Shashka The Shashka ( , ) is a special kind of sabre ; a very sharp , single - edged , single - handed , and guardless sword . In appearance , the shashka was midway between a full sabre and a straight sword . It had a slightly curved blade , and could be effective for both slashing and thrusting . The blade was either hollowed or fullered . There was no guard , but a large , curved pommel . The hilt was frequently highly decorated . It was carried in a wooden scabbard that enclosed part of the hilt . It was worn with the cutting edge to the rear , opposite to the sabre . History . The shashka originated among the mountain tribes of the Caucasus in the 12th century . Later most of the Russia n and Ukrainian Cossacks adopted the weapon . Two styles of shashka exist : the Caucasian shashka and the Cossack shashka . The typically Adyghe an ( Circassian ) form of sabre was longer than the Cossack type , in fact the Russian word " shashka " originally came from the Adyghe word - ( " Shash ko " ) - meaning " long knife " . It gradually replaced the sabre in all cavalry units except hussar s during the 19th century . Russian troops , having encountered it during their conquest of the Caucasus ( 1817 - 1864 ) , preferred it to their issue sabres . The Russian Caucasian Corps first adopted it in the 1830s . In 1881 shashka became official weapon in Russian troops and police . At this time they were 3 types of shashkas . 1 . Caucasus type where the handle almost sits inside the scabbard , this type was used by Kybani Cossack and tribes from Caucasus . Only one problem was with this type of shashka that during rain water could go down into the scabbard , but this type of shashka was very light 300 - 400 grams , very flexible , strong and sharp . The best and most famous shashkas of this types were Gurda ( strong and sharp like bulat ) , Volchek ( symbol on the blade running wolf ) . 2 . The Don Cossack shashka has straighter blade which gave Cossacks something in the middle to combine two things in one like cutting from the horse and also fence . The weight of this shashka is around 1 kilogram . 3 . Terek Cossack shashka , the handle like the Don Cossack shashka does not go inside the scabbard . It is very light and strong . Construction . The absence of the guard is inherited from the original Caucasian construction , in which the shashka is nearly completely hidden in the scabbard , together with the hilt . The hilt is slightly curved down , thus providing an additional leverage for pulling the shashka and for additional force by wrist action . The handle of the sabre was crafted so as to have a built - in pommel and possibly a small guard , which usually extended to only one side of the hilt . Like most medieval and then imperial Russian weaponry of the time , often the shashka and its scabbard were very ornately decorated , with gold and silver engravings , embedded gems and stones placed into , and figures carved out of or into , the hilts . The blade of the sabre was generally double or triple - fullered , and due to its greater width than that of the European sabre , and its unique styles of tempering , it was much stronger too , able to deal damage to light body armor . The shashka has the feel of a European sabre and was notable for its sharpness . There has been film footage of Tsar Nicholas II ( 1868 – 1918 ) using a Circassian sabre in an overhead twirling motion to horizontally cut pieces from a wooden pole .