Checker and its combat characteristics in comparison with other types of similar weapons

The Cossack checker and the Japanese katana sword, these two blades have much in common in the strategy and tactics of their use. But which one is better, faster and more dangerous in a real fight?

Two legendary blades in the history of war: a checker and a Japanese katana sword. Almost everyone modern man at least once in my life I saw this weapon, if not in real life so in movies or on TV. And although two kinds of this long- bladed weapons have some similarities different story creatures that influenced their fighting qualities.

The Japanese katana, thanks to the spread of martial arts and cinema, has become very popular and almost everyone knows about it. But the secrets of owning a sword and the history of the creation of this weapon remain a mystery in many respects.

Look, here is a checker - a unique blade that continued to be used in hostilities, even when firearms replaced sabers and swords from the army.

Outwardly, the checker looks like a saber. However, did you know that the closest relative of checkers is the machete knife. While the saber, which in the process of evolution lost one of the cutting edges and received a curved blade.

It is curious that a saber strike is several times more effective and faster than a saber attack. The reason for this is that the saber is sheathed like this.

In order to attack with this weapon, you need to swing it and hit it. With a checker, it's the other way around. The checker is located in the sheath like this.

And therefore, a blow with a checker can be used without a preliminary swing, that is, several times faster. Experts believe that this is what allowed the checker to remain in service in the army longer than other types of bladed weapons.

A checker from the Adyghe or Circassian language is translated as big or. As a type of military long-bladed chopping and piercing edged weapon, the saber was in service with the Russian, and then the Red Army, until the middle of the twentieth century, becoming the last edged weapon in history with combat mass application. The checker was borrowed by the Cossacks from the highlanders during the Russian-Caucasian wars and almost immediately replaced the saber as the most advanced weapon of a sudden powerful blow, which immediately decided the outcome of the duel.

The effectiveness of a blow with a checker is checked or, as they say, put on a vine or on twigs. And one more important detail, the effective use of checkers could train soldiers in a very short time. It was enough just, and the warrior could get into line. Studied the blow to the left from above and to the right from above. A horizontal backhand and a few thrusts. Everything, the soldier was a fighting unit. Recently, you can often see how a checker is performed rotational movements. Of course, they were not used in combat. Such movements serve to improve coordination in the use of these weapons. The checker is a first strike weapon. Checkers fight is fleeting. And the most interesting thing is that in military history there is another type of bladed weapon that is used in the same tactics.

Samurai katana sword

Japanese samurai attached particular importance to the speed of swordsmanship. In the art of owning a katana, there was even a separate discipline, which was aimed at developing the skills of delivering the first blow. And despite the fact that the Japanese technique of striking with a sword is quite varied, some attacks with a checker can compete with the art of wielding a samurai sword in speed and combat effectiveness.

If you conduct an experiment and find out which of the blows will most likely reach the goal: an attack with a checker or a traditional blow with a samurai sword, then it can be seen that the checker is several seconds ahead of the katana sword. Because for, as well as for a saber strike, a backswing is required. We can only be proud that the saber is still, albeit a ceremonial, but weapon of the Russian army.

The checker and saber are one of the most ancient types of cold (piercing-cutting and chopping-piercing) weapons, which were used in our country in almost all types of troops. Many books and articles are devoted to this ancient weapon, telling about the difference between a saber and a saber. However, despite this, on household level a saber is often confused with a saber and often a saber is called a saber and vice versa. In foreign literature and the press, the saber is called a “special variety” of a saber and is not distinguished at all. separate view edged weapons, which is fundamentally wrong. We propose to dot all i and, finally, figure out what are the main differences between a checker and a saber.

So, the first - the saber is much older than the checkers. The first mention of the saber dates back to the 7th century. The saber appeared, as noted above, in the East and was one of the main weapons of the Turkic peoples. In fact, the saber was a kind of broadsword - one might say, its more advanced (with a noticeable bend
blades) version. At the same time, the checker appeared later - in the 12-13th century in the Caucasus. For many years, the sword was the main melee weapon of the peoples of the Caucasus.

The very word "checker" (from the Adyghe "sashkho" - "big long knife”) was first used in relation to weapons and even later - in the 17th century. It is noteworthy that initially the saber was used as an auxiliary weapon (it always came after the saber), but over time, the saber replaced the saber, becoming the main weapon, first in the Caucasus, and later throughout Russia.

Age, however, is not the only difference between a sword and a saber. The main difference lies in the design of weapons and functionality. One of the main differences between a checker and a saber has always been a sheath made of natural wood, always covered with leather with a metal ring (one, less often two).

Unlike checkers, the saber was usually sheathed in steel. Another important point - in the case of a saber, the rings are located on the concave side of the scabbard, with a checker - on the contrary. It was customary to wear a saber on a waist belt, and a saber on a shoulder strap. Another important difference is the degree of bending of the blade of the weapon. The blade of the checker is less curved compared to the saber. In addition, a checker is a chopping-piercing weapon, and a saber is a piercing-cutting weapon. The saber, unlike the checker, has a handle with a guard, and the centers of gravity of the checker and the saber are located differently. And, finally, the last - a checker is shorter than a saber. The maximum length of a checker is 88 centimeters, a saber is 110. The difference is obvious.

