Windlass Russian Shasqua
Sept 5, 2008 7:58:31 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2008 7:58:31 GMT
Windlass Russian Shasqua
Review by Sébastien Bilodeau, Montréal
Greetings everyone, here goes my first sword review on this forum, I hope you will enjoy it. I will review one of my first word, a Windlass Russian Shasqua (I may miswrite that word a couple of times during this review, my apologies), I bought it in the city of Québec, in a shop called L'Imaginaire (that shop is mentionned somewhere on this website, in the canadian sellers guide, I think). Many things attracted me to this weapon. First, I always liked Russian Shasquas, their long graceful lines and almost hilt-less handles seduced my sword-collector's tastes. Secondly, at that time I thought that this Windlass product was discontinued (which is rare considering Windlass long production runs
). Last, but not least, the salesman allowed me to hold and touch many of his blades and this one felt the greatest to me (more on that later).
Finally, I took my credit card and the Russian saber joined my collection. The salesman wrapped the Shasqua in many, many plastic bags and gave a long speech about law and safety, that sword were not toys (his speech was well said, but not as convincing as Mr Southren thread of the same name ...), etc. Overall, service was very good, but the cost was a bit high (more on that in the end).
The Sword
(exact measures taken from the Kult of Athena website)
Overall lenght : 37 3/4''
Blade lenght : 32 1/2''
Hilt : 1 ''
Pommel and handle : 4 1/4''
PoB : Not mesured precisely, seems to be least 6'' away from the hilt.
Weight : 2 lbs 4 oz
I measured the sword very quickly, the numbers I got were very close to the ones shown on the internet. The blade seems oversized (in a good way) compared to the small handle. While holding the blade the handle and the hilt almost completely disapear, giving a lot of presence to the 32 '' blade.
At first, the blade itself feels a bit heavy and ''dead'', like it doesn't want to be swung around. After a few test swings and measures (very imprecise ones), I think that this feeling may be due to the weight distribution of the sword ; the weight seems to be concentrated toward the tip of the blade, giving the Shasqua a blade-heavy feel. That charateristic became handy during test-cutting.
Now, I will show you some pictures ....
The Blade
The blade has a shallow fuller on both sides. It stops about 5 '' before the end of the blade and is about 1'' across. The back of the blade is thick and rigid, but at the end of the fuller it tapers to a 1 mm dull edge, like the edged side. This ''false edge'' could easily be sharpenend, I think. The blade doesn't bend much, I bended it about 10 degrees and it returned to it original shape. It has a mirror like finish.
Some of the marks on the blade are because of my neglect, but some were there when I buyed the sword. There was a small but visible scratch near the end of the fuller that seemed to have been made by a grinder.
The Hilt
Nothing much to say here. It's small and made of brass, it held my hand back when I tried thrusts and jabs (the blade was unsharpenend) and probably wouldn't protect my hand much in a real swordfight ...
Pommel and handle
The handle is covered with hardwood, it looks decent and gives a good grip, but becomes very irritating when doing full strenght swings. The tiny space between the pommel and the handle digs in the flesh. The pommel itself is like the hilt, made of brass. It has a small symbol from the Soviet Empire. It looks okay, details aren't outstanding but aren't on a ''Deepeka level'' (very, very dirt cheap).
The Scabbard
(For a full view, see image near title) The scabbard seems to be made of wood, covered with black leather, with cheap brass throat and tip. It doesn't hold the sword if held with the throat down and the brass takes scratches very easily. I'm a bit disappointed but that's no big deal, considering the cost of the sword.
Handling and test cutting
Like I said before, the Shasqua is blade heavy. Forget about wrist-flicking or fencing with finess, this saber wants full-arm swings. The sword has to be swung to cut well, and stopping it in mid swing takes effort. Althought a bit light (2 lbs 4 oz), the blade heavy handling makes the sword feel heavier. Personnaly, I think it feels like what most cavalry sabers felt (from what I have read ...) ; a weapon made for brutal swings and cuts. And when it comes to chopping and cutting, the Russian Shasqua delivers. It handling makes it easy to gather lots of momentum and power when swinging, making cuts easy and fun in backyard cutting.
