The Ciboleros were the Spanish and mixed blood buffalo hunters of Northern New Mexico. They hunted buffalo for meat and robes on the Llano Estacado aka Staked Plains of North Texas, Eastern New Mexico, and SE Colorado. To learn more about these intrepid hunters here is a link and there is even more info available elsewhere for those interested in researching the subject.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/poc02The following pics show my vision of what one of these hunters might have personally carried as a skinning/meat cutting set. All blades are based on styles commonly available in the area during the 1820-1870’s period and the materials used for the sheath also match what would have available to the folks living then and there.
The beadwork on the cuff is an exacting copy of the beadwork on an original So Cheyenne pipe bag. The So Cheyenne along with the Kiowa, Comanches, Utes, and Jicarillas would have been the tribes that the Ciboleros would have most often interacted and traded with on their hunts.
The Skinner has a 5 7/8” long blade by Dennis Miles of Double Edge Forge who builds his knives using only the, materials, tools, and methods available to an 18th Century frontier blacksmith/cutler.
The Sticker has a 6 ½” blade re-shaped from a vintage John Russell Green River butcher knife blade from circa 1870’s. The blade was in relic condition with no handle along with a broken tip and tang so nothing historically valuable was ruined to make this piece.
The 6 3/8” blade of the Steel is from the mid-20th century.
All blades were re-handled using deer leg bone, pewter, buffalo calf skin rawhide, and linen cord for the sewing and the cord wraps.
The Sheath is deer rawhide over bark tan cow hide, with a brain tan deer hide beaded cuff. Besides the 8/0 glass pound beads decorating the edges and cuff, there are brass tacks and tin cone dangles with buffalo hair tufts. Brass beads and tin cones decorate the belt loop ties. The entire set was then given a patina of age – used but not abused……….
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