How to make a bolster for pchak. How Uzbek knives are made - pchagi. It is almost impossible to inflict stab wounds with such a knife, and, therefore, the danger of an uprising and other "terrorist attacks" is reduced.

Let's start simple. These photographs depict a knife that any person who is at least somehow interested in knives or who has been to Central Asia will call “PCHAK”, or, in Uzbek, “PICHOK”. The appearance of the pchak is peculiar and easily recognizable.

This is the most common pchak with a kaike blade. Such a blade involves raising the tip above the line of the butt by 3-8 mm. More advanced and inquisitive people will say that this is the Andijan Pchak.

Someone else will add: "Sharkhon."

The pchak blade itself is traditionally forged from carbon steel (in ancient times, broken weapons or iron ingots from India were used, from the 19-20th century automobile springs, bearing cages and other improvised materials were used, now factory-made steel bars of the ShKh type are most often used -15, U12, 65G or cheap fittings from St3).

In Uzbekistan, they still say: “Pichok made of carbon for work, stainless steel for decoration!”

If the blade is made of high-carbon tool (U12) or bearing (ШХ15) steels (which allows you to get a better product), then St3 shanks are usually welded to it, which is noticeable in the form of a triangle near the pchak handle.

By the way, many Japanese and Russian masters do the same, for example, G.K. Prokopenkov. This is due to the fact that U12 and ShKh15 have low impact strength and strength, and if the blade and shank are forged from a single piece of steel, there is a high probability of the blade breaking in the neck area, for example, when falling.

The length of the blade is usually 16-22 cm, the thickness always decreases wedge-shaped from the handle to the point, and at the handle it can be 4-5 mm. In cross section, the blade of the pchak also tapers wedge-shaped from the butt to the blade. The slopes are usually straight, rarely convex or concave lenticular. Blade width can be up to 50 mm. All this together gives a good geometry of the knife and provides an effective cut of any food products.

As already mentioned, carbon steel is used on pchaks, from what is at hand, hardening (as a rule, zone - only at the cutting edge) is usually carried out up to 50-52 Rockwell units, less often up to 54-56, and then only in recent times. On the one hand, a hardness of 50-54 units does not allow long-term retention of the sharpness of the cutting edge, but it allows you to edit such a knife on anything (the bottom of a ceramic bowl is usually used, but there are also special stones of a traditional shape for dressing pchaks and scissors), which, of course, is a big plus. But in this case, the knife quickly wears off and turns almost into an awl, so you have to buy a new one. Although the cost of pchaks (not souvenir ones) has always been small.

Recently, more and more often there are pchaks made of ShKh-15 steel, which can be hardened up to 60 Rockwell units, which we see on some blades.

Such hard blades are made specifically for the Russian and Ukrainian market in order to compete with Japanese kitchen knives. From my point of view, such hardness is not very justified, because pchaks have a very thin reduction and working with such knives requires certain skills and special equipment, otherwise the blade will crumble and break (similar to Japanese kitchen workers).

On the other hand, there is no special point in heating ShKh-15 to 50-52 units (the norm for a pchak) - just a translation of good material.

The surface of blades made of carbon steels is usually oxidized (burnished), immersed in a solution of Naukat clay (traditionally), ferrous sulfate or ferric chloride, due to which the blade acquires a dark gray color with a blue or yellow tint, and is decorated with a fuller (“komalak”, moreover if there is only one dol, then it will definitely be from the side of the tamga), stamped with a brand (“tamga”) or engraved. The knocked-out recesses are filled with brass. On carbon blades, a hardening zone is often noticeable.

The names of the parts of the pchak are presented below:

"GULBAND", or bolster, is cast from low-melting tin or tin-lead alloys, soldered from sheet brass or cupronickel and filled with tin or its alloy. I note that the use of lead in cooking is not good, and it is advisable not to use leaded knives (or at least varnish them). You can distinguish lead by trying it with a soldering iron (lead melts worse), it is highly oxidized, acquiring a dark gray tint, and gets dirty (like newsprint). It seems to me that the use of lead and alloys is a cost of the easy availability of old car batteries and bearing babbits.

