Help with knife dug up in Texas garden

[tqueen]

My parents dug this up in their garden last week. They live in Burleson, Johnson Co., Texas. They had this house built in 1961 and prior to that this was open undeveloped land. I realize the knife is in poor condition, but am curious to its age. Being unfamiliar with knife collecting, I can't quite make out the name of the knife maker to try and look it up. From rooster comb to blade tip the knife is 10 inches long. Any expertise would be greatly appreciated or advice on where to find the information. I'm not expecting it to be a treasure of great value but want to know the history.

Thanks

 

[Erik in NJ]

Don't know what it is, but it's a great looking knife and a very cool find. Appears to be from around the turn of the 20th century is my best guess. Someone here will ID it.......and Welcome to TreasureNet!!

 

[tqueen]

thanks for the encouragement! can't wait to find out more - and thanks for the welcome

 

[releventchair]

Looks Mexican.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Hope you'll stick around--you came to the right place...best finds forum on the Internet....lots of very knowledgeable folks here. I'm surprised at the minimal amount of rust/pitting on the blade...Did you dig the knife like that or did you clean up the blade.

Get yourself a detector and see what other treasure you can unearth in your parent's yard

 

[Loco-Digger]

I suspect this from a meat carving set. I could not find a match online, but it's my guess.

 

[tqueen]

With the red eyed rooster I also wondered about it being Mexican. Wonder what the cream colored handle is. Would it be bone? Its chipped on the edges but since I know nothing about any of this I don't know how to tell.

 

[tqueen]

Unfortunately my dad cleaned the blade before I could tell him not to. He was trying to read the lettering on the blade, but it was so corroded he stopped. Certainly couldn't make out the letters before, and still can't make them all out. I can't decide if the name starts with an N or a V

 

[texjim]

I want to say Mexican too. Try and take a piece of paper and a pencil and see if you can bring out the letters on it. That is a neat knife.

 

[tqueen]

That must be some tough piece of meat! Do you mean butchering? I could see that. Any thoughts on what the name on the blade is? By the way, thanks for your input.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Looks like VILL....IS

You could rub a thin coat of oil on it and hold it on an angle to the light and you may be able to make out the letters better.

 

[Fullstock]

It's Mexican, type in "Mexican knife" on Ebay and there's usually one or more on there. It's a nice find though, congrats!

 

[tqueen]

The letters that come up with the pencil trick are pretty much the same ones you can see. It looks like it starts with a VIL, and maybe VILLA unless it's not a flourish at the beginning of the word. The end of the word is so worn it's hard to know for sure what the letters are. It could end in IS - I just can't tell.

 

[Fullstock]

Here's a link to a similar Mexican knife currently on Ebay.

Mexican Decorative and Usable 7 1 2 in Knife | eBay

 

[tqueen]

Tried the oil, but it didn't really help. I'm wondering if the letters on the end are not IS, but maybe the S is a 5.

 

[tqueen]

Will go take a look - thanks!

 

[tqueen]

I don't think there's any doubt it's Mexican. Lots of knives with similar design. Would really like to find out when it was made. I'm still trying to make out the letters on the knife to find the maker. I appreciate your time and input. Hopefully I will find someone who knows about Mexican knives. Here in Texas there's got to be someone with the expertise. I just have to find them! Thanks again for the help.