Slavic knife of the 10th century. Four forms of Slavic knives. Cossack boot knife

The history of blacksmithing among the Slavs, reconstructed according to archaeological data, goes back centuries, originating long before chronicle times. In order not to climb into such jungle, let's turn to the times of the annals and fast forward to Ancient Russia. Unusual national knives are more characteristic of small peoples living in any specific natural conditions. Such, for example, is the traditional multi-functional Eskimo ulu knife, originally made of stone (usually slate) or the large Malay parang knife, necessary for cutting your way through the jungle. Our Slavic ancestors, who lived in the middle latitudes, preferred to have multifunctional knives of a simple design and medium size on hand.

If we remember the main historical events, which took place at the turn of the X-XIII centuries, it is not surprising that the flourishing of crafts (including blacksmithing) is associated primarily with the northern lands of Russia. With the development of arable farming, which replaced fire, or slash-and-burn farming, the importance of blacksmithing sharply increases.
Here it is appropriate to recall how iron forging and all previous operations were carried out in those distant times. The process of turning the brown mass of marsh iron into knives, axes and swords is covered with myths and legends from the first to the last step. Finding the accumulation of iron ores was not easy. First, they drove a stake into the swamp swell and determined their luck by a specific sound. The mass adhering to the stake was tried on the tongue. The presence of a sour taste confirmed the finding. Having stripped off the moss, they removed the ore-bearing layer and loaded it into shoulder baskets in order to transfer it to a dry place. Then the mass, oozing with a rusty liquid, was dried, crushed, sieved, enriched and loaded into a house with charcoal. That's how they got the shout out. The blacksmith repeatedly forged iron, squeezing slag out of it and compacting it. internal structure. By saturation of bloomery iron with carbon, it was turned into steel.

The study of forged products from Novgorod excavations allows us to conclude that metal processing is at a high technological level. There is a hypothesis according to which these technologies were mastered by the Novgorod masters not without the help of the Scandinavians. But this is only a hypothesis, and the indisputable fact remains that it was Novgorod Rus that became the largest metal processing center, the influence of which then extends to all the surrounding regions, including the Volga-Kama interfluve.
The leading technological scheme for processing blades can be considered a three-layer package, when three strips of metal were welded - two (iron) on the sides and one (steel) in the center. With repeated sharpening, a harder steel always comes out on the tip. Novgorod craftsmen skillfully used forge welding and heat treatment (that is, hardening). The vast majority of welds are thin and free of slag inclusions. In order to qualitatively weld iron and steel with different content carbon, knowledge of the temperature regimes of welding is necessary. Until now, blade welding, when steel is forged in a package, is considered one of the most complex technological operations.
Outwardly, the knives of the Novgorod masters were simple and recognizable. However, their form was worked out for a long time, which made it possible to create an almost universal tool for any chore. Most of the knives found in Novgorod have a blade about 70-80 mm long and 18-25 mm wide, with a butt thickness of 3-4 mm. In cross section, the blade has the shape of a straight wedge (hence the word "blade" comes from). The butt of the blade is sustained either in a straight line, or lowered to the point. The hilt, as a rule, is made of wood or bone;

Old Russian knife

A typical old Russian knife of the X-XI century looked something like this. The length of the blades of such knives ranged from 4 to 20 centimeters. The handle is wooden, somewhat less often - bone, very rarely - metal.

The Old Russian combat knife of the same period differed from the usual Old Russian knife in a longer blade, a longer bone handle and such a sharpening of the blade, which, according to modern knife terminology, is very close to “one and a half sharpening”. Such sharpening significantly increases the penetrating power of the knife.

There are two more types of ancient Russian combat knives worth mentioning:

First of all, boot knife(shoemaker), mentioned in Russian chronicles from the 12th century. This is a narrow and curved knife, which the ancient Russian foot soldiers and cavalrymen supposedly wore in their boots as a cold weapon of the last chance. An alternative version is that the boot knives were mounted in a sheath on the saddle (behind the cavalryman's boot).

Secondly, of interest is the underside knife (underside knife), which Russian soldiers wore under the saidak (cases for bows and arrows), that is, on the belt on the side. In historical sources, these knives have been mentioned since the 16th century, but perhaps this term was already in use in the 15th century. Things are ambiguous with the shape of the sling knives. The most convincing version looks like that, according to the place of wearing, they generally called large combat knives worn on the belt. And, accordingly, combat knives, both with curved and straight blades, could be called sub-knives - it all depended on the personal tastes and financial capabilities of the owner.

Mower

A mower, sometimes also called a "woman's ax", is a large utility knife with a wide and thick blade. It was usually made from a fragment of a scythe (hence the name), and when the scythes stubbornly did not want to break, they were made from any scrap metal that came to hand.

The mower can be safely called the Russian analogue of the machete - this huge rough knife is successfully used for chopping branches from cut down trees, clearing mowing from undergrowth, chopping bones, and even for scraping the floor in the house.

Hunting "Samsonov's Bear Knife" ( late XIX century)

The author of the design of the "Samsonov's bear knife" is a well-known bear hunter (lived in St. Petersburg) Andrievsky Mikhail Vladimirovich (1849-1903), the Jägermeister of the Highest Court (Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr.). In 1894, in the journal Nature and Hunting, he published an article “Regarding the newly invented mechanical horn”, in which he described in detail the history of the creation of the bear knife: “I consider the knife of the American system to be the most convenient knife with small changes made by me personally. in the shape of. This knife has a double-edged blade that is sharp at the end. With notches on the sides, six inches long (26.7 cm), one inch wide (4.45 cm) and eight millimeters thick. The blade of the knife is separated from the handle by a steel crossbar, the handle is made of hardwood and is held on the blade with a wide screw. This knife is worn on a black waist belt in a wooden sheath covered with black leather, the ends of which are trimmed with blued steel. The dimensions of the knife and its balance are calculated so that it is comfortably held in the hand and it is excellent for chopping, cutting, stabbing and ripping open the belly with an upward or downward pressure. The first such knife was perfectly made for me by the Tula master Egor Samsonov, and then they began to make such knives at the Zlatoust state-owned factory. In the diary for April 1887 there is an entry about the knife that served Andreevsky as a model: “I always carry an American hunting knife with me, with which you can chop and stab, they built a raft.”

