• Home
• All Posts
• Forum
• UY Blogs
• About Me
• FAQ
• UY Resources

El Afilador

Posted on March 29, 2007
Filed Under Culture, Vocabulary | 3 Comments

Last January, I was strolling down Avenida Arocena in Carrasco when I heard a whistle tune that sounded very familiar. I thought it reminded me of the melody knife sharpeners played in Brazil when I was little. However, I was certain this craft had disappeared decades ago. I turned around and to my pleasant surprise there he was, a walking relic, el afilador.

As a kid, I had always been fascinated by the knife sharpeners and how quickly they could fix a knife, a pair scissors, saws, pliers, chisels, barber shears, hoes or anything else with a blade. Whenever they came by our neighborhood, I would get close and watch them work. I remember they did much more than just sharpen blades. They would also fix loose handles, polish rusty knives, un-dent pans, among other things.

Their homemade mobile workbench was ingenious. It could be flipped in seconds from a pushcart into a self-standing sharpening platform. The same single wheel used to push it around, when in action, became a flywheel that kept the whetstone turning at an even speed. The contraption was driven by an oscillating foot pedal connected to the flywheel. Some afiladores (amoladores in Portuguese) had a bicycle like the one I saw in Carrasco. Others had a tricycle that could house a more elaborate workbench.

Later in my trip, I heard that, like everywhere else, this craft is also dying in Uruguay. A lot of things seem to be conspiring against them: serrated knives, inexpensive cutting instruments, the disappearance of the straight edge razors etc. The proliferation of apartment buildings and air-conditioned houses must also have contributed to the problem since they make it hard for their whistle to be heard. I suspect the only reason the craft has not died altogether is the lack of alternative employment, especially for older workers.

I read somewhere there’s a belief in Uruguay that hearing the flute of the afilador before a soccer game brings bad luck. This must be bad for business indeed, since in Latin America there are soccer matches throughout the year, and often. I am not sure if a game was being played the day I was in Carrasco or whether the afilador made someone worry. I know I felt lucky.

Vocabulary:

Cuchillo - Knife
Flauta del afilador – Sharpener’s flute (or multi-tone whistle)
Navaja de Barbero – Straight edge razor
Sierra - Saw
Silbato – Whistle (the sound)
Tijeras - Scissors
Tocando pito – Blowing a whistle

Other posts in Culture

• Usufruct and Inheritance Issues
• Tipping Custom in Uruguay
• Things I Find Puzzling About Uruguay
• Personal Account of a Bribery in Uruguay
• Telenovelas in Latin America
• Learning Spanish Through Uruguayan Radio
• Family Structure in Uruguay
• Beach Customs in Uruguay
• A Dispassionate View of Punta del Este
• Uruguayan Mate Custom

Other posts in Vocabulary

• Car and Driving Spanish-English Glossary
• Uruguayan Spanish Conjugation
• Uruguayan Spanish Real Estate Terminology
• Uruguayan Mate Custom
• Marijuana Legal Status in Uruguay
• Types of Cheeses Made in Uruguay
• Things to Consider Before Hiring Household Help
• Observations on Pricing in Uruguay
• Uruguayan Banking Vocabulary
• Banners Commonly Seen in the Streets of Montevideo

Comments