Keeping these simple differences in mind:

handle device,

blade bend,

The scabbard and the location of the rings on the scabbard, as well as the purpose of the weapon

Purpose of weapons

In the future, you are unlikely to confuse a saber with a saber either in a store (if you suddenly want to buy a saber or buy a saber as a gift) or in a museum.

The saber is a common weapon in Russia in the 16th and 19th centuries. Each variety has its own characteristics. The Cossack saber replaced other types of similar weapons. In the 19th century, it was the most common variant in Russia and the Caucasus. A saber of this type was also called a Cossack checker. With development firearms and the abolition of metal armor, the combat saber was used by almost all the soldiers of the imperial Russian army. In conditions of combat, in which bullets could pierce the iron armor of a warrior, an attack using a Cossack saber became more than relevant. This was possible due to a number of characteristics and features of this type of edged weapons.

general characteristics

The Cossack saber is one with a rather long blade. It was used in combat and served as an attribute of military attire. Today, such a saber is a valuable antique melee weapon. It makes it possible to understand the tactics of warfare of those times.

The original Cossack checker consists of a blade and a hilt (hilt). The standard blade length reaches 1 m. It is single. But for the battle they used 2-bladed weapons. The blade itself was slightly curved.

Ephesus does not have a cross. At its end, the handle forks. May have a round tip.

It is the Cossack saber that is called a saber. In this case, it's the same. But an ordinary saber is not equivalent to a checker. In the first case, only chopping wounds were inflicted, and in the second, the ability to stab and cut was added. This is a feature of the Cossack weapons.

There are two main varieties of checkers of this time: Caucasian and Asian. They have some differences. Cossack sabers also differ according to the year of issue.

Carrying and using checkers

The Cossack checker did not have a guard, a pronounced point. The curvature of the blade was minimal. All these factors led to its different balance, in comparison with a conventional saber.

The saber was kept in a wooden scabbard. Because of the way it was used in combat, the saber was placed forward with the butt. The scabbard was usually covered with leather.

A saber was attached to a belt or shoulder harness. For this, one or two rings fixed on the curved side were used.

In dashing Cossack amusements, on the battlefield, it was necessary not only to participate in battle, but also to repel sometimes sudden attacks. Therefore, in the sheath, she lay with the blade up.

At the same time, the Cossack checker was easily snatched out and did not require a change of hand. This is a handy weapon. According to the characteristics of the checker can be compared with the samurai katana. They have a similar blade shape, as well as application and wearing.

Origin of checkers

The word "saber" is borrowed from the Circassian or Adyghe language, where such a weapon was called "sashkho" or "seshkhue". Translated, it means "long knife".

Circassian models differed from Russian ones. They were shorter and lighter. The progenitor of the Cossack saber sample 1881, 1904, 1909 is a weapon of the 12th-13th centuries. Researchers found it in the Circassian lands.

This type of saber was first adopted by the Terek and Kuban Cossacks. They have a checker is considered a traditional part of a military costume. Already from the Cossacks, such weapons began to be used among the lower and higher army ranks.

As a charter checker, it was used by the cavalry, gendarmerie, police, and also among the officers. To this day, dashing Cossack amusements, military exploits are invariably presented in combination with a saber. It can be said that this is an attribute of the Cossacks.

Cossacks long time for their armament they used checkers of the Turkish, Persian type.

Until the middle of the 19th century, there were a lot of sabers of the Caucasian type. But the most popular, regulated checker of the Cossacks in 1834-1838 was the Asian-style saber.

She had a single-edged steel blade of a curved shape. The weapon had one wide fuller. The combat end was two-blade.

Its total length reached 1 m, and the blade - 88 cm. Its width was 3.4 cm. The checker of the Asian sample of 1834-1838 had a curvature of 70/395 mm. Such a weapon weighed about 1.4 kg.

The Asian-style officer's saber had decorations on the hilt and scabbard. Similar weapons were assigned to the lower and higher army ranks of Nizhny Novgorod and Seversky, as well as sergeant majors of the Plastun battalions and local teams of the Kuban Cossack army.

Later they were approved as military weapons in the Tver, Pereyaslavsky, Novorossiysk Dragoon Regiments.

sample 1881

After defeat Russian Empire In the Crimean War (which lasted from 1853-1856), there was an urgent need to carry out reforms in the army, starting from the highest levels of government. This process was managed by the head of the Military Ministry D. A. Milyutin. After his resignation in 1881, the reform of the army ceased.

Establishment uniform pattern weapons were produced in the same year. All other models of edged weapons were abolished, and a single type of saber was introduced for cavalry, dragoon and infantry troops.

Very quickly, the Cossack checker of 1881 became the most common piercing and cutting weapon in the Russian army. They were of two varieties: for lower ranks and for officers.

The geometry of the weapon made it possible to inflict deep, severe wounds. This feature was the reason for choosing this saber as a single model in the Russian army.

Cossack checker of the lower ranks (1881)

The soldier's checker had a total length of 102 cm. Its blade standardly changed to 87 cm, and its width was 3.3 cm. At the same time, the weight of the weapon was 800 g. The handle had a straight shape with a sharp bend at the end. It was made of wood and had deep sloping grooves. The opening of the lanyard for technological reasons was shifted down to the stop.

The scabbard did not have a bayonet mount. It was not intended for Cossack carbines. However, some regiments were issued at that time a scabbard with a closed block for the bayonet. By 1889, checkers of the Asian type were issued in all lower ranks. This exemplary weapon is referred to as the Cossack checker, the original of 1881.

