Navaja
The locking mechanism itself consisted of pinion teeth (piñones or dientes) cut into the blade heel (talón de la hoja) that are engaged by a lug attached to either the backspring or a separate spring-loaded metal latch as the knife is opened.
The metal-to-metal contact produces a distinctive clicking or ratcheting sound when the blade is opened, and the navaja de muelles was popularly termed the carraca in consequence.
[13] Its association with barateros, pícaros, jácaros and rufos (gamblers, rogues, ruffians, and thugs) comes from its frequent use as a weapon of the underworld, where it was often used to enforce the collection of gambling debts or to rob innocent victims.
[1] The name was a reference to the oils or unguents applied to the dying as part of the Catholic last sacrament, as it was believed that a man encountering such a knife in a violent confrontation would invariably require administration of the last rites.
[1] Evidence of this rests in museum collections of ornate antique examples, all featuring a standard of costly materials and laborious craftsmanship that could only have been commissioned by the upper classes.
[19] The classic Andalusian navaja of the craftsman era utilized forged carbon steel blades predominantly sourced from Spanish communities with a long history of swordmaking and cutlery manufacture, such as Albacete, Santa Cruz de Mudela, and Toledo.
While the ratcheting carraca can still be found on some knives, most examples now use a simplified locking mechanism consisting of a lug attached to the backspring that engages a single slot machined into the blade's heel.
The blade is of the finest Toledo steel...[22]In 18th and 19th century Spain esgrimas de navaja (fencing, or knife-fighting schools) could be found in the major cities and throughout Andalusia, particularly in Cordoba, Málaga, and Seville.
[1][17][21] As time went on, these schools began to depart from teaching traditional sword-fighting and fencing techniques in favor of simplified attacks and defenses based largely on the concept of deception, distraction, and counterstrike.
With his cloak or jacket wrapped about his left arm, his formidable weapon glittering in his right hand, and his lithe body poised for a spring, he is an interesting study for the spectator, as well as for his antagonist.
The postures and guards are changed with bewildering rapidity, and, should the right hand be disabled, the cloak and knife are shifted in the twinkling of an eye, and the duel proceeds, until one or both the combatants are killed.
[1] The navaja sevillana was a fighting knife characterized by a ratcheted locking mechanism, a long and slender blade with a prominent clip, a needle-sharp point, and a finely honed, razor-sharp cutting edge.
[1] During the 18th and most of the 19th century, large navajas were traditionally worn pushed into a belt or sash, with the distinctively curved, fish-shaped handle left exposed to ease removal.
"[1][18] With the advent of mass-produced, low-priced handguns and an increasingly effective national police force, the Guardia Civil, the lock-blade navaja had become the weapon of choice of the lawless and the disreputable.
Reduced in size and length (navaja corta), the design still enjoys some popularity as a pocketknife and utility blade, and both mass-produced and individually hand-built knives of varying craftsmanship and material quality continue to be sold in Spain, primarily to tourists, collectors, and edged weapon enthusiasts.
The decline in popularity of the large fighting navaja sevillana may have been accelerated by the passage of stringent laws in Spain and in the rest of the European Union proscribing the possession and/or carrying of armas blancas.
