Russian Arms

The blade is steel, curved, single-edged, bearing one wide fuller. The combat end is double edged. Arbitrarily fashioned blades were also common, those of foreign manufacture not uncommon either.

The hilt comprises a grip with a pommel and a guard. The grip is wood, covered in leather, featuring transverse grooves, bound therein with twisted wire. The grip's back is surmounted with a metal back-piece. The grip's pommel is oval-shaped and bulging. The guard is formed by a cross-guard piece and three bows - the knuckle bow and two side bars, branching off the knuckle bow and, arching out, swept with the cross-guard. The cross-guard's quillon tip is slightly curved down and rounded.

Since 1909 the upper part of the metal back-piece, surmounting the grip's back, was embossed with a floral pattern and a cypher of the emperor, during whose reign the weapon- -bearer got his first commissioned rank.

The scabbard is steel, featuring a locket and a band with (loose-) ring fitments to take the suspension belt's straps and a shoe.

Overall length is about 990 mm, the blade's length is near 860 mm, the blade's width is below 32 mm, the blade's curvature averaging 70/38 O mm, the mass - downwards of 1,600 gr.

The sabre came in to replace the gendarmes' officers' cuirassier Pattern 1810 broadsword in 1826 and in 1827 - the dragoons', hussars' . mounted chasseurs', Furstadt' (train')'s, mounted artillery's, mounted pioneers' cavalry Pattern 1817 sabre. In 1834 it was replaced in the Nizhegorodsky dragoon regiment with the officers' Asiatic Pattern 1834 shashka (shasqua). In 1841 in all the dragoon regiments except the Nizhegorodsky, in mounted artillery and mounted pioneer units it was replaced with the officers dragoon pattern 1841 sabre.

In 1881 for the hussar and lancer (Uhlan) regiments officers (the regiments were reformed in 1882 as dragoon ones) it was replaced with the dragoon officers' Pattern 1881 shashka (shasqua) and was only retained in two of the Guard's hussar regiments to be carried in peace time with full dress.

In 1909 the sabre was also allowed to carry to the officers of the Guard's mounted and field mounted artillery, the army lancers (Uhlans), hussar (dragoons were renamed as again in 1907) and dragoon (cuirassier not renamed into) regiments along with the Guard's Mounted Grenadier and Dragoon regiments - outside formation and off duty.

Thus, all through the period considered - till its end - the sabre was essentially part of a certain dress of certain cavalry regiments' officers, as well as the gendarme corps and cavalry military schools.

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