Checker officer 1881

In 1881 Main Headquarters War Department issued Circular 217. It provided detailed description officer's checker. According to this document, the blade and hilt of the weapon were described in detail. Their components were discussed down to the smallest detail.

The blade consisted of a fighting end, a middle part, a heel and a lower thickened rib (butt) and an upper blade. That part of the blade, which is intended for cutting, is called febel, and for repelling blows - forte.

The center of the blade is located at a distance of 0.25 arshins, as measured from the tip. The valleys on the blade also end there.

The hilt consists of a nut, a head, a handle, its rear and front rings, a bow and a leather ring.

The handle is made of wood called backout. Sometimes other breeds were used for these purposes.

Antique edged weapons of the 1881 model have a cross-section in the middle part in the form of a tetrahedron, in which the corners are rounded. At the ends it has an oval shape. The back of the handle is slightly thicker than the front.

materials

The blade of the presented variety of weapons was a "doll" made of steel. A variety of materials were used to make the hilt. The back ring was made of copper with gilding. This element had an oval shape. At the top of it was a slot for the bow. The front ring is also copper, gilded.

The nut located inside the hilt can be steel, copper or iron. It is screwed onto the tail of the blade very tightly.

The head of the handle is copper with gilding. Has the appearance of a corolla. The bow is made from the same material.

The ring, pinched between the hilt and the back section of the heel, is made of leather. Cossack weapons of those times were made from the listed materials for both soldiers and officers.

The difference between a soldier's and officer's checkers of the 1881 model

Both for the lower ranks and for the higher ones, almost the same type of cold steel was used. The blade was no different. The difference was in the technology of attaching the handle.

The bushing located at the top and the handle were attached to the blade shank with three rivets. Therefore, two veins were cut into the wooden base from the top to its middle. They were beaten off together with the tip. A middle rivet was carried through them.

Due to a change in design, the officer's saber had a lanyard opening higher than that of the soldier's version of the saber. It was located on the middle line of the handle.

However Cossack saber the lower ranks were distinguished by the simplicity of fasteners. Over time, officer edged weapons began to be made using the same technology.

Checker of the lower ranks of the sample of 1904

The Cossack checker of the lower ranks was similar to the previous sample. However, there were some differences. Characteristic in such weapons was the application of abbreviations by etching. They were located on the inside of the blade and looked like this: "TKV" (Terek Cossack Host). On the other outer side of the blade, there were also the letters "ZOF", which stood for the Zlatoust Arms Factory. The year of issue of the checker was also indicated here. This became a feature of the Cossack saber of the 1904 model.

The scabbard was wooden, covered with leather. combat checker sunk into them to the head of the handle thanks to the bell at the top of the wooden case.

The weapons of the lower ranks of the 1904 model weighed 1 kg. Its total length is 92 cm, and the blade - 74 cm. The width of the blade reached 3.5 cm.

This saber was adopted by the Caucasian Cossack troops for soldiers. Later it was slightly improved. But general form remained virtually unchanged.

Checker officer sample 1909

Circular of the General Staff 51 dated March 22, 1909 introduced changes to the regulations for the description of officer drafts. In its former form, the golden edged weapons of the highest army ranks and sabers with the Order of St. Anna 4th degree. Only the decoration on the booth and the rear ring was added to them.

The officer's sabers of the 1909 model had no differences from the previous type of weapon in the blade area, except for the location on the outer side of the blade of the name of the Sovereign Emperor. On the other side was the coat of arms.

The back ring was decorated with laurel branches, as well as the convex name of the Emperor. There were also decorative borders. The head of the handle was decorated in the form of a vignette.

Later, other samples were developed, but in post-war years(after World War II) such weapons were abolished. The checker became a parade attribute of the army, as well as an integral weapon of the Cossacks.

Today these are award sabers. To receive it is considered very honorable for military ranks. You can wear a checker only with permission, like any similar products. After all, this is a formidable military weapon.

Considering such edged weapons as the Cossack saber, one can delve deeply into military organization past times. In its own way, it was a formidable tool on the battlefield. With the regulation of this particular weapon, reforms and transformations began in the Russian imperial army. It was ubiquitous and was available to both ordinary soldiers and officers. Today it is an integral attribute of the Cossacks, which acts as a symbol of military honor and valor.

Ironically, the cavalry received the perfect weapon when it was no longer needed.

Checker - a weapon with a blade of slight curvature and a hilt with a simple guard or without it at all. A distinctive feature is a pendant for wearing in a Caucasian way, with a blade back
As children, we all played cavalrymen, and you, probably, like me, were tormented by various questions. What is the difference between a saber and a sword? Why are they crooked, but swords and broadswords are straight? Why do some wear the blade up and others down? Why do some scabbards have metal tips at the bottom? Why do some checkers have a hilt, while others do not? How to cut? Well, the sacramental question - which checker is the best in the world? We tried to answer these children's questions in these materials, which turned out to be not at all childish.

Despite the fact that mankind has been hacking each other for centuries, there has been practically no serious research on how an ideal edged weapon should look, oddly enough, in the world. Most of the works on edged weapons were nothing more than historical reference books. This probably explains the fact that almost all museum samples of weapons with military point visions are rubbish. Perhaps, with a single exception: the edged weapons of the East still remain the best weapon of the rider. This paradox was first noticed by our compatriot and great gunsmith last century Vladimir Grigorievich Fedorov. And he answered most of the questions in his book "Cold Weapons", published in St. Petersburg in 1905 - just at the end of the era of this legendary type of weapon.

