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Post by Onimusha on Aug 26, 2012 2:12:50 GMT
I'm considering a shasqua. I know that the windlass and cold steel products are pretty good, but they don't have the look I want. I like the look of the weaponedge offering, but are they any good? Personal experiences would be appreciated. I saw a shasqua with a fake ivory grip on a youtube video. I would like one like that, but I can't find one.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Aug 26, 2012 2:30:49 GMT
About the only ones that I know of which I would consider more 'authentic' are by:
Ollin Swords
Kiylizar (I think? I probably misspelled it)
They're unfortunately in the over 1K's, so your best bet is almost certainly to go custom. Kilted Cossack, who unfortunately hasn't been posting since a few months ago, was on the lookout for shashqua, but he never really found one IIRC. There are a few threads around here dealing with shashqua, they shouldn't be too hard to find... one that had some popularity for a while, people were discussing getting together to ask Kris Cutlery or some Filipino vendor if they could make shashqua.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Aug 26, 2012 2:50:37 GMT
The Cold Steel, to the best of my knowledge, is little more than a fancified & rehilted Windlass (much like their shamshir), so there's not much reason for it to be double the price (to me, anyway). Kizlyar, as far as I remember, uses a Russian equivalent to 420 or 440 stainless for their shashka, except for the few "damascus" models, which are generally in the 1200$ range (I know because I was rather taken with one sometime back), and even then I think the "damascus" is still some stainless variant. On the other hand, Lutel makes a rather gorgeous (in a simplistic way) civilian shashka that's about 955.50$ sharpened, give or take a few bucks for the exchange rate. If I were to seriously consider getting a shashka without going custom and could budget it, I'd definitely go with this one, assuming the good things I've heard in MyArmoury reviews are still valid. |
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Post by somewhat on Aug 26, 2012 11:42:34 GMT
While that is beautiful, I personally feel hesitant ordering from that site. There is another lutel site, which other forumites suggest be the only one I buy from, as the "main" one is run by the old manager but is... sketchy. I'd need some clarification and peace of mind before I took the plunge as I don't have $950 to flush (yet).
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Post by Elheru Aran on Aug 26, 2012 15:49:49 GMT
Ah, forgot about the Lutel version!
I think Lutel Handicraft is the one to go with... they sell pretty much all the same swords that they had on Lutel.eu, they're just a little more trustworthy.
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Post by somewhat on Aug 27, 2012 19:16:38 GMT
Problem is that the Shasqua either isn't on their site or they don't offer it at all....
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Post by Elheru Aran on Aug 27, 2012 20:27:47 GMT
Try sending Jan Krasl (the guy in charge) an email. They can probably come up with it unless Petr Grambal (the other guy) has it locked down.
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Post by mcapanelli on Aug 27, 2012 20:42:07 GMT
For the proper Lutel site Click Here. A few Myarmoury members have ordered from here and it's been alright. I'm sure if you email them, given that it's on the old site, they can still make it for around the same price point. |
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Post by somewhat on Aug 28, 2012 11:27:43 GMT
Actually I just realized they have a custom section which has some seriously beautiful stuff in it.
My only two concerns would be price and blade quality. IIRC most Czech manufacturers make from billets and can sometimes be quite poorly tapered or heavy. Lutel is usually the best-regarded so not sure if that's the case with them. On the other hand if a package costed more than $900-$1k it would be more worth it to either go to a custom maker like Lundemo or simply get accessories made by Odingaard for something high-end production.
Damn me buying so much kit recently, otherwise I think I'd have a project for them....
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Aug 28, 2012 16:20:27 GMT
What is the intended price range for the purchase? And what is the model of shashka you are after?
There are the few makers making sub 300$ swords, then there are the newly made good blades which cost a lot more.
You can get antique ones sometimes at fair prices, if you are not after something too rare.
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Post by Onimusha on Aug 29, 2012 2:31:53 GMT
I just want it functional, but I'd like it to be a little fancy too.
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Post by K. Vander Linde on Oct 23, 2012 19:29:44 GMT
The one with Ivory grips is made by Denix, not good for anything. There are some makers I know in Georgia (the country) but their very pricy and shipping cost alot. If you don't care about spending a couple 1000 on one then let me know and I'll give you their info. example photos |
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Post by Kilted Cossack on Nov 28, 2012 15:35:30 GMT
If you are truly interested in a traditional shashka/shasqua/шашка, the Windlass version will disappoint you. I picked up a Windlass version (from, of course, KOA) with a loose hilt, mostly to study. It's a fine, well made blade, but it's much heavier than a shashka should be.
The magic phrase for a shashka is "sharp as a razor, flexible as a vine, light as a feather." The Windlass gets the sharp as a razor part right, the other two, not at all.
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Post by Onimusha on Nov 28, 2012 15:48:08 GMT
I've been looking at a lot of videos on shasquas. The biggest thing I notice is that Cossack shasquas look nothing like the windlass. The windlass is a copy of a Russian cavalry saber that was loosely based on a shasqua. That being said, it's the closest thing I can afford. I can't spend four figures on anything in the foreseeable future. The hilt can be tightened. Was the thing too unwieldy?
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Post by Anders on Nov 28, 2012 17:07:31 GMT
It's not kiylizar. The only Google hit for that word is this thread. Aside from Lutel, the only other company making production (?) civilian shashka I know about is Raven Armoury. But seeing as it is A) Raven Armoury and B) covered in more silver than a werewolf hunter's arsenal, I'm guessing it's even higher end than the others. |
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Post by Kilted Cossack on Nov 28, 2012 17:16:24 GMT
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Post by Kilted Cossack on Nov 28, 2012 17:22:56 GMT
It's not terribly unwieldy, no. It's just that it weighs more like two shashkas, not one. There's not much distal taper, although there is some, and the pommel is pretty heavy to compensate. (You see the same thing, for instance, with the probably Windlass produced Cold Steel Scottish Broadsword, where the overall POB is maintained by using an ahistorically heavy pommel.)
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Post by Onimusha on Nov 28, 2012 19:16:33 GMT
That Raven armory shasqua is beautiful, but that's probably $400 worth of silver. I almost cried. Is 1lb 6oz about right? I may try to make my own. I bet that a leaf spring from a truck would make a good shasqua blade. The guys I've seen demonstrating them flex the blades almost 90 degrees by hand. I don't know if I'd want my sword to be that whippy.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Nov 28, 2012 19:28:52 GMT
I'm guessing you want to shoot for more in the 1-lb range... yes, this would be a very slim blade. A well tempered blade and highly flexible blade doesn't equal whippiness, though-- that's more a property of a blade's lack of distal taper than anything. In a nutshell, more weight towards the tip of a blade will make it feel 'whippy'; less weight will make it feel more stiff in the cut. Ish.
Leaf spring should be just fine, but it's kinda thick stock. I might start with something along 1/4 of an inch thick at the tang and narrow it down to like 1/16 at the tip.
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Post by K. Vander Linde on Nov 28, 2012 19:42:55 GMT
Btw on rare ocasion you can pice up a realy nice one from ebay that is civilian. I didn't have the money to spend at the time but one with apropriate decoration and such went for $130 USD.
Very rare but watch for them.
(excuse spelling have bad head pain)
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