# Communities > Antique Arms & Armour Community > Middle-East, India & Africa (MEIA) >  Sahin

## Ty N.

*Blade

Steel: Turkish pattern-welded
Length: 27"
Width: 1.25" at hilt
COG: 7.25"
COP: 14.5"

Hilt

Grip length: 4.125"
Total hilt length: 5.25"

Total weight: 1 lb. 6 oz.

Age: circa 19th Century

Vendor: Oriental Arms (Haifa, Israel)
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## Manouchehr M.

Very nice.  Thank you very much Ty for sharing.  Could you please give us a close-up of the pattern-welded blade?

Kind regards

Manocuhehr

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## Ty N.

My camera is not very good for fine detail, but here are the photos from Oriental Arms --

http://www.oriental-arms.com/photos.php?id=2440

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## Manouchehr M.

> My camera is not very good for fine detail, but here are the photos from Oriental Arms --
> 
> http://www.oriental-arms.com/photos.php?id=2440



Thanks a very beautiful blade, indeed.  Thanks for sharing.

How much does it weigh?

KInd regards

Manouchehr

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## Tom Lim

Ty, how does it handle? This type of sword has always caught my fancy. Looks like a cutter.

Tom

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## Ty N.

At 1 lb. 6 oz., it is a light sword, and feels light even with the 7" COG.  It is a single-hander, and moves quickly with the wrist.  The blade appears designed for slashing and parrying, more so than thrusting.  The tip is sharp, but would not be sturdy enough to pierce maille (it might do well against leather armor, however).  The spine is flat and thick, but the steep concave grind (which tapers into a lenticular edge) minimizes any excess weight.

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## Greg T. Obach

wonderful...... that surely is a very functional and beautiful blade...

love the twist damascus pattern.... looks to be 4 to 5 twisted bars in the composite billet...  very nice
-lots of work went into making that blade.... you very fortunate  :Wink:  

Greg

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## w. everett

breathtaking

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## Todd Ellner

That is an exceptionally beautiful yataghan. Thanks for sharing.

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## Manouchehr M.

TY

Are there horn layers below the walrus?

Kind regards

Manouchehr

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## Ty N.

The organic components of the hilt include thin horn spacers and elephant ivory scales.

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## josh stout

Truly it is an amazing blade.  I see four rows of twist core, plus two rods at the top of two other kinds of steel.  Then there is another steel at the edge.  Do you think it was added as piled construction, or inserted into the twist core body?  Some people say that you wouldn't insert an edge into twist core, but I am not so sure.  This one looks inserted.
Josh

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## Ty N.

The darker area along the edge is just the result of uneven oxidation of the steel.

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## josh stout

> The darker area along the edge is just the result of uneven oxidation of the steel.


Are sure about that?  You have the sword, so you would know best, but the close-up photo of the blade really makes it look like there is an inserted edge.  Try using a magnifying glass on the line between the edge and the last row of twist core.  
Josh

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## Ty N.

There is no inserted edge.

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## josh stout

'nuf said.  So what is going on?  You say the darker edge is from differential oxidation, which makes sense, but then what is the steel?  Is it another row of twist core?  Is it part of the last row of twist core that was darkened?  Is it a bar of harder steel that was added in piled construction? 

Sorry about all the questions, but the sword is beautiful enough to be worth close inspection.
Josh

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## Ty N.

Most likely, the edge and spine are monosteel, whereas the midsection was forged from a composite billet.  That would generally explain the different oxidation patterns.

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## Sancar Ozer

very beatiful yatagan! By the way Sahin(pronounced "shaheen" ) means "falcon" in Turkish  :Smilie:

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## Martin Read

Something that really interests me is the physics of blade shape and performance.  There are two main ways of cutting with a blade, the hack and the slice or slash.  In the first the blade impacts on the target directly and the damage it causes is related directly to the force applied and the concentration of this force due to the sharpness of the edge (and also the nature of the composition of the target - of course).  In the slice or slash the blade performs an additional action, the blade moves into and across the target simultaneosly.  On a microscopic scale the edge acts as a saw.

There has been a general tendency, especially within the modern sword interest, to emphasise the efficacy of the slash above that of the hack, and also to claim that a number of esoteric methods for delivering the slash (eg. that perennial the "draw-cut") as possessing some particular merit.  This has, I think, been taken to unreasonable lengths, the hack is an effective way of damaging things (and people); imagine trying to slice a tree down with an edged tool.

To return to present matters the yatagan is a hacking weapon, it is not a slicing/slashing weapon.  The concave curve and the concentration of weight towards the tip make it an exceptionally good and efficient hacking weapon.  The most useful and effective way of delivering a blow with a yatagan is by a powerful wrist flick, this gives the highest rate of accelleration to the distal part of the blade and, because this is where the weight is concentrated, the blade is given a high angular momentum.  The "ears" of the grips are there precisely to prevent the rapid flick-cut from resulting in the weapon flying out of the weilder's hands.  As in all well designed tools form is dictated by function.

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## Ty N.

That is a fascinating insight...  :Smilie:  ...and I tend to agree.  The downward curve of the blade does not lend itself to a slashing motion.  In that sense, it is more scythe than saber.  In terms of handling, this sword definitely moves with the wrist.

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