The more tangential the blow is, the smaller the angle of the cross section of the blade
Less than a percent

In fact, the era of edged weapons ended much earlier - already in the Crimean War of 1853-1856, wounds with cold weapons accounted for only 1.5% -3% of total number. A little later, during the Russian-Turkish campaign, or rather, by 1877, when the battle of Plevna took place, this figure fell to 0.99%. And so it is all over the world, with the exception of the colonial expeditionary corps waging war with the native population: the loss of the British from edged weapons in India reached 20%, and in Egypt - up to 15%. Nevertheless, this percentage was not discounted, planning the rearmament of the cavalry by the beginning of the First World War.

Chop or stab

Here we come to the answer to one of the questions. The saber and checker are curved melee weapons designed primarily for cutting. The broadsword is a direct thrusting weapon. The question of what is more effective for the action of the cavalry - chopping or stabbing weapons - is one of the main ones that occupied military theorists in the 19th century.

Here are the main arguments of supporters of stabbing weapons - swords and broadswords. The impact energy is proportional to the mass and the square of the speed (mv 2 /2), so the rider just needs to point the tip at the enemy to inflict a terrible wound on him. At the same time, it is much more difficult to hit the enemy with a blow - delivered a little earlier or later, a chopping blow has neither the necessary accuracy nor strength. In addition, a blow requires two separate movements - a swing and a strike, and a thrust - one. When struck, the rider opens himself, and holding the broadsword for an injection, on the contrary, closes himself. The arguments, we note, are very convincing, therefore the European cavalry (especially heavy: cuirassiers and cavalry guards) was mainly armed with broadswords. They armed dragoons and other types of light cavalry, not to mention artillery servants. Since 1711, broadswords have completely replaced sabers in Russia. A special cult of piercing blades existed in France, where they were used as dueling weapon and every self-respecting person was simply obliged to master the techniques of fencing with a sword. From there, fashion spread throughout Europe.

East is a delicate matter

In these harmonious arguments there is only one problem - the cavalry of the East. Mongol-Tatar and Arab horsemen easily dealt with both light cavalry and heavily armored knights with their curved sabers. Moreover, captured Asian sabers were worth their weight in gold, and by no means for their appearance, but just for fighting qualities. Not a single eastern warrior was seen with either a two-handed sword or a captured broadsword. “In the whole East, I don’t know a single people who would have anything like broadswords,” wrote General Mikhail Ivanovich Dragomirov, a well-known Russian military theorist of the 19th century, “where the enemy did not refuse the dump, but looked for it for use on horseback, - chopping weapons were always preferred to stabbing ones. But the East is the birthplace of cavalry, and over the centuries, oriental sabers have become an ideal weapon, where every detail is thought out and tested in practice. Note that the Caucasian highlanders and Russian Cossacks, these born slashers, also always used chopping weapons. Why?

The first argument was the area of ​​​​damage - for a broadsword this is a line described by a point, for a saber it is a plane cut by a blade. The second argument is the advantage of the saber at a low speed of the rider, when the broadsword becomes practically useless, and the speed of the saber does not decrease much.

Curved sabers

Fedorov considered his main task not to explain why the East settled on a saber, but why it has such characteristics. And first of all - why is it a curve? Here, elementary geometry is indispensable.

Blade manufacturers face a problem: the narrower the blade and the smaller the sharpening angle, the easier it penetrates the fabric; but too sharp blades are highly brittle, their blade is easily damaged when strong blow. However, Fedorov noticed that during impact, it is not so much the angle of sharpening of the real blade as the angle of the cross section that is important, and the less the blade falls at a right angle to the body, the smaller the “effective” angle of the cross section (Fig. 1).

From this it is clear that in order to deliver a more effective blow with a straight blade, it is necessary to strike at an angle. In order to inform the blade of such a trajectory, one should, lowering the hand, simultaneously pull it towards oneself - the so-called "pull" strike. The pull provides additional action of the blade - moving across the fabric, it sequentially cuts the fibers, like a saw or a kitchen knife, which further contributes to the penetration of the blade into the body. But for such an action, Fedorov notes, part of the force is spent, which is why the blows cannot be so effective. But the strongly curved Mameluke sabers, in which the blade slope reaches 45 °, are 3-5 times sharper than straight blades with a similar section when inflicting a wound. Along the way, they cut the fibers and inflict longer cut wounds.