They decorate the gulband with engraving (traditionally, with the Uzbek floral ornament “islimi”), often with filling in the recesses with enamel paint (black, red, green), as well as inserts of mother-of-pearl (“sadaf”), turquoise or rhinestones.

"BRINCH" - a strip of sheet brass or cupronickel, up to one millimeter thick, soldered around the perimeter of the shank when the handle is mounted on the surface ("erma dosta"). Handles are riveted to the brinch, decorated with engraving and decorative oxidation. I note that usually the brinch protrudes beyond the shank by 1-2 mm, and there is an air gap between the linings and the shank.

The meaning of this action is not very clear, except to save the material of the overlays when expensive material is used (for example, ivory). Perhaps this design allows you to dampen the stress in the handle, because. the same installation is traditionally used in the handles of Central Asian sabers (filling the air cavities with mastic).

"CHAKMOK" or pommel.

A specially made and decorated pommel is used on expensive pchaks with surface mounting (“yorma dosta”), in the form of metal pritins, or mounted mounting of handles (“sukma dosta”) from a hollow horn, in this case it is performed by soldering from cupronickel, brass.

Decorate with engraving, sadaf, rhinestones.

On inexpensive pchaks, chakmok is designated by changing the cross section of the handle (from rounded to rectangular) and / or the presence of a beak-shaped protrusion.

"DOSTA" - black, handle.

For manufacturing, local wood (apricot, plane tree), textolite, plexiglass, bones, horns are used, soldered from sheet metal (cupronickel, brass)

Wood, textolite and bone are usually not decorated, colored “eyes” and wire are inserted into plexiglass, the horn is decorated with decorative carnations, sadaf inserts or rhinestones, engraving is applied to metal handles, usually in the form of a floral, floral (“chilmikh guli”) ornament with adding rhinestones.

Handle shank with surface mounting ("erma dosta") usually has the same thickness in gulband and chakmok, rarely thickens towards chakmok. Often the thickness of such a handle exceeds its width - this is convenient for traditional cutting of vegetables in the preparation of Uzbek dishes: pilaf, salads "chuchuk", or "shakarob"

"TAMGA" - brand

As a rule, each craftsman (“usto”) who produces any product (especially knives) uses a workshop brand (tamga).

For Uzbek masters in the center of the tamga, a crescent is usually used (as a symbol of faith), stars are often used (they say that their number used to indicate the number of children-heirs or students who became masters) and the symbol of cotton.

Anything can be found on modern hallmarks - even the image of a car.

It should be noted that at present it is impossible to fully rely on the tamga to identify the master. I saw tamga, which is used by at least four different masters (although maybe one makes it, but different people sell it on their own behalf).

As with any household knife, a sheath is required for a pchak. As a rule, they do not differ in good materials and workmanship. Today, it is usually leatherette with cardboard inserts, sometimes decorated with appliqué and imitation beads.

More expensive pchaks may have a leather scabbard decorated with embossed or woven leather cord.

Rarely there are metal scabbards (melchior, brass) with engraving or combined ones (leather, wood, metal).

At the end of the review of the Andijan pchak, I will quote from O. Zubov’s article “The Sign of the Master” (magazine “Vokrug sveta” No. 11, 1979):

“... Wide, ringing with a black and purple tint, inlaid with red, green, blue and white pebbles - specks, three stars and the moon shine on the blade - the ancient brand of the Abdullayevs.

This knife is an indispensable helper at a meal with friends, an integral part of Uzbek cuisine. the master said. And, after a pause, he smiled: “But the best thing is to cut a melon!”

Considering the Uzbek pchaks, willy-nilly one wonders what led to the appearance of just such a form of blade.

