LightSwords XVII-XVIIIth Cent. Hungarian Hussar Sabre
Jun 19, 2012 19:17:06 GMT
Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2012 19:17:06 GMT
Introduction & Disclaimer
An Hungarian hussar saber made by Lightswords, by Mr Jindrich Figura, located in the Czech Republic.
I discovered Mr. Figura a couple of months ago in the My Armory forum and then in this forum: forum.novarata.net/viewtopic.php ... &start=120 which showed the making of a sword that made me order 2 swords from him.
He is very friendly, his english is ok and maintains good communication throughout the construction. His swords can be sharp or blunt, with writing on the blade and customized to some extent. He is mostly specialized on eastern sabres (cossacks, hungarian, polish, karabela, tatar and etc) and follows Zablocky's book for the dimensions, types of blades, handles and scabbards. His blades are fully forged & makes them with lots of handwork, not much machinery.
Historical
Hussars were light cavalrymen, in this case from 17th century Hungary and nations nearby (Serbia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine etc...) so while mostly associated with them other types of cavalrymen used these: Pancerny (medium heavy cavalry in Poland)
(from dariocaballeros.blogspot.ca/2010_12_01_archive.html)
and Cossacks.
Just like the Ottomans they fought for centuries and where influenced by their tactics and weaponry (as this type of sword), they were not friendly folks.
Initial Impressions
To be honest when I took the package with the 2 swords ordered I thought they were made of cardboard because of the relatively light weight of the box. But once I opened it and inspected the contents my surprise was twice as much.
Statistics
Blade Length: 31 ½ inches /80cm
Handle Length: 5 inches / 12.5cm
Scabbard Length: 32 ½ inches / 82cm
Overall Length: 37.5 inches / 95cm
POB (Point of Balance): 7 ½ inches / 19cm
Wideness of blade at the forte: 1 3/8 inches (3 ½ cm)
Wideness at the last third: 1 1/8 inches (3 cm)
Weight: 682 gr (1.5 pounds) for the weapon and 1109 grams (2.4 pds) with scabbard
Components
The Blade
Double fuller curved blade with a typical oriental yelman (the extension at the false edge). Blade is strong yet flexible, with no whippyness at all, and has been sharpened at the 2/3rd. The point however has not been made to be acute (due to personal safety reasons).
Handle & Hilt
Leather wrapped wood handle, 2 rivets to keep it solid which are not uncomfortable on the hand even after much practice.
Simple cruciform quillons with long extended langets typical to the Hungarian and Polish hussars sabres. The almond-shaped pommel is bent forward, thus forming an ideal support for the hand against sliding. This is probably the one thing where I will be picky: it is well made but its not quite the right shape for Hungarian sabres: notice and compare how the end pommel continues without being followed by the leather.
Last thing to note is the absence of a thumb-ring which would have been nice but some authentic models did not have it.
Scabbard
Made of wood and covered in black leather with squared end. The fittings are accurate to original models, even though surviving examples of these can be scarce.
Eastern sabres did not necessarily have a throat but instead just an opening in the leather for the langets and this is it, which keeps the sword firmly inside the scabbard and prevents any rattling. Neat.
Handling Characteristics
A real cut and thrust piece of metal. If such a comparison can help, it is very similar in its dynamics to a 1796 sabre if not even a bit lighter: sturdy but fast and easy to handle.
One thing to notice is that despite the long POB, it is not at all nose-heavy like the Cold Steel Napoleonic swords. The CS 1796 is a train wreck compared to this one in terms of balance and weight distribution.
Control and recovery is extremely easy to execute due to weight distribution (680grams = 1.5 pds) & balance. It is not a no featherlight sword like those for parade: it really feels and acts as a field weapon for a light cavalry trooper. After some heavy duty I'll see how it holds up so updates in the future about that.
As stated previously, I can't verify the cutting power right now but it seems it can cut some light targets (bottles, fruits), on horseback though I am pretty sure it can do some heavy damage to an opponent but I'm honestly in no mood to verify that kind of stuff.
Conclusion
I like it. A lot. The feeling is definitely different from other repro swords and sabres I've held in the past.
As a true reproduction I'm not sure because I'd need to have a real one and judge the performance of both but when compared to some of my models of hussar sabres ranging from the 18th to 20th centuries, it really is a very good & respectable war sword.
I definitely recommend Mr Figura for eastern sabres and the like. His prices are quite reasonable for swords whose original models cost a damn lot and where its repros are just as hard to find.
End note
I must warn possible customers that he is a very busy man so it can take a while before he can really start your order. Be patient with him, he is a very nice fellow that has much talent that guarantees to deliver something well worth the wait.
He is not very ''skilled' however with online payments such as Paypal but it's no big problem in the end.
The damage is approx 400$, scabbard (which is sold separately) & shipping included, it's really not a bad price at all considering what's on the market for those models (or rather the absence).
Pros
- Historically accurate
- Legendary weight & handling
- Marvelous construction, looks and dynamic
- Very good quality blade
Cons
- Maker is always very busy so it takes time to get a sword (around 4-6 months)
- Very old-fashioned method of payment (but he's working hard on that)
- The shape of the pommel end which is not super accurate
An Hungarian hussar saber made by Lightswords, by Mr Jindrich Figura, located in the Czech Republic.