Center of gravity

The next secret of the eastern blades is the location of the center of gravity behind the butt. To explain it, let's take a carpenter's ax as an example. If the ax is simply mounted on a round stick, it will be extremely inconvenient for them to work - the center of gravity will be in front of the axis passing through the handle. Therefore, the ax handles are made curved, bringing the center of gravity back (Fig. 3). The same with blades - if the center of gravity is behind the axis passing through the handle, the plane of the blade ideally coincides with the direction of impact (Fig. 2). The main drawback of European sabers is the forward-curved handle (this is supposedly more convenient for injections), which automatically excludes the possibility of correct cutting, Fedorov writes. Note that Caucasian and Cossack checkers have straight handles.

handles

Another drawback of European sabers is that their handles, as a rule, are covered with various grooves, and even wrapped with wire, again supposedly for the convenience of holding weapons. In good oriental blades, the opposite is true: their handles are absolutely smooth - made of horn, ivory, solid wood, often covered with suede for ease of holding. It is understandable - experienced fighters practiced with a saber for several hours a day, and ribbed handles would quickly cut their palms into blood. Fedorov again cites carpentry axes with their perfectly polished handles as an example.

wedge wedge

Another aspect that was completely neglected by European masters is the cross section of the blade. In most European samples, it has the shape of a wedge, and in some, a thickening was even made near the butt, as, for example, in Russian light cavalry sabers. early XIX century. As a result, the further the blade penetrates the flesh, the stronger the resistance. In eastern blades, the largest thickening of the blade is located closer to the blade, and the entire part of the blade behind this thickening no longer encounters resistance (Fig. 4).

The valleys on the blade do not play the mythical role of blood flow, but increase resistance to bending and reduce the weight of the weapon. On eastern blades, all the corners of the valleys are rounded, and on European ones, both the valleys themselves and the butt have sharply defined corners, which, upon impact, somewhat delay the penetration of the blade into the body.

Lightweight arguments

Another stumbling block is the weight of the weapon. Traditionally in Europe it was believed that the heavier the blade, the more effective it is in battle - just remember the legendary two-handed swords. Europeans disparagingly called eastern sabers lightweight. Nevertheless, even here the eastern gunsmiths turned out to be right - after all, the impact force, as we already wrote, is proportional to the mass and the square of the speed. Therefore, it is much more effective to increase the speed of impact, which is higher for lighter eastern blades. In addition to increasing speed, lighter blades made it possible to perform such fencing tricks that combat units with heavy sabers could not even dream of. In particular, participants in the Russian-Caucasian wars noted that while the Russian rider was swinging a heavy saber, the Caucasian warrior managed to strike at the elbow from below and then deliver a mortal blow to the disarmed enemy.

On the eastern saber (a), the center of gravity is behind the axis passing through the hilt. On European blades (b), the handle is bent towards the point, which is better for thrusting, but worsens the balance of the weapon.

Center of gravity

Well, the last thing Fedorov pays attention to is the center of gravity. Obviously, he writes, that in order to increase the force of impact, that part of the blade, which is struck, must be heavier than all other parts of the saber, therefore, the center of gravity must be shifted as much as possible to the point. The part of the blade adjacent to the handle serves solely to transmit the force of impact - in the ax this role is played by the handle. Therefore, it is not necessary to make it the same width and thickness with the rest of the blade. Nevertheless, European blades are made almost the same width along the entire length, sometimes even expanding towards the hilt. Oriental curved sabers, on the contrary, widen towards the end, tapering towards the hilt. All this for one purpose - to give the working part of the blade maximum mass and lighten the rest.

By the way, for piercing weapons, the balance should be completely different: the closer the center of gravity to the hilt, the more effective the injection. Good example- French swords.

The center of gravity should not be confused with the center of impact, often indicated on Eastern blades by a special notch on the butt; in Russian checker sample of 1881 in this place the valleys end. When the direction of the blow passes through this point, the hand does not receive any shock.

Wanted the best

In 1881, under the leadership of Lieutenant General A.P. Gorlov, a weapons reform was carried out in order to establish a single model of edged weapons for all branches of the armed forces. The Caucasian blade was taken as a model for the blade, “having in the East, in Asia Minor, between Caucasian peoples and by our local Cossacks, high fame as a weapon that provides extraordinary advantages when cutting. Cavalry, dragoon and infantry sabers, as well as cuirassier broadswords, were then replaced with single dragoon and Cossack sabers of the 1881 model. This was the first attempt to scientifically substantiate the choice of edged weapons. This checker had one problem - it was developed for two mutually exclusive purposes: for cutting and injections. Fedorov writes: “It must be admitted that our saber of the 1881 model both pricks and cuts badly.
Our checker cuts badly:
- due to slight curvature, in which all the advantages of curved sabers are lost;
- due to improper fit of the handle. To give the checker piercing properties, the middle line of the handle is directed to the tip - for this, the handle had to be slightly bent in the direction from the butt to the blade. Which led to the loss of some good cutting properties of the weapon.
Our checker pricks unsatisfactorily:
- to give it chopping properties, it is made curved, which delays its penetration;
- due to significant weight and distance of the center of gravity from the hilt.

Small Dragoon Weapons

What should be perfect checker? Professional grunts - Cossacks and highlanders - have only one answer to this question: of course, the famous Caucasian "top". So in the 19th century Caucasian checkers were called because of the stigma with the image of a wolf that was often found on them. However, this weapon is ideal for dressage professionals and practicing with a saber with early childhood several hours a day. What the Cossacks and Highlanders did with their blades, it was impossible for a combat soldier to repeat. They needed a simple and reliable weapon, a kind of "Kalashnikov saber machine gun", with which soldiers could tolerably chop and stab. Fedorov divided this task into four subtasks: to choose the right curvature of the blade and the additive of the handle, to align the position of the center of gravity and the weight of the blade.

1. The curvature of our blade, wrote Fedorov, exactly repeats the curvature of the famous Caucasian tops - ideally suited for both cutting and stabbing. The verdict was this - leave the curvature unchanged.