Yegor Samsonov made his knives from "English carriage springs" - the same steel. A description of the technological process of manufacturing this steel is known. “Spring steel was heated in a forge where oak or birch coal burned. Air was pumped by hand bellows. After that, the red-hot sheets were corrected on the anvil. Then blades were made from them in a locksmith's way, everything was done by hand. After that, the blades underwent a series of processes: cementation, regeneration, then hardening and tempering, and finally aging. In the groove made in the corner of the forge, blanks of blades were laid out. From above and below they were covered with a catalyst and charcoal. This was heated to 900-925 degrees Celsius and kept in this heat for 4-5 hours. This time is due to the calculation that carbon penetrates 0.1 mm into steel in 1 hour. Then the blanks were cooled and heated again, but without the presence of a catalyst. This process took 3 hours and was done to evenly distribute the carbon throughout the steel. After three hours, the blanks were immersed in oil. Half-cooled in oil blanks were kept in air until cooled to 300-325 degrees ( of blue color steel), after which they were finally cooled in oil. As soon as the workpiece was completely cooled, it was heated to 175-150 degrees and again allowed to cool in oil. This process lasted for 12 hours. After that, the workpieces were wiped dry, and already passed the final sharpening.

parensky knife

Its name corresponds to the place of origin - the Kamchatka village of Paren. By design, the parensky knife is very similar to the products common in Finland. Currently, the term "parensky knife" means a hand-forged knife with a blade made of a dissimilar composite material - they say that with parensky knives it was even possible to remove shavings from the blades of ordinary table knives.

To date, the village of Paren has become a remote village, and the technology for making knives is considered lost - so, those very Paren knives remained in people's memory only in the form of legends. The knives now made under this name have little in common with these legends.

Bogorodsky knife

The name of this carving tool came from the village of Bogorodskoye, a center of traditional woodcarving, whose symbol is the well-known toy - "Blacksmiths", depicting a man and a bear, who take turns beating hammers on the anvil, one has only to pull the movable bar.

The Bogorodsk knife has a straight short blade. It is successfully used for both coarse and fine carving. It is often made by carvers for themselves, so the design, shape of the handle and the cost of such knives can vary greatly.

Yakut knife

Not a single sphere can do without the traditional Yakut knife - byhaha, the design of which has not changed for many centuries. economic activity Sakha people. Its shape is ideal for long, painstaking work, allowing it to be carried out with minimal energy consumption. Blade profile is asymmetrical.

Sharpening is subjected to a slightly convex left (if you hold the handle towards you) side of the blade, unlike other knives with an asymmetrical profile, in which, as a rule, sharpening is done on the right side. There is a logical explanation for this: the bulge on the blade facilitates the processing of wood, cutting meat and fish (including frozen), and skinning animals are simplified.

finca

In Russia, the knife that came to us from Finland was for a long time considered exclusively a weapon of criminal elements and was even banned until 1996. However, its true purpose lies elsewhere. The Finnish knife is multifunctional, it is perfect for cutting meat, cleaning fish, indispensable for camping and for household needs. The Finnish is characterized by a short straight blade, a bevel of the butt of the clip-point type or in Russian “pike” and a mounted handle.

Of course, not all traditional knives, the design of which was formed on the territory of Russia, are Russian knives. In my opinion, for the sake of justice, we should put aside the traditional Caucasian knives (Northern Caucasus), Yakut knives, Buryat knives, and other ethnic types of knives that were formed among the indigenous peoples living on the territory of Russia. There is at least one major exception, namely the Finnish knife (finca), which became so widespread in Russia/USSR in the first half of the 20th century that it actually became Russian. national knife. However, many Russian models of Finnish knives have significant design differences from traditional Finnish knives (puukko) that exist in Finland.

The knife has been and remains one of the most important items that accompany a person throughout his history. Now we sometimes stop noticing it, because the knife dissolves among the many other things that surround a person's life. But in the distant past, a knife was often the only metal object that a person possessed. AT Ancient Russia the knife was an attribute of any free person. A knife hung on the belt of every woman. A child, at a certain age, received a knife with which he never parted. Why was this subject given such importance?
The knife was not only an everyday functional thing. In ancient people, the perception of the world took place through the prism of magic. Therefore, the magical functions of the knife, in which our ancestors believed, were no less important. He possessed many magical properties that he shared with his master and they tried never to give him into the wrong hands. They swore on him. They were protected from witchcraft. The groom gave it to the bride at the betrothal. When a person died, the knife left with him, he was placed in the grave of the owner.
This is, of course, a somewhat idealized picture. In real life, they lost knives and bought new ones, lent them, gave them away, and those that had worked out - knives worn almost to the butt - were simply thrown away. The knife was a versatile and most common tool. This is confirmed by the fact that knives are often the most massive finds during excavations. In Novgorod, at the Nerevsky excavation alone, 1440 copies of knives were found. During the excavations of ancient Izyaslav, 1358 knives were found. The numbers are impressive, aren't they?
It seems that the knives were simply lost in packs. But of course this is not the case. Even if we take into account the corrosion of metal that has lain in the ground for hundreds of years, it is still clear that many knives are chipped and broken, that is, they have lost their working functions. The conclusion suggests itself about not very high quality products of ancient blacksmiths ... In fact, their quality was relative - just like in our time. There were high-quality knives that were expensive, but there was cheap consumer goods. The first category just included those knives that in Russia any free person wore on his belt, regardless of his gender. Such knives were quite high quality and by modern standards. they cost good money. The second category consisted of those knives, whose quality was incomparably lower than Chinese stainless steel on layouts. They really often just broke. When this happened, they were given to blacksmiths for reforging. And more often, out of annoyance, they threw "to hell away, out of sight."
But we will not allow ourselves disrespectful remarks about the ancient Russian blacksmiths. Their capabilities and technical arsenal were very limited. Our contemporary, even a very high-level blacksmith, deprived of high-quality steel and tools for its processing, will be able to do little in such conditions. Therefore, we bow deeply to the ancient blacksmiths - they are the best, because they were the first!

