LK Chen – Persian Shamshir – Munitions Grade

Swift in the hand and a ferocious cutter, the legendary Persian Shamshir is now made available by LK Chen in a form eminently practical and suitable for routine and regular cutting practice and demonstration and takes its inspiration from a 19th century historic original which is now housed with the collection of the New York MET Museum and is a famous example bequeathed by George C. Stone in 1935. The sharpened blade is crafted from well tempered GB 60Si2MnA High Carbon Manganese Spring Steel and it is securely pinned and mounted into a hilt with steel fittings and a smoothly polished wooden grip. The long tang is pinned directly to the grip halves for a secure mounting and melding of blade and hilt furniture. The sword is matched with a wood core scabbard which is bound in black leather and completed with fittings of steel and stainless steel.

Although "Shamshir" in Persian culture became a byword for swords in general, the name originally meant "curved like a lion's claw" - a self evident reference to its blade shape and the vicious "bite" of its slash. The sharp curve of the blade slices deeply into and through the target as the sword blade "pivots" around its impact point as the cutting arm goes through its plane of movement. Persian swords before the 9th century were originally straight-bladed, but after influence from both the Seljuk Turks and the Mongols the Shamshir took on its familiar form in Persia. Although optimized for cutting, particularly from atop a swift and light-footed horse, the Shamshir is also capable of powerful thrusts. Although the angle from which a thrust can be executed is not as straightforward as a straight sword, the sharp curvature of the blade allows for a skilled swordsman to strike home that thrust from unpredictable angles which can be difficult to anticipate or defend from.