2. General Gorlov, in order to provide the checker of the 1881 model with the best piercing properties, gave the handle a slope from the butt to the blade, directing middle line handles at the tip. It became inconvenient to operate such a weapon. But the drafts of the Caucasian Cossack troops of the 1904 model are deprived of such an inclination. It would be wise to abandon the tilt in all checkers.

3. In our checker, the center of gravity is 21 cm from the lower end of the bow, while in all samples of foreign edged weapons it is located at a distance of 9-13 cm from the hilt. If we take such blades in our hand and compare them with our saber, it will immediately become obvious how much more convenient it is to act first, how light and free they are in the hand. Gorlov took the location of the center of gravity the same as in the Caucasian tops, which increased the force of impact. But let's not forget, writes Fedorov, that it is easy for mountaineers to use such weapons, since they are accustomed to use them from childhood. For combatant dragoons with short service lives, this is unattainable. The conclusion is this: the center of gravity must be raised closer to the hilt. Moreover, with this arrangement, the slope of the handle is no longer so important.

4. The blade with the hilt of the Russian checker weighs 1.025 kg. Despite the fact that European examples have a similar weight, Fedorov argues that it should be recognized as significant "for our small dragoons." Interestingly, the saber originally designed by Gorlov had a much lower weight, but during mass production at the Zlatoust Arms Plant, the weight increased by almost 400 g, since the plant could not cope with the quality requirements for blades and scabbards. Therefore, it is necessary to return to the original weight characteristics.

In the St. Petersburg Military Historical artillery museum three samples from that experimental batch of Fedorov are stored. True, which of them was the very "number six", no one knows. The last checker on the right is a soldier's dragoon, an experimental sample of the 1900s.

Ideal checker Fedorov

Almost simultaneously with the publication in 1905 of the book "Cold Weapons" Fedorov wrote a report to the artillery committee - "On changing the checkers of the 1881 model." In it, he put forward specific proposals for its improvement.

Based on these proposals, several variants of experimental drafts were made with various provisions center of gravity and modified curvature of the handle. Soon prototypes these checkers were transferred for testing to military units, in particular, to the Officer Cavalry School.

Knowing nothing about Fedorov's theoretical considerations, the cavalrymen had to choose the best sample by practical testing on the vine and stuffed animals of its cutting and piercing qualities.

Blades with a modified center of gravity were introduced (20 cm, 17 cm and 15 cm instead of the existing 21.5 cm). At the same time, the blades were lightened by 200 g and shortened from 86 cm to 81 cm. Some of the blades were made with standard handles, and some with a corrected slope.

All cavalrymen unanimously approved sample number 6, with a center of gravity of 15 cm from the hilt and a modified handle. According to this model, 250 blades were made, they armed the squadron of the Officer Cavalry School and the squadron of the 17th Nezhinsky Regiment. “In view of the declaration of world war, the designated units set out on a campaign with these weapons. The tests were not completed, ”Fedorov wrote later.
When preparing the article, photographs from the book by A.N. Kulinsky "Russian edged weapons", provided by the publishing house "Atlant".

January 2007

Officers, soldiers, Asian ...

1826 Broadsword cuirassier soldier. Total length 1150 mm, blade length 980 mm, blade width 35 mm. For broadswords of early releases, the lower nut on the scabbard was located quite low, and when the upper pass belt broke, the weapon turned upside down, falling out of the scabbard. Therefore, since the late 1830s, the lower nut on the scabbard was installed closer to the upper one.

1895 Checker of the lower ranks of the Turkmen equestrian division. Overall length 940 mm, blade length 810 mm, blade width 34 mm. The hilt consists of a handle with a head and a cross with a cross. The handle is formed by two bone cheeks riveted to the blade shank. The upper ends of the crosshairs are recessed into the cheeks of the handle, the lower ends enter the corresponding recesses on the scabbard when the weapon is inserted into them. Wooden scabbard covered with leather

1856 Sailor boarding broadswords. Overall length 880 mm, blade length 740 mm, blade width 36 mm. In 1856, the broadsword replaced the sapper and naval artillery cleavers at the lower ranks of the Naval Department. In 1858 assigned to the midshipmen and cadets of the Marine cadet corps and technical schools Maritime Department. In 1900, the sailors were decommissioned and left only to naval midshipmen, cadets and pupils of the Marine engineering school, the belonging of the uniform of which was until 1917.

1827 Cavalry soldier's saber. Total length 1020 mm, blade length 880 mm, blade width 36 mm. “The saber in an iron scabbard, adopted by us for light cavalry, does not satisfy its purpose: it is brittle, heavy, the blade is easily blunted in a metal sheath, hanging low. She pulls the rider's lower back, beats the horse's legs at fast gaits, makes a noise that drowns out the command; in addition, the noise from the saber does not allow covert movements, so it will always prematurely announce to the enemy about the approach of the cavalry (to avoid which the sabers are often wrapped in straw). (Military collection. 1868 No. 9)

1827 Cossack guards officer's saber. In 1909, all Cossacks were allowed to serve with "grandfather's weapons", that is, with edged weapons inherited from their ancestors. This decision was especially reflected in the armament of the Guards Cossack regiments.