Berestyannik, dezhnik, karnachik, sauerkraut, dagger, hoarder, klepik, gag, block, koltik, mower, pigtail, kosnik, kosor, bone cutter, jamb, kotach, kshennik, shovel, misar, musat, knife - woman, penny knife, a man's knife, a chef's knife, a tyapalny knife, a spout, a secret, a cutter, a chapel, a chapel - 31 and that's not all.
The knife was used both during cooking and for various household needs: for plucking a torch, cutting brooms, in pottery and shoemaking, in the manufacture of wooden products ...
The use of a knife at the dinner table required certain rules to be followed. A knife for cutting bread at dinner, in the family circle, was served only to the owner, when everyone was already at the table; the owner took a loaf of bread and drew a cross over it with a knife, and only after that he cut it and distributed it to family members.
The knife should lie with the blade to the bread. It was not allowed to eat from a knife, so as not to become evil (here the connection with murders and bloodshed is expressed - directors widely use this technique in films).
It was impossible to leave a knife on the table overnight - the evil one could kill. It was not necessary to give someone a knife with a point - a quarrel will occur with this person. There is another explanation, but this later. The knife served as a talisman against evil spirits, so they didn’t give it to a stranger, especially if they knew that the person was bad, because. the knife will pick up his energy (remember the Japanese and their reverent attitude towards their swords).
The knife was widely used in rituals, during love spells, in folk medicine, etc. In maternity rituals, a knife was placed under the pillow of a woman in labor, along with fragrant herbs and three woven wax candles, to protect her from evil spirits.
When a baby appeared, the father forged a knife himself, or ordered a blacksmith, and this knife accompanied the boy, the young man, the man all his life.
When a child was brought into the house, after naming, a knife, along with coal, an ax and keys, was placed on the threshold of the house, through which the parents had to step (step) with the child, often the child himself was applied to objects lying on the threshold.
The knife, along with other sharp and hard objects: scissors, keys, arrows, pebbles, was put in the cradle of the child immediately after his birth, which was supposed to make up for the “insufficient hardness of the child” and was not removed until his first teeth appeared.
If the child did not start walking for a long time, a "tow" was tied to his head. A mother without a spindle spun a long and thick thread, made a “fetter” out of it, with which she entangled her legs standing child, took a knife and cut the "fetter" between the feet on the floor. The rite was called: “cutting the fetters” and was supposed to help the child quickly learn to walk.
At the first haircut of a child, he was seated on a table, usually on a casing, under which was placed a spindle or comb for a girl, an ax or a knife for a boy.
In men's associations, parties, artels, everyone was required to carry a knife or dagger, made specifically for combat use and not used anywhere else. The use and wearing of a knife was strictly regulated.
known three ways to wear:
1 - on the belt,
2- in the top of the boot,
3 in chest pocket.
We are interested in the position "on the belt", because. consider it more ancient.
During the ceremony, the knife was often shown hanging on the belt, while on weekdays it was worn discreetly. Hanging a knife; (dagger) on the belt was very functional in wartime.

Everywhere in the Tver region they emphasize the connection between a combat knife and the concept manhood, honor, courage. The ban on carrying a knife was perceived as an insult to man's dignity.
The knife (dagger) appears as an attribute of the male principle in small folklore genres, and the image is concretized by comparison with the male organ: “What does the Cossack have above the knee, below the navel?” Answer: dagger. Apparently, the association of a belt knife - a dagger and a masculine principle is close to the archaic consciousness.
A very vivid illustration of this assumption is the Scythian idols of the 6th-5th centuries BC.
All of them, with a general stinginess of processing and a minimum presence of attributes (neck hryvnia, rhyton horn), have an unusually carefully depicted knife (dagger), located in the place of the male reproductive organ, as if replacing it with a qualitatively whiter in a high way masculine military principle, some of them do not even show facial features, but the knife is required, because it characterizes the quality of the subject.
A very characteristic ritual challenge to battle was sticking a knife into the ground (if the ceremony was on the street and into the mother - if in a hut). It was like this: one of the fighters performed a combat dance to the ritual tune “for enthusiasm” with characteristic chants, approached the one whom he wanted to see as his rival and stuck his knife in front of him, after which he went out to the ritual dance, which grew into a ritual dance. the battle.
What is the interpretation of this ritual action? With all obviousness, we face the opposition of male and feminine. It has long been a unanimous opinion of scientists about the deification of the earth by the Slavic peoples: the mother is the cheese earth, the native land, the motherland, the mother is the Russian land.
Feminine - the giving birth to the beginning of the earth is perceived not so much in sexual terms, but in the epic, global, cosmic, universally giving birth.
Exactly the same - epic - masculine principle was traditionally endowed with a belt knife (dagger).
The ritual intercourse of these two epic principles is not an association with a sexual intercourse or a fertility rite, the mystery transfers all the rites of the usual plan into the subtle world, elevating the evaluative characteristic of any action, refracting it into the magical world.
Therefore, the fighter himself, who sticks the knife, participates in the act of mystical intercourse, he began only nominally, insofar as it is an act of intercourse between the heavenly male spirit and the earthly female spirit. "The sky is the father, the earth is the mother, and you are the grass, let yourself be torn."
As a result of this intercourse, we see, the fighter himself or his opponent should be born (transformed). He enters into a relationship with the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother and receives from them strength and support for exploits. It is no coincidence that, having fallen into trouble, the heroes ask the mother of the damp earth for help and strength immediately “arrives twice”. A standing knife is also compared to an erect penis, because in folk medicine, an erection is a sign of recovery, male power. Absence - dying, loss of yari - vital energy. The ability to stick a knife in and keep it stuck means to keep the status of a magical warrior, to ensure the right of access to the power emanating from the Earth-Mother and from Father-Heaven. (Pay attention to the center of the circle: the custom in communities, artels, among the Cossacks, when discussing issues, they sat down, forming a circle, in the center of which a knife was stuck: I think now it’s clear why?).
Along with the identification of the weapon with its owner, the tradition spiritualizes the weapon and endows it with, as it were, its own will, detached from the will of the owner. Everyone remembers from childhood the images of a self-cutting sword, a self-cutting club, - wonderful helpers fairytale heroes, which, at the request of the owner, begin to destroy the enemy and return themselves, having done the job. The attitude to weapons as to a comrade is constantly emphasized: "A faithful friend - for a shoe leg."

A knife is not just a household item or a weapon, it is a whole philosophy, deeply rooted in Slavic culture, in the traditions and customs of our Ancestors.

A cycle of programs with Chulkin V.I. "All About Knives"
Chulkin Viktor Ivanovich designer (37 models of knives), technologist, inventor, creator of the patented multi-purpose knife "Siberian Bear", knife throwing trainer.
Teaches topics: 1. Traditions and rituals, 2. Design, 3. Manufacturing, 4. Operation, 5. Sharpening, 6. Throwing, 7. Criminalistics, etc.

Chulkin V.I. All about knives. Introductory lecture.

Chulkin V.I. All about knives. Traditions and rituals. Part 1.

Chulkin V.I. All about knives. Traditions and rituals. Part 2.

Chulkin V.I. All about knives. Traditions and rituals. Part 3.

Chulkin V.I. All about knives. Characteristics of a combat knife.

Chulkin V.I. All about knives. Knife sharpening.

Chulkin V.I. All about knives. knife efficiency.

It can be said without exaggeration that in the Iron Age, the knife, after ceramics, is the most massive category of archaeological material. These tools are found on almost every monument, and on some - in tens and hundreds. In Volkovysk, for example, 621 knives were found, and at the Nerevsky excavation site in Novgorod - 1444. The accumulated material is huge and it is impossible to indicate even approximately the total number of finds in Eastern Europe.