The fact is that this form is suitable exclusively for cooking, while the neighboring peoples had a typical knife that could somehow be protected and used for other (non-cooking) needs, that is, they were used all over the world more versatile knives. The Uzbeks also had such knives, but ... only until the 14th century. The exact reason for the emergence of this form is not known, but if we recall that the 14th century is the century of the empire of Timur (Tamerlane), an empire with centralized power and strict laws, then we can assume that Timur's officials, or himself, were somewhat concerned about the subjugation of the conquered peoples , and, in order to prevent the appearance of edged weapons among the people, they took all the gunsmiths to the Shah's forges, to the capital of the empire, Samarkand, and for the civilian population they forced the craftsmen to make knives with a point raised up.

It is almost impossible to inflict stab wounds with such a knife, and, therefore, the danger of an uprising and other “terror attacks” is reduced.

Recall that in the days of another empire, already close to us in time, pchaks also did not belong to edged weapons precisely because of the shape of the blade, and for their manufacture they were not sent to places not so remote. Although there may be other versions. In any case, it turned out to be a very convenient knife for cooking, which quickly gained popularity in Central Asia. If it were not convenient, it would not have received such distribution!

In addition to pchaks with a “kaike” blade, there are pchaks with a “tugri” blade, that is, with a straight butt.

Let's compare two types of blades: the photo below clearly shows the difference between the blade "tugri" (above) and "kaike" (below)

The blade "tugri" has a constant or decreasing width towards the tip. Convenient for slicing meat, usually included in the butcher's kit ("kassob pichok").

In addition to the already mentioned "Andijan" pchak, one can come across the names "Old Bukhara" and "Old Kand".

In the "Old Bukhara" blade evenly narrows to the point, the rise is less pronounced, but the entire blade is often arched, the blade is more specialized for meat work - skinning, deboning.

Interestingly, to this day, the narrow Bukhara pchaks are often called "Afghan", although there is a difference between the pchaks from Bukhara and Afghanistan - on the "Bukhara" rivets go in one row, and on the "Afghan" - a half-envelope.

Also, traditionally Bukhara pchaks have a sheath with a ball or leaf at the end.

"Starokandsky" - the blade of this pchak is distinguished by its small width, most likely used as an auxiliary when deboning or peeling vegetables.

You can also meet the names "tolbargi" (willow leaf) and "kazakhcha". These are functional highly specialized knives designed to perform a specific job.

"Tolbargi" - a butcher's knife for butchering animal carcasses,

"Kazakhcha" - for cutting fish.

Pchaks "Kazakhcha" were distributed mostly among the inhabitants (fishermen) of the coast of the Aral Sea, mainly Kazakhs.

The line of the “Kazakhchi” butt approximately one third to the point forms a smooth notch, again rising to the point, located on the butt-handle line. The recess is sharpened on one or both sides. With a blade of this shape, turning the knife over, it is easy to clean and gut the fish.

The handles of the "tolbargi" and "kazakhcha" are usually made of wood and, as a rule, are not decorated (only the presence of a colored ornament on the gulband is allowed).

Here is a photo of the knives of the master Mamurjon Makhmudov from the city of Kokand:

"Tolbargi"

Well, another photo of knives from Tashkent

Photo from the Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan, the selection is called "Tashkent 1985"

The Uigur pchaks deserve special mention.

These are knives from XUAR (Xinjiang - Uighur Autonomous Region of China). Sometimes the name Yangisar knives is found - the name was fixed in the center of production - the city of Yangisar. They also have the "Old Bukhara type-Afghan" and "Old Kandish", but if you look at the photos, you can see the differences. The higher quality (and beautiful) manufacture of handles and the absence of a cast gulband (bolster) made of tin are striking, the blade shanks are almost always open, the brinch is not used. But the blades are often processed roughly, or not sharpened at all, because. the production of Uyghur knives with sharpened blades longer than 200 mm is prohibited by Chinese law!

Starobukharsky. Uyghur masters

Afghan. Uighur masters.

Starokandsky. Uighur masters.

If the Uzbek pchaks are more specialized for cooking, then the Tajik KORDs are more versatile knives.