1904 Cossack saber lower ranks. Checker of the lower ranks: length 920 mm, blade length 740 mm, blade width 35 mm. In 1904, the question arose of introducing a single sample of checkers for the lower ranks and officers of the Cossack troops. It was decided “to leave the good blades of checkers and daggers now available to the officers of the Caucasian Cossack army unchanged; again, the blades wound up by officers must be of the same type as will be approved for the lower ranks of these troops and in the decoration of scabbards and pens ... do not constrain officers ”(Fedorov V.G. “Cold weapons”). An Asian-style saber was also worn by officers of the army dragoon regiments.

1834 Asian soldier checkers. Total length 1000 mm, blade length 880 mm, blade width 34 mm. Checker officer Asian sample 1834 differed from the soldier's in that it had arbitrary decorations for handles and scabbards. “The officers ... began to dress their sabers in silver in the Caucasian manner, the regiment commander Bezobrazov allowed them to be worn not on a uniform galloon sword belt, but on a black Kabardian belt with a silver set ... Bezobrazov ... ordered an exemplary saber, which he intended to send to the sovereign ... "(Potto V. History of the 44th Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon ... Regiment, 1984)

http://www.popmech.ru/article/1132-idealnaya-shashka/

What is the difference between a checker and a saber

Perhaps only connoisseurs of art, fencers and collectors of antiquities are familiar with the topic of edged weapons in our countries. The average person can hardly show off deep knowledge in this area, for example, tell on the go how a checker differs from a saber. But curiosity and interest are important here, and knowledge on this issue can be obtained without difficulty.

Saber- this is a type of edged weapon for piercing and chopping purposes, invented in the 7th century. checker appeared in the XII century and is also a melee weapon, whose purpose is not so much piercing as it is chopping. Why is that?
The saber blade is curved, and the checkered blade is almost straight. The saber has a clear point, but the checker does not have one. That is why the saber also cuts, but it is also more difficult to learn how to use it. In addition, the length of the checker does not exceed a meter, and the saber can be longer. Checkers do not make such an elegant impression, they were invented precisely in order to deliver short, accurate and powerful blows in battle. The production of a checker was cheaper than the production of a saber. The saber is always equipped with a guard on the handle, the checkers do not have a guard.

In general, learning to wield a checker is easier than wielding a saber. This is also due to the fact that the checker and saber have different centers of gravity, although their weight is almost the same, which is especially interesting.

Thus, TheDifference.ru notes the following differences between a checker and a saber:

1. The saber appeared 5 centuries later than the saber;
2. The checker cuts and stabs, and the saber cuts and stabs;
3. The checker does not have a curved blade, unlike the saber;
4. The checker does not have a handle with a guard, but the saber has just such;
5. Checkers have always been cheaper and easier to use;
6. The saber is longer than the sword;
7. The centers of gravity of checkers and sabers do not match. Read more: http://thedifference.ru/otlichie-shashki-ot-sabli/

Many researchers consider the sword to be one of the the most perfect species cold weapons. Sabers in Russia have been mentioned in written sources since the 10th century. They are found in mounds of the X-XI centuries.

Saber X century

The fight against the nomads, who had the saber as their main weapon, led to its widespread use in Russia.

Blades of Mongolian sabers of the 13th century

It is difficult to say with certainty what form the ancient Russian sabers were and how they differed from the eastern blades. It is only known for certain that the Russian saber could both cut and stab.

In the second half of the 17th century, a wide saber of the "Turkish model" appeared. In the armament of the cavalry, they increasingly use the type of Persian saber, which is lighter and, according to some researchers, more advanced in its design. By this time, sabers were so widespread that they were even used by the urban townspeople.

Persian saber

Under Peter I, only the Cossacks and hussars had a saber. Even under Alexei Mikhailovich, Serbs, Georgians and Croats who fled from Turkish oppression settled in Sloboda Ukraine. Of these, irregular hussar regiments were formed, which became part of the Russian regular army in the 1740s. These regiments were armed with a special saber.

The hussar saber of the 18th century had a fairly wide blade of medium curvature with a slight extension at the end - yelman. It is believed that the yelman gave the blow great strength. The planes of the blade were called golomen. On the bare bones of saber blades of the 18th century, valleys were almost always made - grooves that serve to lighten the blade and give it rigidity.

Saber hussars XVIII century

Since the saber was supposed to cut through chain mail or armor, its blade was honed to razor sharpness. After the defensive armament began to move away, the sabers began to be slightly blunted.

The fact is that when struck, a very sharp blade quickly penetrates the muscle tissue, and its spasm can pinch the saber so strongly that the warrior who struck will be disarmed.

The saber hilt consisted of a shank slightly inclined in relation to the blade, a handle put on it and a cross with a crosshair, turning into a bow at a right angle. The handle was usually covered with black leather and twisted around with copper twisted wire.

Sabers of the French horse artillery 1829
(soldier and officer)

In the 19th century, hilts officer's sabers and broadswords were already fitted with galushka - specially dressed shark or stingray skin. The skin of these creatures feels like a file to the touch, and sabers with such a handle are much more difficult to knock out of hands.

Note that the cavalrymen wore rather thick leather gloves - and not only out of necessity and for the sake of convenience, but also following the ancient tradition, according to which a noble rider has no right to be without a hat and gloves.

The scabbard was made of wood, covered with leather or fabric and decorated with copper, and for the officers - with a gilded device.

In the second half XVIII century hussar sabers are becoming lighter and smaller in size. In 1775, sabers were approved for the dragoon cavalry, which differed from the hussar ones by a smaller curvature of the blade and a shield (guard) of a broadsword type on the hilt.

