Uzbek Pchak National Knives

Pchak refers to the National Knives of the Central Asian peoples, as a rule, these are Uzbeks or Uyghurs. But not everything is so clear here. The fact is that there are analogs of pchak among other Central Asian peoples.

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In Tajikistan: 

This is the national knife lanyard, and in Iran - the card.

In many regions of the world, different nationalities, absolutely independent of each other, came up with the same shapes of knives, but adjusted to local technologies and traditions, since these shapes were optimal for specific regions and for specific tasks. According to one version, the first mention of pchaks dates back to the 13th century. And some specimens found during excavations can be confidently attributed to the dawn of metallurgy, that is, to the XII century. and before the beginning of our era. According to the second version, the formation of this appearance of the knife, which we have today, began no earlier than the 15th century, which was associated with the conquests of Tamerlane (1336-1405). According to one theory, Tamerlane forbade blacksmith-armorers from producing daggers and other common weapons, leading to the creation of the first pchak.

Chroniclers:

If, in addition to historical odds, we consider the legends of chroniclers, we can mention the Persian king Darius I of the Achaemenid dynasty, who came to Central Asia during a war. By his order, the Persian army was prohibited from destroying the temples and their attendants, which, in turn, was successfully used by the dervishes (Muslim nomadic monks). Using the nobility of Darius, they asked for refuge from the Persian soldiers. And under the cover of night, they took inconspicuous pchaks from their clothes, which looked like rags, and killed the soldiers, as much as they could before the alarm sounded.

It turns out that pchak is a combat knife. This is not entirely true. In general, if we consider the term "Combat Knife", then this is not an object of a special shape and functionality, but simply a knife that participated in the conduct of hostilities. Simply put, any half-used kitchen knife, even a grandmother's, engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the trenches, special operations in the elimination of enemy manpower, is already acquiring the status of a knife. of combat. Pchak is not the name of a certain type of knife, as many people think. It's a knife, and nothing else. There is also a misconception that pchak refers exclusively to kitchen knives, but this is not the case at all, it is rather a universal tool that does a good job with various types of tasks, from cutting vegetables to cutting the tendons of The prey. while hunting.

The design of the pchak and its features

Even a person who is not particularly versed in Knives will only need to look at this knife to see in it all the subtle essence of the East.

The blade has a length of 130 to 250 mm, with a width of 30 - 55 mm and a butt thickness of 1.5 to 5 mm. Such an increase in dimensions gives the possibility of a variety of uses for the knife, ranging from the fine grinding of products to hard work on bones instead of a kitchen hatchet. The absence of rigid dogmas also plays an important role: each blacksmith, each family dynasty has its views on the correct pchak, trying to bring something of its own, but without changing the basic forms.

Pchak leaf shapes

Traditionally, pchak has the three most common types of leaves.

• The most popular of them is Kaike. With this shape, the tip of the blade rises slightly above the line of the stock or is level with it.

• In the second form, Tolbargi, the tip of the blade is lowered below the line of the stock, unlike the previous one. This type is especially popular with butchers.

• The third form of the blade gained popularity among the fishermen of the Aral Sea, among whom there were many Kazakhs, which contributed to getting a name like Kazakh. This form approximately in the middle of the blade has a smooth notch on the stock, and then again the stock rises to the tip.

• This unusual geometry is designed to effectively clean fish from scales.

• In principle, one more form can be distinguished, which stands out - kushkamalak. The blade of this type tapers smoothly from the handle to the tip, outwardly it has an extremely predatory shape, which is also facilitated by the presence of two bucks, the handle, unlike the previous types, has a well-developed butt. It was this type that was used in bloody skirmishes.

• But all this variety of forms, share the same geometric characteristics, regardless of the masters, dynasties, regions, etc., so let's look at the sheet first.

leaf geometry

The blade necessarily has descents from the butt with a lens supply. Also along the butt, there is a smooth taper to the tip (wedge along the butt). Due to the fact that the supply has lenses, many people think that net zeroing, but this is an optical illusion, nothing more. True, in fairness it should be noted that a supply with lenses is found in budget models. If the knife is from a well-known master, then the geometry on the section will have a slightly convex lens to an honest zero.

This blade geometry allows it to have a sleek, penetrating cut that perfectly breaks various products, and since a convex lens can have a variety of depths and radii of convergence at the top of the cutting edge, varying these factors will allow you to achieve the thinnest scalpel, with a filigree cut, or extremely resistant to heavy blade loads.

But such a geometry creates certain conditions when choosing steel for production. Traditionally, pchaks use exclusively carbon steel of a fairly inexpensive segment, and this is no coincidence. The fact is that in the same price category, carbon steel will always outperform its stainless counterpart in characteristics such as cutting aggressiveness and edge-holding strength. If you take stainless steel with the same mechanical characteristics, then its cost will be much more expensive, plus processing is more difficult, and subsequent sharpening too. Consequently, this increases the cost of the final product and makes sharpening difficult for a simple man in the street. And in Central Asia, they do not particularly bother with sharpening - the reverse side of a ceramic saucer is all sharpening.

Central Asian Masters

At present, Central Asian masters prefer to use the ShKh15 carbon steel grade in the production of their pchaks. (bearing cage) This is due to the low cost and easy availability of raw materials, but at the same time, ShKh15 has an incredibly aggressive cut, but, of course, with proper heat treatment. In addition, the knives are made of carbon tool steels of class U7, U8, etc.

Handle Assembly

The amount of the pchak handle can be called "hidden full tang". The shank exactly repeats the shape of the handle, and two dies are attached to the sides with rivets, then a strip of copper or brass metal is soldered along the perimeter of the shank - a branch, which fits flush. The materials of the grips themselves are extremely diverse.

It can be made of horn, bone, or wood, and sometimes there are typographic handles made of synthetic or natural materials. The handles of pchak premium models have a decorative inlay made of various precious metals or stones, which are framed with non-ferrous metals.

The head can be made of ordinary stainless steel with various patterns applied by engraving, or of copper and brass with engraving and subsequent blackening.

But, unfortunately, modern realities are such that the process of simplifying and reducing the cost of production has come to pchaks. Now you can find these knives with the usual mounting of the handles on top, instead of a notch, paint is smeared, instead of engraving, ordinary stamping is used, not to mention craft crooked blades. But don't worry, there are still small family dynasties of artisans still creating pchak, reflecting the subtlety of the Orient itself.

Sheath

Traditionally, the scabbard for pchak is of the sock type, which means that it is made of a single piece of leather, sewn with a single seam on the inside. The scabbard is engraved with various symbols, which is extremely ungrateful to discuss and discuss, the same applies to the symbols on the handles. Even historians cannot reach a consensus on this matter, so you should not go into this jungle.

In cheaper models of pchak, especially in our time, when the market is flooded with consumer goods, often instead of embossed genuine leather you can find fine leatherette or synthetic textiles in general.

Pchak in Culture and Traditions.

Among many peoples, knives or long-bladed weapons were not only functional items to perform certain tasks, but were often elevated to a cult, or various magical qualities were attributed to them.

Among the peoples of Central Asia, pchak is still considered one of the best gifts, which speaks of showing the utmost respect to the recipient, for whom such a gift will later serve as an amulet, driving away evil spirits and various troubles.

In ancient times, the decoration of the pchak on the belt, and the pchak was always worn, could tell a lot about the status of its owner, his position in society, and so on.

According to popular beliefs, the pchak, placed under the baby's pillow, provides him with a deep and healthy sleep. And when an adult was sick, pchak was applied to the forehead; It was believed that it helped drive away evil spirits.