I discovered Mr. Figura a couple of months ago in the My Armory forum and then in this forum: forum.novarata.net/viewtopic.php ... &start=120 which showed the making of a sword that made me order 2 swords from him.
He is very friendly, his english is ok and maintains good communication throughout the construction. His swords can be sharp or blunt, with writing on the blade and customized to some extent. He is mostly specialized on eastern sabres (cossacks, hungarian, polish, karabela, tatar and etc) and follows Zablocky's book for the dimensions, types of blades, handles and scabbards. His blades are fully forged & makes them with lots of handwork, not much machinery.
Historical
Hussars were light cavalrymen, in this case from 17th century Hungary and nations nearby (Serbia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine etc...) so while mostly associated with them other types of cavalrymen used these: Pancerny (medium heavy cavalry in Poland)
(from dariocaballeros.blogspot.ca/2010_12_01_archive.html)
and Cossacks.
Just like the Ottomans they fought for centuries and where influenced by their tactics and weaponry (as this type of sword), they were not friendly folks.
Initial Impressions
To be honest when I took the package with the 2 swords ordered I thought they were made of cardboard because of the relatively light weight of the box. But once I opened it and inspected the contents my surprise was twice as much.
Statistics
Blade Length: 31 ½ inches /80cm
Handle Length: 5 inches / 12.5cm
Scabbard Length: 32 ½ inches / 82cm
Overall Length: 37.5 inches / 95cm
POB (Point of Balance): 7 ½ inches / 19cm
Wideness of blade at the forte: 1 3/8 inches (3 ½ cm)
Wideness at the last third: 1 1/8 inches (3 cm)
Weight: 682 gr (1.5 pounds) for the weapon and 1109 grams (2.4 pds) with scabbard
Components
The Blade
Double fuller curved blade with a typical oriental yelman (the extension at the false edge). Blade is strong yet flexible, with no whippyness at all, and has been sharpened at the 2/3rd. The point however has not been made to be acute (due to personal safety reasons).
Handle & Hilt
Leather wrapped wood handle, 2 rivets to keep it solid which are not uncomfortable on the hand even after much practice.
Simple cruciform quillons with long extended langets typical to the Hungarian and Polish hussars sabres. The almond-shaped pommel is bent forward, thus forming an ideal support for the hand against sliding. This is probably the one thing where I will be picky: it is well made but its not quite the right shape for Hungarian sabres: notice and compare how the end pommel continues without being followed by the leather.
Last thing to note is the absence of a thumb-ring which would have been nice but some authentic models did not have it.
Scabbard
Made of wood and covered in black leather with squared end. The fittings are accurate to original models, even though surviving examples of these can be scarce.
Eastern sabres did not necessarily have a throat but instead just an opening in the leather for the langets and this is it, which keeps the sword firmly inside the scabbard and prevents any rattling. Neat.
Handling Characteristics
A real cut and thrust piece of metal. If such a comparison can help, it is very similar in its dynamics to a 1796 sabre if not even a bit lighter: sturdy but fast and easy to handle.
One thing to notice is that despite the long POB, it is not at all nose-heavy like the Cold Steel Napoleonic swords. The CS 1796 is a train wreck compared to this one in terms of balance and weight distribution.
Control and recovery is extremely easy to execute due to weight distribution (680grams = 1.5 pds) & balance. It is not a no featherlight sword like those for parade: it really feels and acts as a field weapon for a light cavalry trooper. After some heavy duty I'll see how it holds up so updates in the future about that.
As stated previously, I can't verify the cutting power right now but it seems it can cut some light targets (bottles, fruits), on horseback though I am pretty sure it can do some heavy damage to an opponent but I'm honestly in no mood to verify that kind of stuff.
Conclusion
I like it. A lot. The feeling is definitely different from other repro swords and sabres I've held in the past.
As a true reproduction I'm not sure because I'd need to have a real one and judge the performance of both but when compared to some of my models of hussar sabres ranging from the 18th to 20th centuries, it really is a very good & respectable war sword.
I definitely recommend Mr Figura for eastern sabres and the like. His prices are quite reasonable for swords whose original models cost a damn lot and where its repros are just as hard to find.
End note
I must warn possible customers that he is a very busy man so it can take a while before he can really start your order. Be patient with him, he is a very nice fellow that has much talent that guarantees to deliver something well worth the wait.
He is not very ''skilled' however with online payments such as Paypal but it's no big problem in the end.
The damage is approx 400$, scabbard (which is sold separately) & shipping included, it's really not a bad price at all considering what's on the market for those models (or rather the absence).
Pros
- Historically accurate
- Legendary weight & handling
- Marvelous construction, looks and dynamic
- Very good quality blade
Cons
- Maker is always very busy so it takes time to get a sword (around 4-6 months)
- Very old-fashioned method of payment (but he's working hard on that)
- The shape of the pommel end which is not super accurate