Swords and edged weapons - Antique Arms Collectors Society of

28/03/2012
Swords and edged weapons:
with reference to 19 C. French swords and
their influence on Russian sword design
th
by Dr. Peter Busch
27th March 2012
Swords and edged weapons
Swords are generally either eastern or
western
This
talk is ‘western‘western-biased’
We focus on the last couple of centuries
The focus is also on massmass-production more so
than individual handcrafted approaches
27th March 2012
flicker.com
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28/03/2012
Swords and edged weapons
Blade manufacture
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
… (see film)
Hammering out steel
Rolling in to shape
Grinding
Heat treating
Proving
Polishing
Etching
Mounting
27th March 2012
swordforum.com
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/sword-making/query/wilkinson+sword
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/ceremonial-swords/query/wilkinson+sword
armor.com
Swords and edged weapons
Hilt manufacture
…
formerly forgeforge-welding
Casting or
Stamping
Scabbard manufacture
Timber
covered with leather
Thick leather with metal mounts
Sheet metal shaped over a mandrel
27th March 2012
antiqueswordsonline.com
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28/03/2012
Zlatoust
18th C
Weapon manufacture took place in Tula (south of
Moscow)
1811
Zlatoust (Urals) gets underway with edged weapon
production
Visit made to Solingen, Germany
to encourage German masters to emigrate
train Russian smiths in sword manufacture
1837
32 of the 42 masters now Russian
27th March 2012
Alexander I 18011801-1825
Prussian styles in place …
Peter
III (1728(1728-1762)
Catherine the Great (1762(1762-1796)
… a move to French styles
ma-shops.com
ebay.com
27th March 2012
ma-shops.com
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28/03/2012
Nicholas I (1825(1825-1855)
old-swords.com
Increase of French influence
Infantry
i.e
sabre 1826 pattern
French 1821 pattern
Start
to see the Shashka (formally) appear
Dragoon 1841 pattern
i.e.
27th March 2012
French 1829 pattern horse artillery sabre
This sabre sets the scene for Russian swords until today
collectiblefirearms.com
swordforum.com
Alexander II (1855(1855-1881)
‘Indigenous’ Russian styles continue
i.e.
1841 pattern dragoon and 1834/38
pattern cossack shashkas
Start to see St. George award strap being
worn with golden award swords …
tsarsarsenal.com
ebay.com
27th March 2012
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28/03/2012
Alexander III (1881(1881-1894)
Introduction of the ‘system of 1881’
Too
many styles of swords in the military,
need to standardise/simplify
Influence of firearms in combat …
means
sword less likely to be ‘front‘front-line’ weapons
leibstandart.com
tsarsarsenal.com
27th March 2012
Nicholas II (1894(1894-1917)
Styles continued with the 1881 system as
before
However
1904--1905 Russia beaten by Japan
1904
in the RussoRusso-Japanese war
ramifications
for ‘white power’ to be beaten by
asian country
loss of morale led to introduction of 1909 patterns with
monogram of monarch
tsarsarsenal.com
eskoff.net/porskuva/Tera/Anna13.htm
tsarsarsenal.com
27th March 2012
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28/03/2012
Soviet era (1917(1917-1991)
Zlatoust still manufacturing
1927
standardised on
sabre
Cossack Shashka
swordsandantiqueweapons.com
Dragoon
tsarsarsenal.com
1940
Sword
for commanding officers
Generals sabre
Swords now for senior officers
collectrussia.com
tsarsarsenal.com
27th March 2012
References
Mollo, E., (1969) Russian Military Swords: 18011801-1917 Historical
Research Unit Publication London
Prokudin
Prokudin--Gorskii (1909(1909-1912) The Empire that was Russia: The
Prokodin--Gorskii Photographic Record Recreated Library of Congress
Prokodin
collection Washington U.S.A.
Wilkinson
Wilkinson--Latham, R., (2012) Sword Making: Craftsmanship in
Action DVD
27th March 2012
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