The Corvo is a double-edged, curved

bladed weapon An edged weapon, or bladed weapon, is a hand-to-hand combat weapon with a cutting edge. Bladed weapons include swords, daggers, knives, and bayonets. Edged weapons are used to cut, hack, or slash; some edged weapons (such as many kinds of swords) ...

typically used in Chile.

History

There is no defined origin of the Corvo, but the tool is considered as the national knife of Chile, like Navaja in Spain and Bowie knife in the United States.

Design

Corvos are approximately . When fighting with a corvo, the wielder will not

feint Feint, a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing, is a maneuver designed to distract or mislead. A feint is achieved by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, ...

with the blade itself; traditionally it is used in conjunction with a rag, poncho or stick in the off-hand, which allows the bearer to parry an incoming attack. The corvo is then used to

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "Military exercise, war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objecti ...

with a swiping, slashing or stabbing motion.

Variants

There are a few different models of corvo, the modern versions are: *''Corvo Comando, or Pico de Condor (Condor's Beak)'', with a nearly 90 degree bend that spans a third of the blade. *''Corvo atacameño or Garra de Puma (Cougar Claw)'', which has a very slight curve to the blade (equal to approximately 45°) but is normally longer than the Commando variant.

Usage

Initially a tool similar to a

grappling hook A grappling hook or grapnel is a device that typically has multiple hooks (known as ''claws'' or ''flukes'') attached to a rope or cable; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may cat ...

, Corvos were widely used in combat during the

Chilean War of Independence The Chilean War of Independence (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Guerra de la Independencia de Chile'', 'War of Independence of Chile') was a military and political event that allowed the emancipation of Chile from the Spanish Empire, Spanish Mona ...

and the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

, which for the latter, particularly during the

Battle of Arica The Battle of Arica, also known as ''Assault and Capture of Cape Arica'', was a battle in the War of the Pacific. It was fought on 7 June 1880, between the forces of Chile and Peru. After the Battle of Tacna and the following Bolivian withdra ...

. It was not standard issue, but rather a personal weapon or tool that the soldiers brought with them from home. Due to its popularity, the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

refined the Corvo and added it to their arsenal in 1963. Corvo Chile

In 1974, in preparation for a war against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, Army officials consulted Corvo users in prison for developing a combat system using the weapon. During the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

under

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

, Corvos were commonly used to torture political prisoners before being executed, especially during the

Caravan of Death The Caravan of Death () was a Chilean Army death squad that, following the Chilean coup of 1973, flew by helicopters from south to north of Chile between September 30 and October 22, 1973. During this foray, members of the squad ordered or pe ...

era. The

FAMAE FAMAE (''Fábricas y Maestranzas del Ejército'', "Factories and Workshops of the Army") is a Chilean state-owned firearms manufacturer. Its products are used by the Chilean armed forces and the ''Carabineros'' police force. The company produces ...

started producIng modernised Corvos in 1978, which the Chilean Army brought it to the border with Argentina for the first time. Today, it is the national and traditional symbol of Chilean commandos and it's used in military training, both in the infantry and special forces.

Anecdote

Per local legend, but now widely debunked by historians, Chilean soldiers would consume chupilca del diablo in order to drive themselves into a frenzy prior to close-combat, attacking the enemy with their corvos.

Users

References

FAMAE Military knives Weapons of Chile {{Chile-hist-stub