I did some test-cutting with a friend. The blade was unsharpenend (I plan to post videos of upcoming test cuts, later). It didn't cut much (that was expected
) but gave a good thrashing to my targets. We used several beer cans (500 mL ones, filled with water), small water bottles, a orange juice container and an half-gallon windshield-washing fluid container. All these targets were violently bashed aside and snapped in half. Considering it was our first test cutting, the ''swing-friendly'' handling of the Shasqua helped a lot.
I also did some thrusts, on the half-gallon bottle. The blade delivered strong, precise jabs and the small hilt held my hand back. Here's some pictures of my targets, after test cutting ...
Conclusion
(edited, april 10th, 2009)
Today, I am less happy about this sword than I was almost a year ago ; I very rarely use it for backyard cutting because of the rattling hilt and the mediocre handling. As a backyard cutter, it doesn't satisfy me anymore. However, it remains a good looking replica and makes a great wallhanger. I'd recommend it for anyone looking for a Shasqa replica who doesn't intend to use it for cutting.
Pros
-Decent looking fittings
-One of the only functionnal replica for this type of historical weapon.
-Top heavy ; strong, forceful cuts and jabs ...
Cons
-Top heavy ; not very lively, mediocre for anything but full arm swings and jabs, mediocre recovery time.
-Rattling hilt after a few test cuts.
-Irritating grip (easily overcomed by wearing gloves)
I paid 199,99 CA$ for this Shasqua at L'Imaginaire. Thats the most I would pay for this weapon. At Kult of Athena, it's only 139,95 US$, a good price for what you get, I think.
Review by Sébastien Bilodeau, Montréal
Greetings everyone, here goes my first sword review on this forum, I hope you will enjoy it. I will review one of my first word, a Windlass Russian Shasqua (I may miswrite that word a couple of times during this review, my apologies), I bought it in the city of Québec, in a shop called L'Imaginaire (that shop is mentionned somewhere on this website, in the canadian sellers guide, I think). Many things attracted me to this weapon. First, I always liked Russian Shasquas, their long graceful lines and almost hilt-less handles seduced my sword-collector's tastes. Secondly, at that time I thought that this Windlass product was discontinued (which is rare considering Windlass long production runs
). Last, but not least, the salesman allowed me to hold and touch many of his blades and this one felt the greatest to me (more on that later).Finally, I took my credit card and the Russian saber joined my collection. The salesman wrapped the Shasqua in many, many plastic bags and gave a long speech about law and safety, that sword were not toys (his speech was well said, but not as convincing as Mr Southren thread of the same name ...), etc. Overall, service was very good, but the cost was a bit high (more on that in the end).
The Sword
(exact measures taken from the Kult of Athena website)
Overall lenght : 37 3/4''
Blade lenght : 32 1/2''
Hilt : 1 ''
Pommel and handle : 4 1/4''
PoB : Not mesured precisely, seems to be least 6'' away from the hilt.
Weight : 2 lbs 4 oz
I measured the sword very quickly, the numbers I got were very close to the ones shown on the internet. The blade seems oversized (in a good way) compared to the small handle. While holding the blade the handle and the hilt almost completely disapear, giving a lot of presence to the 32 '' blade.
At first, the blade itself feels a bit heavy and ''dead'', like it doesn't want to be swung around. After a few test swings and measures (very imprecise ones), I think that this feeling may be due to the weight distribution of the sword ; the weight seems to be concentrated toward the tip of the blade, giving the Shasqua a blade-heavy feel. That charateristic became handy during test-cutting.
Now, I will show you some pictures ....
The Blade
The blade has a shallow fuller on both sides. It stops about 5 '' before the end of the blade and is about 1'' across. The back of the blade is thick and rigid, but at the end of the fuller it tapers to a 1 mm dull edge, like the edged side. This ''false edge'' could easily be sharpenend, I think. The blade doesn't bend much, I bended it about 10 degrees and it returned to it original shape. It has a mirror like finish.
