Category Archives: Articles

On the Use of Indian Terms for Identification of Weapon Types

Kurochkin A. (2015). Ob ispol’zovanii indijskih terminov dlja identifikacii vidov oruzhija [On the Use of Indian Terms for Identification of Weapon Types]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 1, pp. 57 — 69. Kurochkin A. Abstract: The European nomenclature describing Indian edged weapons was already developed in the 19th century and since then has not undergone any change or thinking over or critical analysis. By the way the nomenclature includes Indian terms perceived by European scholars as authentic names of different weapon types. More to the point these definitions were often referred to any type of edged weapon regardless their meaning while a final variant presented by the Europeans as a regional name depended usually on the geographical place the word was heard. Most words used in India to determine edged weapons are generic terms based on the verbs “to kill”, “to cut”, “to slash”, “to hurt”, “to split”, etc. In…

Undocumented Russian Fascine Knife of the Shuvalov Observation Corps

Zakharov D., Terekhov E., Ustyanov A. (2015). Neopisannyj russkij tesak Shuvalovskogo Observacionnogo korpusa [Undocumented Russian Fascine Knife of the Shuvalov Observation Corps]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 1, pp. 112 — 117. Zakharov D. Terekhov E. Ustyanov A. Abstract: Russian arms of the Empire Period despite of many published pieces have been studied insufficiently. Hence the appearance of yet unknown models is quite understandable.  The article deals with a Russian fascine knife which hasn’t been listed in any catalogue of Russian edged weapons. The samples of the weapon are kept in the collections of the Artillery museum in Saint-Petersburg and in the Tula Museum of arms and armor. The authors attribute it not as a modification of a well-known engineer fascine knife of the 1797 version but as its previous model of the 1756 which is an infantry fascine knife of the Shuvalov observation corps. Shuvalov Observation Corps was…

The “Paren’ knife” – Legends and Facts

Arkhangelsky L. (2015). Paren’skij nozh. Legendy i byl’ [The “Paren’ knife” – Legends and Facts]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie. — 2015. — № 1. — S. 82 — 100. Arkhangelsky L. Abstract: In the article L. Arkhangelskiy reconstructs and describes the manufacturing technique of the so called “paren’ knives” – the knives which were forged in the village of Paren’ on the north of Penjinskiy district of the Kamchatka Region (Kamchatka Krai). The village seems to have sprung up in the 18th century and got its name from the river Paren’ which banks it was situated on. Now the village is almost extinct. The knives which were manufactured by the koryaks from Paren’ used to be very common in the whole north-west of the Russian state. The local reindeer breeders, hunters and fishermen appreciated these knives higher than any other because of their form fitting perfectly the local necessities and conditions and their…

Mineral Surveyor V.F.Ludlov’s Small Sword

Anikin K. (2015). Shpaga markshejdera V.F. Ludlova [Mineral Surveyor V.F.Ludlov’s Small Sword]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 1, pp. 118 — 123. Anikin K. Abstract: The article deals with an interesting sample of an edged weapon from the collection of the Sverdlov Regional Museum of Local Lore. It is a small sword with a made-to-order blade which belonged to a mineral surveyor V.F.Ludlov. The weapon is of good provenance. It appeared in the museum in March 1913. Gottlib Wilhelm Ludlov was born in 1779 in Turingia, got an education in “mining&quarrying” and entered into the Rusian service in 1805. The last reference to him dates back to 1825. The blade of the small sword which is an officer infantry sword of 1798 production year was specially made in Zlatoust, one of the Russian centers of edged arms manufacturing in the beginning of 1820s. The attribution is based on an…

Western Georgia Broadswords and Sabers with Sloping Hilt without a Crossguard and Their Place in the Evolution of Caucasus Weapons with Long Blade

Bakradze I., Kiziria V. (2015). Zapadno-gruzinskie palashi i sabli s naklonnym jefesom otkrytogo tipa i ih mesto v jevoljucii kavkazskogo dlinnoklinkovogo oruzhija [Western Georgia Broadswords and Sabers with Sloping Hilt without a Crossguard and Their Place in the Evolution of Caucasus Weapons with Long Blade]. Istoricheskoe oruzhievedenie [Weapons History Journal], № 1, pp. 5 — 29. Bakradze I. Kiziria V. Abstract: The article is devoted to kabiani khmali, a weapon with long blade which is considerably little known outside Georgia. The authors define it as a type of a cavalry sword which emerged in the end of 17th – beginning of 18th century in Samgrelo and Imeretia in Western Georgia. The whole number of the weapon examples preserved both in museums and private collections is small and many of them are associated with Georgian famous ruling families, noblemen and politicians of the 18th-19th centuries. The authors mark out and analyze…