife became industrially mass-produced, and most makers began replacing the enterçado construction technique with a full tang structure. In some cases, the blades were imported from Solingen, and received final assembly and finish in Brazil, such as the knives made by Domingos de Meo.[6] The knife also became very common in São Paulo's rural areas, being used not only as a self-defense weapon but also as tool for daily use.[1] In modern times, they have been mostly replaced by other implements and weapons, but antiques and premium handmade knives are highly sought after by collectors for their historical, aesthetic and cultural value.[7]