Knives are ordinary material, so they are published reluctantly and carelessly. Usually, researchers are limited only to stating the presence in archaeological complexes these guns. Often, general considerations regarding their shape are illustrated by one or more drawings of knives, sometimes rearranged, without scale, without fixing areas of breakage and loss, without the information necessary for classification.

These circumstances make it so difficult to study knives that attempts to systematize them within Eastern Europe have never been made. At best, researchers stop at systematizing the knives of specific archaeological sites or certain archaeological cultures. But small volumes of the material under consideration, according to the law of small numbers, lead to excessively amorphous schemes, making it difficult to distinguish the most characteristic leading forms. Apparently, most archaeologists have an opinion about the complete uniformity of the forms of knives, because "a knife of the usual type" is a fairly common definition of these tools.

It should be said about one more, perhaps, universal delusion. In archaeological literature, the term "knife" refers only to the blade. It is not right. Blades of knives, sickles, braids. the tips of spears and arrows that came out from under the blacksmith's hammer are only parts of tools and weapons. Typically, the classification covers the preserved parts of objects. However, a single type of spearheads does not yet indicate a single type of spears themselves. The poles could be of different lengths, therefore, there could be different battle tactics. Arrowheads of the same shape could be from complex and simple bows.

The same applies to knives. The blades could be made locally, or they could be acquired as a result of an exchange or trade. Both at present and before, fragments of various tools were adapted for blades, which was reflected in the presence of random forms. So, for example, the results of a metallographic study of blacksmith products from the early Slavic settlement of Khanska-II, Kotovsky district of the Moldavian SSR, allowed G. A. Voznesenskaya to come to the conclusion that all the knives of this settlement were forged from a very heterogeneous metal used a second time. The raw material for the local blacksmith was mainly iron scrap 1 .

The external design of knives - scabbards, handles, methods of their manufacture, ornamentation, and the way they were worn were regulated by ethnic traditions. Only this set of concepts, and not a random set of features, can determine the "knife type". Therefore, it should be said with certainty. that there are no “ordinary type knives” at all, on the contrary, there are a huge number of types.

The author has been collecting data on the knives of the early Iron Age for a number of years. The richest collections of the State Hermitage, domestic and foreign literature were viewed. The total amount of collected material is about 10 thousand items. The collection of material and its systematization have not yet been completed, but what has been collected is sufficient for a number of preliminary conclusions that are directly related to the topic of interest to us.

Despite the apparent monotony, the knives of the second half of the 1st millennium AD. e. Eastern Europe clearly fall into four broad groups, in each of which, with a detailed study, numerous options can be distinguished.

Group I(Fig. 1) is represented by knives with the following characteristic features. The line of the edge of the back of the blades, representing a smooth arc with a peak in the center, directly passes into the handle. Blades come across with a weakly pronounced transition to the handle (Fig. 1, 5-6), but these differences are not fundamental. for both forms coexist and represent the same archaeological monuments. The blade, together with the handle, has a length of 6 to 20 cm. Fluctuations in size in either direction are known, but rare. A stalk in the form of a narrow triangle 4-5 cm long, as a rule, is separated from the side of the cutting edge by a smooth ledge. The maximum width of the handle is about half the width of the blade. It can be noted that the back of the knives (together with the handle) is identical in design to the back of the sickles common in the forest zone of Eastern Europe 2 , and this is not surprising, because the areas of these sickles and knives of the first group coincide.

The width of the blades of knives of group I is about 2 cm, the thickness is about 2 mm. The cutting edge of whole specimens is straight and only towards the end is bent upwards. The ratio of the length of the blade to the length of the handle is about 3:1 or 2:1. Heavily worn blades are extremely rare - the length of the blade, as a rule, exceeds the length of the handle.

The handles of the knives were wooden and round in cross section. The handle was hammered into the handle by about half its length. The scabbard was leather - there are no traces of wood on the blades.

The origin of Group I knives can be traced very clearly. Their prototypes are knives with a hunchbacked back of the forest zone of the early Iron Age - Milogradskaya, Yukhnovskaya, Zarubnetskaya, Dnieper-Dvinskaya, Dyakovskaya, Gorodets and other cultures 3 . The process of straightening the back began in the first centuries of our era on the southern outskirts of the forest zone (Chaplinsky, Korchevatovsk, and other Zarubinets burial grounds) 4 . In the Upper Dnieper and Upper Volga regions, knives with a humpback back are still found in the 4th-5th centuries. (Trinity settlement near Moscow. Tushemlya in the Smolensk region, etc.) 5 . In the third quarter of the 1st millennium A.D. e. knives with a humpbacked back practically disappear, and knives of group I become the leading form in the territories of the Upper Dnieper region (starting from Novy Bykhov), the Upper Volga region. Baltic countries 6 and Finland 7 . They are found in the Baltic and Late Dyakovo sites around the settlement of Tushemlya (Tushemlya, Dekanovka, Uzmen, Bantserovskoye. Kolochin I, etc.), in the "long mounds" of the North-West of the RSFSR (Soviy Bor, Podsosonye, ​​Lezgi. Severik. Black Creek. Kryukovo) eight . In the VIII-XI centuries. these knives still exist 9 , but together with the knives of groups II and IV that appeared in the forest zone (see below).

Group II(Fig. 2) is represented by knives with the following characteristic features. The back of the blades is most often in the form of a weak arc, slightly raised at the edges. The handle is in the form of a narrow triangle, usually 3-5 cm long, separated from the blade by pronounced ledges 3-5 mm high. The ledges are most often asymmetric relative to each other and form obtuse angles with the back and the cutting edge. The greatest width of the cuttings is about half the width of the blade.

The width of the blades is up to 2 cm. The thickness is 1.5-2 mm. The cutting edge of well-preserved specimens is slightly S-shaped. The length of the blades ranges from 10 to 20 cm. Strongly ground blades are extremely rare. The ratio of the length of the blades to the length of the handle is approximately 3:1 or 2:1.

The handles of Group II knives were mostly wooden, round in cross section. The handle was driven into the handle about half its length. The scabbard was leather - there are no traces of wood on the blades.

