Peserey Handicrafts silver fittings shashka
Mar 12, 2023 13:32:02 GMT
Post by rh on Mar 12, 2023 13:32:02 GMT
Full Disclosure
I paid the full price for this weapon and i am not afilliated in any way with the seller.
Pictures
Initial Impressions
I recieved the shashka almost a year after placing my order. Initially i was told that it would take ca. 4 months. The delay was caused by a shoulder surgery Hamit Esen (the maker) needed. This led to a considerable backlog. Communication was smooth through all this time. It came in a box fashioned out of two panels of styrofoam. Nothing to look at but very secure. The shashka was in its scabbard which was wrapped in plastic foil. Hamit improved his packaging since the last time i got a sword from him.
Statistics
I will compare the actual measurements with the ones i ordered.
Blade Length:
75 cm (ordered 75)
Handle Length:
15 cm overall; 7.5cm recessed part where the hand is meant to grip.
Overall Length:
91 cm
Blade width at base:
35 mm (ordered 35mm)
Blade width at tip right before the hatchet point begins:
33 mm
Blade width at COP:
35 mm
Curvature:
3.5 cm
POB (Point of Balance):
19.5 cm
Weight:
605gr (ordered max. 600 grams)
blade thickness at the base:
5 mm
blade thickness half up the blade:
3 mm
blade thickness at the beginnig of the last quarter of the blade:
3 mm
blade thickness 8 cm from tip:
3 mm
blade thickness at tip:
ca. 1.3 mm
One can see that my requirements were met. Distal taper on this one is present but i have seen better from Hamit on the first shashka i received from him.
Components
You can count them with three fingers..
Grips:
Made of a beautiful black horn with white specles in the traditional riveted construction like on a knife. The tang is fully covered by the scale. There is no noticable gap between the gripslabs and the tang as the slabs are tailored to fill out the fuller which runs beneath them. The grip is quite small leaving barely enough space for my hands. This leads to a very secure grip. In combination with the oval grip shape this prevents turning of the edge very well. On the side facing away from the palm there is a pure silver disc engraved in niello technique with a rosette motive.
Rivets:
The rivets are made of brass. They are well shaped and engraved with a ..cartweel?..motiv.
Blade:
The blade material is 1075 steel hardened to 48 HRC. Hamit grinds the blades from steel blanks. The blade is well curved, has a single rather narrow fuller near its spine and terminates in a hatchet point. The first 10cm of the blade from the tip are bevelled but not sharpened. The edge planes are very flat. It has a secondary bevel and came rather dull. It would cut paper only with some parts of the blade. After 5 minutes with a worksharp it is almost shaving sharp. It is rather flexible and when bending it the bend begins from the second half of the blade rather than the last third. In this it reminds me the new windlass 1796 light cavalry saber. The blade has a low level polish with its surface being smooth but grindlines still visible. On one side there is a running wolf mark indicating manufacture in the german city of passau as it is seen in many historical examples. The mark is engraved very cleanly. Correct edge alignment is indicated with a swoosh of average loudness.
The Scabbard:
It is the highlight of this sword in my opinion! It has the elegant and sleek ellyptical crosssection as commonly seen on Peserey Handicrafts items. It fits much tighter than the scabbard of my basic Peserey shashka. There is no rattling and you can turn the scabbard upside down without the shashka sliding out. The scabbard is covered in a nice oxblood coloured red leather which is glued on. No glue stains are visible. The fittings are made of silver decorated in niello technique with traditional circassian style ornaments. Remarkably Hamit makes them by himself! On the backside on the upper fitting one can see a signature in arabic script which says: Ameli Peserey (made by peserey)
Sene 1444 (hidjri calendar - Year 2023). Getting all this for just 440€ is truly amazing!
One minor downfall is, that the scabbard wood shrinked since i received the sword. It sheathes normally but all the fittings besides the chape came loose. I had to slide them up the scabbard and/or shim them with paper and leather strips. As they leave a lot of hollow space to the scabbard using glue isnt really an option.
Handling Characteristics:
While weighing only 605 grams this sword has a lot of authority in the cut. Combined with the rather flexible blade redirecting the blade after commiting to a cut certainly requires skill. You have to be much more mindful with orienting your knuckles into the cutting plane. More than with any other sword i own. This sword is a powerful cutter not a fencer. Which means it is exactly what a shashka should be.
Test Cutting
I have yet to cut with this shashka but judging from its handling it should be a great cutter.
Conclusions
Again i am very happy with my purchase from Hamit Esen of Peserey handicrafts. The visuals of this sword are absolutely stunning especially at the pricepoint! One can also see a lot of improvement in the worksmanship compared to his shashka i received almost two years ago.