Some of the marks on the blade are because of my neglect, but some were there when I buyed the sword. There was a small but visible scratch near the end of the fuller that seemed to have been made by a grinder.
The Hilt
Nothing much to say here. It's small and made of brass, it held my hand back when I tried thrusts and jabs (the blade was unsharpenend) and probably wouldn't protect my hand much in a real swordfight ...
Pommel and handle
The handle is covered with hardwood, it looks decent and gives a good grip, but becomes very irritating when doing full strenght swings. The tiny space between the pommel and the handle digs in the flesh. The pommel itself is like the hilt, made of brass. It has a small symbol from the Soviet Empire. It looks okay, details aren't outstanding but aren't on a ''Deepeka level'' (very, very dirt cheap).
The Scabbard
(For a full view, see image near title) The scabbard seems to be made of wood, covered with black leather, with cheap brass throat and tip. It doesn't hold the sword if held with the throat down and the brass takes scratches very easily. I'm a bit disappointed but that's no big deal, considering the cost of the sword.
Handling and test cutting
Like I said before, the Shasqua is blade heavy. Forget about wrist-flicking or fencing with finess, this saber wants full-arm swings. The sword has to be swung to cut well, and stopping it in mid swing takes effort. Althought a bit light (2 lbs 4 oz), the blade heavy handling makes the sword feel heavier. Personnaly, I think it feels like what most cavalry sabers felt (from what I have read ...) ; a weapon made for brutal swings and cuts. And when it comes to chopping and cutting, the Russian Shasqua delivers. It handling makes it easy to gather lots of momentum and power when swinging, making cuts easy and fun in backyard cutting.
I did some test-cutting with a friend. The blade was unsharpenend (I plan to post videos of upcoming test cuts, later). It didn't cut much (that was expected
) but gave a good thrashing to my targets. We used several beer cans (500 mL ones, filled with water), small water bottles, a orange juice container and an half-gallon windshield-washing fluid container. All these targets were violently bashed aside and snapped in half. Considering it was our first test cutting, the ''swing-friendly'' handling of the Shasqua helped a lot. I also did some thrusts, on the half-gallon bottle. The blade delivered strong, precise jabs and the small hilt held my hand back. Here's some pictures of my targets, after test cutting ...
Conclusion
(edited, april 10th, 2009)
Today, I am less happy about this sword than I was almost a year ago ; I very rarely use it for backyard cutting because of the rattling hilt and the mediocre handling. As a backyard cutter, it doesn't satisfy me anymore. However, it remains a good looking replica and makes a great wallhanger. I'd recommend it for anyone looking for a Shasqa replica who doesn't intend to use it for cutting.
Pros
-Decent looking fittings
-One of the only functionnal replica for this type of historical weapon.
-Top heavy ; strong, forceful cuts and jabs ...
Cons
-Top heavy ; not very lively, mediocre for anything but full arm swings and jabs, mediocre recovery time.
-Rattling hilt after a few test cuts.
-Irritating grip (easily overcomed by wearing gloves)
I paid 199,99 CA$ for this Shasqua at L'Imaginaire. Thats the most I would pay for this weapon. At Kult of Athena, it's only 139,95 US$, a good price for what you get, I think.
Lots of good pictures and description. Windlass seems to do their later military blades very well (even if they tend to be a bit thinner than original ones, at least they are nice and rigid). I'm glad to hear this one is the same. I also like the recessed brass pommel nut (looks cool). If you sharpen it up, I hope you'll add a cutting update to this review at that time. 
) uh...be bad (I tried 
) for the sword. No surprise that it's loosening up a bit. I can't remember at present and am too lazy to go look again, but if this was peened, it may be a simple matter of a few whacks in with a good hammer on the ol' peen itself, or if need be ooze some epoxy down the grip. 