The earliest pronounced forms of knives of group II appear on the so-called "post-Zaru Binets" monuments of the II-V centuries. and the Desenie and Middle Dnieper (Kazarovichi, Pochepskoe, Lavrikov Les, Tatsenkn, Khodorov, Shchuchnka) 10 . Since the second half of the 1st millennium, knives of this group have been the leading form on Slavic monuments in the territories of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, the GDR, Moldavia and the Ukrainian SSR 11 . In the Upper Dnieper region, knives of the P group appear around the 8th century. and. e. Them. along with knives of group I, they are found in the Smolensk and Belarusian groups of "long mounds" (Fig. 2. 12, 14-15) 12 . On the Gnezdovsky settlement, located on the right bank of the river. Mumps in the Smolensk region, the time of occurrence of which refers to the time not later than the start 9th century, her knives, with the exception of single ones, belong to group II 13 .

Unfortunately, published knives of the VIII-IX centuries. there are extremely few from the Upper Dnieper and the North-West of the RSFSR, so it is difficult to say how massively the I group is represented here. So far, one can only take revenge that these knives appear here no earlier than the 8th century, that they coexist with knives of group I, and that there is no evolutionary connection between these groups.

From the X-XI centuries. the vast majority of knives in graves and in rural-type settlements are already represented by group II 14 . The trend of separating the handle from the blade with ledges to the X-XI centuries. extends to all parts of the forest zone.

However, it would be wrong to consider only the influence of Group II knives as the reason for the change in the local traditional form. Approximately simultaneously with them, but already from the north, knives of the IV group appear (see below), under the strong influence of which, in contrast to the rural one, was the handicraft production of the northern Old Russian cities.

Group III (Fig. 3) is represented by tools in wooden scabbards. Knives in wooden scabbards were one of the elements of the cultures of the nomadic tribes of the steppe zone of Eastern Kvropa. North Caucasus, vast expanses of Siberia and Central Azin. The evolution of these antiquities is well traced from the Scythian and Sarmatian eras.

Of course, it is impossible to give a detailed classification, to highlight all the nuances of the problem of the origin and subdivision of Group III knives in one study. In this paper, the author considers only one of the variants of knives of this group - the early Middle Ages Alanian from the territories of the Don region and the North Caucasus. Nomads - Alans - were the eastern neighbors of the Iodneprovsk Slavs. The cultures of both have fundamental differences, and this can be clearly seen in the traditional forms of knives that characterize these ethnic arrays.

Alanian knives, represented by the antiquities of the Saltov culture, have already been considered in the literature. Several knives that characterize the Saltov culture as typical were noted by I. I. Lyapushkin 15 . S.S. Sorokin, examining the iron inventory of Sarkel and Velaya Vezha, divided all the knives found here into two sets and attributed about 40-50 items to the lower - Saltov - layer 16 . Recently, a group of Ukrainian archaeologists investigated the Saltovskaya knives of the basin of the river. Don. which they divided into five various types 17 .

In these studies, mainly the material of the settlements was considered, a number of which are multilayer monuments. The richest material of burial grounds was not involved. Some details were not paid attention to, which are fundamental features for Saltovski knives. These shortcomings turned out to be so significant, and the identified features were so subjective, that the image of the early medieval Alanian knives, which can be imagined from these works, was distorted.

If we turn to the materials of the burial grounds of the VIII-IX centuries. In the Don region and the North Caucasus, one can be convinced that the Alanian knives represent a surprisingly stable, uniform series. They have the following characteristic features. The back of the blades forms a weakly pronounced arc, smoothly descending towards the nose. The cutting edge is arcuate, but steeper than the back. The central axis of the blade and handle is shifted towards the back. The length of the blades ranges from 6 to 14 cm. The thickness is 1.5 mm, the width of the blade at the base is 1-1.5 cm (depending on the length). The handle is subtriangular in shape, 2-4 cm long. The width of the handle at the base is about half the width of the blade. The ratio of the length of the blade to the length of the handle is slightly more than 3:1.

The handle is always separated from the blade by strictly perpendicular ledges, which are structural features. A narrow - 1.5-2 mm wide and thick iron clip was welded to the base of the blade, which is a kind of lock that locks the knife in the sheath. This is a very fragile, often unpreserved part. Its presence is evidenced by the strict perpendicularity of the ledges and the traces imprinted by it, which can be seen on the unrestored metal.

Several hundred such blades were found in Dmitrovsky. Ust-Lubyansky. Verkhnesaltovsky, Borisovsky 18 burial grounds and in burial grounds on the river. Durso near Novorossiysk, in North Ossetia, and in the vicinity of Kislovodsk 19 .

Group III knives, including Alanian ones, had a wooden scabbard. The Alanian scabbard was made from two halves of an originally split plank. The split edge was not subsequently processed, so the connection of the halves was perfect. After the wooden base was made, a leather sheath with a seam on the left side was stretched over it, apparently in a wet state. Very often, the scabbards were paired and built into one common leather sheath, and the cutting edges of the blades were located on opposite sides of each other. obviously to reduce the overall thickness of the scabbard. Sometimes a bronze or silver tip and clip were put on top of the scabbard. In cases of twin and triple scabbards, the clip and tip were common. The need for a leather case was determined by the fact. that the wooden planks of the Alanian scabbards were not fastened with pins.

The scabbard was narrow and thin. Their width slightly exceeds the width of the blade, the thickness is less than 1 cm. At the end, the scabbard is slightly tapered, at the end there is a straight or slightly arched cut. The length of the knives exceeds the length of the blade by about one third.

Unfortunately, several well-preserved Alanian scabbards have been published without a detailed description of their design 20 . The author did not have the opportunity to examine these finds. However, finds in the burial grounds of Polomsky, Brodovsky (Prikamye), Moshevoy Balka (Northern Caucasus), where sheaths of other variants of group III were found, make it possible to identify general patterns. characteristic of the whole group. Based on these materials, the missing parts of the Alanian sheaths can be reconstructed.

The socket for the blade was slightly oval in longitudinal section, so that only the clip and the tip of the blade were fixed in the scabbard. This feature is typical for all wooden scabbards, including ethnographic ones. If the nest ideally repeated the parameters of the blade, it would be impossible to pull the knife out of its sheath in conditions of high humidity.

In addition to the blade, part of the handle was also included in the sheath. This is evidenced both by the remains of the turf from the sheath on the handles, and the sheath from the Moshcheva Beam (Fig. 3. 12). The handles were unusually thin, oval in cross section. Their width was the same as the width of the blade, the thickness was about 0.5 cm. The handles were made from wood other than the sheath, or from a different material altogether. This is evidenced by the remains of a bright yellow substance preserved on the cuttings. One bone handle from the Dmitrovsky burial ground is known (Fig. 3,4). but this is a unique case. The shape of the handles was flat, long, slightly subtrapezoidal, with a slight expansion at the back end.

