The Corvo is a

bladed weapon An edged weapon, or bladed weapon, is a melee 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) may also permit ...

typically used in Chile. It is a double-edged

knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evid ...

with a curved blade of approximately 12 inches. Initially a tool similar to a grape hook, it was widely used in combat during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

. It was not standard issue, but rather a personal weapon or tool that the soldiers brought with them from home. 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. When fighting with a corvo, the wielder will not

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

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 "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...

with a swiping, slashing or stabbing motion. Due to its popularity, the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade. In recent years, and ...

refined the weapon and added it to their arsenal. Today it is the traditional symbol of Chilean commandos and its use is encouraged in training.

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.

References

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

Variants

See also

References