From top to bottom: infantry saber model 1855 (Solingen, Schafov workshop); infantry semi-saber model 1826 (Zlatoust); cavalry saber model 1827/1909 (Afghanistan, 1913); cavalry saber model 1827 (Zlatoust); two hussar sabers model 1797 (Zlatoust)

Russian edged weapons were produced mainly at the Tula arms factories, and after 1816 a decree was issued according to which all edged weapons for the Russian army should be created in Zlatoust.

Alexander I, returning to Russia after the foreign campaign of the Russian army in 1815, invited German craftsmen from the city of Solingen, famous for its weapons factories, to work in Zlatoust. Many of them came to Russia and stayed here forever.

Thanks to German craftsmen, a number of completely new technological methods for decorating edged weapons were introduced.

So, they invented a method of extremely effective finishing of the blade, which they called "foot-and-mouth bluing". With this decor, the surface becomes bluish, some call it blue-black, and the texture of the metal resembles the skin of a lizard.

With the advent of German craftsmen, the decoration of weapons with a gold notch became widespread. The most significant works of weapons art in this technique were created by Russian masters Bushuev and Boyarshinov.

Saber with scabbard. Ivan Bushuev, 1824

The defense technique was widely used - metal carving. Later they began to use etching with gilding of an etched pattern or image.

The blades of the Cossack units can be distinguished into a special group. The background of these sabers is interesting. On the turn of XIX-XX For centuries, the Cossacks expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the old grandfather's blades remained only in songs and epics, while with the introduction of new models, the Cossacks were obliged to wear new service checkers, which, in their opinion, reduced the educational role of weapons.

In 1909, Emperor Nicholas II found a compromise solution: the Cossacks were allowed to create their own (military) models of edged weapons and pass them on from generation to generation, but wear them out of order. Then the so-called tusks (from the Turkish "kilij") began to appear.

Variant of the saber "Klych"

In the 19th century, the saber was gradually replaced by the saber. For the longest time, the saber remained in service with the hussar regiments.

In 1881, a radical reorganization of the cavalry took place: all Russian regular army cavalry was turned into dragoon cavalry and fully armed with sabers. The guards hussars sabers remained with dress uniform up until 1917.

Here are the main examples of sabers used in Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries. Of course we are talking exclusively about statutory (service) weapons; listing a huge number of hazing, the same eastern, sabers would take up too much space.

1	Hussar saber	officer's	1750–1775
2	Hussar saber	officer's	1770–1790
3	Cossack saber for court escort teams		late 18th century
4	Light Cavalry Saber		1798
5	Infantry saber for a battalion of the Imperial Militia	officer's	1806
6	Light Cavalry Saber		1809
7	Sea saber	officer's	1811
8	Cavalry saber		1817
9	Infantry saber	officer's	1826
10	Cavalry saber	soldier and officer	1827
11	Infantry saber	officer's	1855
12	Sword cavalry, officer. 1798	officer's	1855
13	Infantry saber	officer's	1865
14	Infantry saber	officer's	1913

It is interesting that in the Russian army, as well as in a number of other European armies, there was a tradition, when a new model of edged weapons appeared, to put a service hilt on an old well-deserved blade and make an innovative scabbard for it.

Very often, such a mount is observed on premium weapons.

In many orders, an object that we can confidently characterize as a checker is called a saber, and vice versa. So, dragoon checkers (soldiers and officers) of the 1841 model, according to orders, are listed as sabers.

Saber (checker) dragoon model 1841

The word "saber" comes from the Kabardian-Circassian sa "shkho - a long knife.

Sometimes, starting to explain the main differences between a saber and a saber, they point out that the saber is a little shorter, that it does not have a guard at all or has one bow, such as, for example, the combat sample of 1881.

This does not always correspond to a specific subject, because when approving a new model, as we have already said, they took an old blade (sometimes a saber blade) and put a new service hilt on it, and most importantly, a new scabbard.

From top to bottom: Dragoon checker sample 1909 (Zlatoust); Cossack checker sample 1910 (Zlatoust);
dragoon checker sample 1881 (Zlatoust); dragoon checker model 1881

It is the method of wearing that primarily distinguishes a saber from a checker. On the saber scabbard, two rings for attaching the apiaries of the harness belt are located on the side of the butt of the blade. On a checkered scabbard, either two rings are on the side of the blade, or one ring is located on the side of the blade and the other is on the side of the blade. inside upper clip of the scabbard.

The first checker in the regular Russian cavalry appeared in 1834 in the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment, which, for its long service in the Caucasus, also received elements of the Caucasian national costume - gazyri for uniform and hat.

In other countries, the concept of "checker" is absent. Some write: "saber-type saber", others - "saber-checker", but, one way or another, in Western publications there is an attempt to explain to readers that this is one of the varieties of saber.

The number of checkers options is small. This is explained primarily by the fact that the saber was one of the youngest types of edged weapons in the regular army and was in service with the Russian infantry and cavalry for only half a century.

Often, not Zlatoust blades, approved by the military department, were used on the checker, but Caucasian ones, created by Georgian or, preferably, Dagestan masters. It was a kind of chic, especially for those units that were related to the Caucasian theater of operations.

Checker of command staff. USSR (1940).

The last, adopted already in Soviet army, there was a checker for the command staff of the 1940 model.