Paired and triple sheaths, a kind of cassettes, are known to the author only on Alanian monuments. In the burial grounds of Durso, sometimes up to 6 blades, i.e. 2-3 cassettes, were found with the buried. The thinness and lightness of the handles gives the Alanian knives good ballistic qualities, and the numerous knives in the graves and the completeness of their packaging allow us to make an assumption that the Alans used the scabbard as a throwing weapon.

Group IV(Fig. 4) is represented by tools with a narrow shank 6 to 12 cm long. The most common shank is 8-10 cm long. The tip of the stalk is awl-shaped. sometimes bent and riveted. Occasionally, there is a quadrangular iron or bronze washer on the bent tip. The bent tip and the washer, apparently, have been broken off and lost for many knives of this group. This design of the cutting is due to the fact. that he pierced the handle through and bent at the back end.

The blades of the sheath of group IV, as a rule, have clear ledges, about 2 mm high, separating them from the handle. The spine of the blades is straight and only slightly lowered at the end. The width of the blades is 1.5-2 cm, which is about two thirds of the width of the handle at the base. Back thickness 2-3 mm. It is difficult to indicate the true length of the blade, because this is, perhaps, the only group of knives in general, the blades of which are sharply worn, sometimes almost to the ground. Probably the most common were blades with a ratio to shank length between 2:1-1:1. The knives had a long cylindrical handle and a leather sheath - there are no traces of wood on the blades.

The origin of group IV knives can be traced quite clearly. In the Merovingian and Viking times they existed in Norway and Sweden 21 . From there, they spread to the territory of Finland, but here they exist along with knives of group I 22. In Eastern Europe, the same knives appear in the last quarter of the 1st millennium and. e. The earliest finds come from horizons E 3 -E 1 of the earthen settlement of Staraya Ladoga and from the hills in the vicinity of this settlement. In the future, these knives are distributed about Prnladoga. fall into the Baltic and the Yaroslavl Volga region. Wherever there are Scandinavian burials or Scandinavian materials, knives of group IV 23 are also known.

A very interesting situation develops in the northern territories of the Old Russian state in the 10th-11th centuries. Novgorod knives of this time have a strict narrow stern-backed blade with a slightly rounded end, giving it a dagger-like appearance, a long narrow handle, which is rarely less than 10 cm. A small but distinct ledge on the blade (Fig. 4, 17) 24 . Judging by the publications and constant references to Novgorodian materials, similar knives are known in the Baltic states, in all northern ancient Russian cities without exception, and in large burial grounds, such as Gnezdovo and others. 25

The shape and design of Novgorod knives of the X-XI centuries according to B. L. Kolchin was created on the basis of centuries-old experience of blacksmithing 26 . But whose experience? Knives groups I-III they could not serve as the basis for the Novgorod ones. In addition, they coexist with Group IV knives in parallel. Knives of the 10th-11th centuries, such as Novgorod ones, are closest to group IV, the evolutionary chain of which they continue. It is hardly possible to be mistaken in concluding that the Northern Russian urban craft production in the field of knife making in the 10th-11th centuries. was under strong Scandinavian influence.

At the beginning of the XII century. the picture changes dramatically. In Novgorod and other cities, knives appear, the blade of which has become wider and much thinner. The back on the blade slightly rises to the base and end, the ledges increase, the handle and stalk are shortened. simplified technology system manufacturing (Fig. 2. 16) 27 . These are already Group II knives. Therefore, we can conclude that by the beginning of the 12th century, the influence of the Scandinavian form was weakening, and the urban North Russian handicraft production, following the rural district, switched to the manufacture of knives of a common Slavic type.

So, we have established that the Early Middle Ages Eastern European knives are divided into 4 broad groups with their own development history.

Group I is typical for the Baltic, Finnish tribes and the population of the Upper Dnieper and the North-West of the RSFSR in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. e.

Group II is typical for the population of the "post-Zarubinets" culture of the III-V centuries. in the Desenye and Middle Dnieper regions and for the Slavic population (starting from the 6th-7th centuries) living outside the forest zone. Around the 8th century group II knives appear in the Upper Dnieper region, and begin to spread by the 12th century. become universal.

Group III is typical for the nomadic population. In this paper, the Alanian version of the knives of this group was considered, which is one of the persistent elements of the culture of the early medieval Alans.

Group IV is typical for the German-speaking population of Northern Europe. In the middle of the VIII century. knives of this group appear on the northern borders of Eastern Europe, spread until the 12th century. have a strong influence on the Northern Russian urban handicraft production.

Bibliography

1. Voznesenskaya G. L. Results of a metallographic study of blacksmith products from the early Slavic settlement of Khanska-II of the Kotovsky district of the Moldavian SSR. Appendix to the monograph; R a f a l o v i ch M. A. Slavs of the VI-IX centuries in Moldova. Chisinau, 1972. p. 239-241.
2. Miiasyan R. S. Classification of sickles of Eastern Europe of the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. - ASGE, 1979. no. 20.
3. Tretyakov P. II., Schmidt E. D. Ancient settlements of the Smolensk region. M. - L.. 1963, p. 15, 165; Melny to about in with to and I O. II. Tribes of Southern Belorussia in the Early Iron Age. M.. 1967. p. 61.
4. Samoy l about in with and and I. M. Korchevatovskaya burial ground. - MIA, 1959, .Ms 70, tab. VIII; Pobol L. D. Slavic antiquities of Belarus. T. I, Minsk, 1071. fig. 66.
5. Smirnov K. A. Dkovskan culture. M.. 1974. tabl. II; Goryunova E. I. ethnic history Volga-Oka interfluve. - MIA. 1961, No. 94. p. 88.
6. Among the most famous monuments, Rekete, Pabariai can be mentioned. Raginians. Mezhuliany (Lithuania), Kalnieshn (Latvia), Leva (Estonia). Uzmsn (Pskov region). Tushemlya, Nekvasino. Demidovna (Smolensk region). Sarskoe. Popadya (Yaroslavl Volga region). Bantserovskoe. Kolochin. Voronin. Taimanovo (BSSR) and many others. Tretyakov I. P., Schmidt E. A. Ancient settlements ..., fig. 59. 8 10: Schmidt E. A. On the culture of the refuge towns of the Left Bank of the Smolensk region. - MIA, 1970, Jv® 176, fig. 3. 15-16; With peace and o in K. A. Dyakovskaya culture .... p. 38; Leontiev A.E. Classification of knives of the Sarsky settlement. - SA. 1976. No. 2. p. 33-44; Mooga I. Die Eisenzeit in Lettland bis etwa 500 n. Chr. /. Tartu Dorpat, 1929. Taf. XXXI; JJrtans V. Kalniesu otrais ka-pulauks.- “Latvijas PSR vestures muzeja raksti. Archeolo-gija*, Riga. 1962. tab. IX, 1-4.
7. Salo U. Die frUhromischc Zeit in Finniand. Helsinki. 1968. Abb. 100. S. 154; Kivikoski E. Kvarnbacken. Helsinki. 1963.
8. Burial ground on the lake. Kryukovo (Novgorod region). Report by S. N. Orlov to the Loya 24.03.72.
9. Danilov I. Excavations by students of the Institute of Mounds in the Gdovsky and Luga districts of St. Petersburg Province. and in the Valdai district of the Novgorod province. - In the book: Collection of the Archaeological Institute, book 3. St. Petersburg, 1880. v. 2. fig. 1. 3. 4; Essays on the archeology of Belarus. part 2. fig. 10. 12: Sizov V.I. Mounds of the Smolensk province. -MAR. SPb.. 1902, howl 28 p. 57-58.
10. Maksimov E. V., Orlov R. S. Settlement and burial ground of the second quarter of the 1st millennium. e. at the village Kazarovnch near Kyiv. - In the book: Early medieval East Slavic antiquities, l., 1974. fig. 6. 2: Maksimov E V. New Zarubinets monuments in the Middle Dnieper region. - MIA, 1969. No. 160. fig. 6. 8-Yu-. He is. Middle Podieprovye at the turn of our era. Kyiv, 1972. pl. XIII, 10, II. XIV. in: 3 a and o rn i s in F. M. Pochep settlement.-MIA. 1969. No. 160. Fig. 13. 19-21.
11 Rusanova I.P. Slavic antiquities of the VI-IX centuries. between the Dnieper and the Western Bug. - MYSELF. 1973, no. EI-25, tab. 32; Havlyuk P. I. Early-Vyanskns settlements in the basin of the Southern Bug. - In the book: Early medieval East Slavic antiquities. L, 1974. fig. 11, 20; Lyapushkin I. I. Novotroitskoye Settlement. - MIA, 1958, No. 74, fig. ten; Rikman E. A., Rafalovich I. A. Khynky I. G. Essays on the history of culture of Moldova. Kishinev. 1971, fig. 12; Yura P.O. Ancient Kolodyazhin. - Archaeological monuments of the URSR. Kiev. 19G2, v. 12, fig. 29. 10; Vzharova Zh- Slavic and Slavic-Bulgarian settlements in the Bulgarian land of the VI-XI century. Sofia, 1965, p. 18. 32; Hachulska-Ledwos R Material at archeologiczne Nowej Hut in Krak6w 1971, vol. 3; Cilinska Z. FrUhmittelalterliches Graberfeld in Zetovce - "Arehaeologica Slovaca-catalogi", Bratislava 1973. vol. 5.
12. Chernyagnn H. H. Long mounds and hills - MIA. 1941, No. 6. tab. VIII. 28; Sedov V.V. Long mounds of the Krivichi. - CAM, 1974. no. PI-8, tab. 27, 18.
13. Lyapushkin I. I. New in the study of Gnsz-lov. - AO 1967. M., 1968. p. 43-44; Schmidt E. A. To the question of ancient settlements in Gnezdovo. Materials for the study of the Smolensk region. Smolensk. 1974, no. VIII. rice. 7.13.14.
14. Schmidt E. A. Mounds of the XI-XIII centuries near the village. Kharlapovo in the Smolensk Dnieper region. .Materials for the study of the Smolensk region. Smolensk. 1957. issue. 2. with. 197-198; Sedov V. V. Rural settlements central regions Smolensk land. - MIA. 1960, .V? 92. fig. 36.
15. Lyapushkin I. I. Monuments of the Saltovo-Mayak culture. - MIA, 1958, No. 62. p. 125, fig. eighteen.
16. Sorokin S. S. Iron products of Sarkel - Belaya Vezha. - MIA, 1959, No. 75. p. 147.
17. Mikheev V.K., Stepanskaya R.B., Fomin L.D. Knives of the Saltovskaya culture and their production. - Archeology. Kyiv. 1973. issue. 9. p. 90-98.
18. Collections of Verkhnesaltovsky (partially), Ust-Lubyansky. Dmitrovsky. Borisov burial grounds are kept in the State Hermitage.
19. Shramko B. A. Antiquities of the Seversky Donets. Kharkov. 1962. p. 282; Kuznetsov V. A., Runich A. P. The burial of an Alanian combatant of the 9th century. - SA. 1974. No. 3. fig. 1.14; Koren I to V. A. Alanian graves of the VIII-IX centuries. North Ossetian. - SA. 1976, No. 2, p. 148-157; Runnch A.P. Rock burials in the vicinity of Kislovodsk. - SA, 1971, X? 2. with. 169. fig. 3.7;
20. Shramko B. A. Antiquities .... p. 282; Runich A.P. Burial - fig. 3.7.
21. Peterson I. Vikingetidens redskaper. Oslo. 1951, fig. 103-110, s. 518; Arbman H. Birka i die Griiber. Ta-fcln-Uppsala, 1940.
22. Hackman A. Die alterc Eisenzeif in Finnland. bd. 1. Helsingfors. 1905, S. 12-13.
23. Orlov S. N. Newly discovered early Slavic soil burial ground in Staraya Ladoga. - KSIIMK. 1956, hch 65. p. 94-98; Gurevich F.D. Works of the Slavic-Lithuanian detachment of the Baltic expedition-KSIIMK. 1959, No. 74. fig. 41: Leontiev A.E. Classification ..., fig. I, 7; Raudonikas W. I. Die \"or-mannen der Wikingerzeit und das Ladogagebiet. Stockholm. 1930; Nerman B. Grobin-Seeburg Ausgrabfungen und Funde. Stockholm. 1958. Abb. 209.
24. Kolchin B. A. Iron-working craft of Novgorod the Great. - .MIA. 1959. L? 65. p. 48.
25. Sizov V. I. Mounds .... p. 53.58; Leontiev A.E. Classification ..., fig. I.7.
26. Kolchi n B. A. Decree. op., p. 53.
27. Ibid., p. 48.

The archaeological excavations and scientific works of historians involved in the study of Ancient Russia testify to the widespread use by ancient Russians of such edged weapons as a knife. Boot - this definition received a small blade, which was attached to the boot of a warrior and was considered a weapon concealed carry. According to other sources, he was indispensable assistant ancient Russian riders when refueling arrows. The Russian boot knife was found in many graves, which indicates the high efficiency and popularity of this weapon.

Slavic boot knife

How to wear a blade, they came up with, taking into account the features of the traditional footwear for all Slavic peoples at that time - boots. These shoes provided the owner with comfortable and safe movement in the steppe or in the forest - they protected the legs from blows from branches or snake bites. The absence of laces was very convenient, which made it possible to quickly put on shoes. And most importantly, it was very convenient to hide a knife behind the top of the boot. Over time, it became a tradition for the Slavs to hold a knife behind the top of their boots.

What did the Russian “bootmaker” look like?

The design of edged weapons made it possible to inflict stabbing on the left side of the enemy - in the area of ​​the hypochondrium. Characteristics knife:

• Length - 25 cm.
• The curved shape of the narrow blade made it possible to reach the heart upon impact.
• The blade had a raised point.
• Sharpening - one and a half.
• Traditionally, the handle of a knife was wrapped with leather cord. It was designed to absorb sweat and blood. In combat conditions, this was necessary, as it prevented the knife from slipping in the hand.

• The presence of a lanyard - a special loop made of hemp or leather lace. The lanyard made it possible to quickly remove the weapon from behind the top of the boot, and prevented the risk of losing the knife during the battle. The boot blade in the presence of a lanyard could be used with a different grip.

In its structure, the blade resembled the tusks of a wild boar, which, when attacked, strikes from the bottom up, lifting the enemy. According to this principle of damaging action, the Russian boot knife was designed. The photo below represents the design features of traditional edged weapons.

Wearing Features

One of the advantages of wearing a knife in a boot was the ability to get it in time. For this, the blade was most often located in the right shaft, and for the left-hander - in the left. The knife was attached in different ways:

• the scabbard was sewn to the wrong side of the boot;
• the sheath with the blade was tied to the leg;
• a special pocket for the scabbard was attached to the top of the trousers.

The following rules were followed:

• the handle must be hidden behind the top of the boot;
• if a lanyard was present, it could be seen;
• only a small part of the pommel could stick out of the bootleg.

Boot knife in 1917 - 1945

From the time of the revolution until the end of World War II, one of the attributes of the criminal element was a knife. The traditional boot option was now applied to the Finks, which were also convenient to hold behind the top of the boot. This arrangement freed the hands and hid edged weapons from prying eyes. A knife with this type of wearing was an ideal means of protection for criminals in various hopeless situations.

During the Second World War, this knife was also widely used by Soviet soldiers. The boot blade has undergone some changes by this time:

• the length was 250 mm;
• butt thickness - 7 mm;
• the blade was tetrahedral, convex and double-edged.

This form allowed to inflict mortal wounds on the enemy. The blows were delivered between the ribs, hitting the enemy on the spot.

Modern "boots" are even more different from traditional models. Now such knives are classified as household. For them, one-sided sharpening and a butt thickness not exceeding 0.4 cm are provided. According to these parameters, a boot knife is not a melee weapon, the acquisition of which requires an appropriate permit. Now, if desired, everyone can purchase a “shoemaker”.

Cossack boot knife

Cossack and weapons are inseparable concepts. A knife as one of the elements of equipment is considered a constant companion of every warrior.

The differences between the Cossack model of the “bootmaker” and the traditional Russian one are in the following parameters:

• the total length of the Cossack knife is 2 cm longer and is 29 cm;
• the length of the handle of the Cossack edged weapons - 13 cm;
• blade length - 16 cm;
• the presence on the Cossack blade of the stigma of the blacksmith-manufacturer;
• the wooden handle is equipped with a braided lanyard brush;
• for the manufacture of Cossack scabbards, bull skin is used.

"Will and Faith"

One of the very spectacular samples of the Cossack "boots" is the knife "Will and Faith". This product is made from Damascus steel. It contains elements of gold and silver. The knife is characterized by highly artistic design, which indicates talent, skill, perseverance and love for the knife as a reliable assistant.

The wooden handle is made from expensive breeds. The scabbard contains a special leather lining, which provides a smooth entry of the blade and its fixation, preventing loosening. At the top of the handle there is a nut recessed inside, containing a ring to which a braided leather cord is attached. On the surface of the knife there is an image of a Russian floral ornament. Nearby, in the style of Church Slavonic letters, there is an inscription “Will and Faith”. High-quality processing of metal and wood is admirable. This boot Cossack knife can be considered an example of arts and crafts.

A boot knife made by modern professional craftsmen will become great gift for the hunter, tourist, fisherman or collector.

Slavic handmade knives: Damascus steel on the official website. The best shop in Russia.

According to archaeological excavations Slavs had knives almost from the very beginning of the formation of society. Over time, the knife has changed and improved. At the moment, the knives have a very attractive appearance and excellent quality. We make all knives by hand and when you receive your product, it will look even better in your hands than in the photo. We love our work and are proud of it.

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Russian knives

The knife helped Slavic ancestors to solve many issues. Such as the:

• economic
• food production (hunting, fishing)
• ritual

I would like to say more, the knife in the Slavic tradition played a huge role and is considered part of the Russian (and many other nations) costume. The centuries-old history of our people is filled with ups and downs, but at all times Russian knives have been distinguished by quality and aesthetics. Continuing the glorious tradition of our ancestors, our craftsmen make masterpieces that really please their owner.

Knives from the Slavs

The traditional Slavic knife is part of the culture and tradition of our ancestors. In Russia, the knife was considered a sign of a free person. Just recently, in Russian Empire the sale of weapons was allowed and did not require any special permits. The situation changed only in 1900 - 2000, when a sharp refusal began from the filing of the state. Early in 1900, knives were distributed throughout Russia in huge quantities.



Damascus steel

Making Damascus steel takes a lot of time and effort, but it's worth it. In order to make a product from this material, a deep understanding of blacksmithing and talent is required. For many people, Damascus steel is super technology and is the highest bar in knife and ax making. The most important quality is that the layers are alternated to achieve ideal parameters. All work is done by hand and the products in your hands will look much better than in the photo. In addition to the fact that the knife has the highest technical characteristics, it also enchants with its beauty and aesthetics. Our masters are number 1 specialists in Russia and for almost 10 years there has not been a single bad review. The works are really very worthy and suitable as a gift for the dearest people of your heart and of course for yourself.

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Handmade knives

The most important advantage of our knives is handmade and an individual approach to each product. In truth, knives and axes are made at a very high level. Vast experience in creating masterpieces. Absolutely all buyers are satisfied with their purchases from us and come back again. We became friends with many and became good friends.

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In order to see the reviews, you need to find a group on the Vkontakte social network called: Slavic Lavka Grad. In the discussions you will find reviews and if it is convenient for you to place an order through a social network, then write to Natalya Slavina. The order will be placed within short time. To each buyer an individual approach.