Cords come in three typical sizes. The most common (most working) has a length of 14-17 cm, a large knife "Gov kushi" ("cow cutter") is used for slaughtering livestock and has a length of 18-25 cm and the smallest knives (less than 14 cm) are for women.

The blades of traditional cords are powerful, up to 4 mm thick at the guard (I note that if the thickness of the knife blade is more than 2.4 mm, then it can already be considered as a melee weapon and is prohibited for free circulation), lenticular slopes from the butt or the middle of the blade width, less often straight (for Uzbek pchaks, as a rule, the opposite is true). The cutting edge is displayed on each knife, depending on the purpose. The butt of a cord blade, usually machined from a finished strip of metal, is straight and parallel, and not wedge-shaped, like a pchak. On the blade, valleys are usually machined, one or two on each side, or two on the right and one on the left.

Installation depends on the area of manufacture. In the southeastern mountainous regions, preference is given to mounted installation, and in the western and northern regions, which are closer to Uzbekistan, to overhead installation. Moreover, the overhead installation of the cord is somewhat different from that of the pchak: a brazed brinch is not used, and the entire shank is poured around the perimeter with a tin alloy, so the handle on the pchak is lighter, and on the cord it is stronger! In general, the device for cords is only cast, made of tin and its alloys (or silver), the ornament is only engraved and more geometric, radially symmetrical, in contrast to the complex-vegetative Uzbek “islimi”. The ornament is individual for each master and can replace the stigma (the cords are traditionally not stigmatized, at least on the blade, on the guard there is a certain ornament or stigma)

The overhead handles of the cords are always wider than those of the pchaks, they expand towards the pommel and have a characteristic notch for the little finger.

Horn, bone, wood, plastic go to the handle of the cord. When mounted or overhead mounting, the cord blade shank is always full for the entire length of the handle (with the exception of small knives for women in the kitchen).

Photo from the Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan, the selection is called "Khorezm, Khiva. 1958"

I would like to once again dwell on the terminology - pchak, pichok, bull, cord, card.

The fact is that some time ago I got a knife somewhere in the 17th-18th century

Length 310mm, blade length 185mm, butt width 30mm, butt thickness (3.5-2.5-1.5)mm. The purpose of the groove on the butt is not clear to me, except perhaps to increase the thickness of the butt, which slightly increases when the groove is minted. The yellow metal in the ornament is gold. Hardness about 52 units. I was struck by the blade structure (as the famous cutler Gennady Prokopenkov put it, “just aerobatics!”): - a wedge from the butt with a concave lens, and turning into a drop-shaped view a few millimeters (from 3 to 5) from the cutting edge. Of course, this is all - tenths of a millimeter, but everything is visible and palpable. After some persuasion, G.K. Prokopenkov agreed to make me a modern copy, preserving the entire blade structure as much as possible.

Here is the knife:

It turned out that when working in the kitchen, it surpasses almost all the knives I have - both in terms of cut quality and ease of use. Well, it’s easy to edit anything (even musat, even ceramics). Although if you chop vegetables for a long time, that is, on a stream, a good chef will apparently be more convenient. But for home...

In addition, its design allows you to cut off / cut the stick and protect yourself from any evil spirit.

That is, we got an excellent wagon.

Naturally, the question arose about the type of knife. There were two options - card or pchak. The cord was not considered for obvious signs. Based on the materials of the Internet and, in particular, the RusKnife conference, the Bukhara knife turned out to be the closest.

Knife from Bukhara. Museum of Artillery, Engineering Troops and Signal Corps. Exhibition "Weapons of the East 16-19 centuries"

I note that the “museum” exhibit is simply called “Knife from Bukhara”

Further searches resulted in the following photos:

Pchak is old. Bukhara

Pchak. Bukhara.

Bukhara card

Pchak Bukhara with turquoise

Pchak Afghanistan

Persian card

Note that in the last photo the knife (Persian card) has an armor-piercing thickening on the tip.

Thus, it is apparently not possible to determine exactly the type of my knife.

From the point of view of collectors and connoisseurs of edged weapons, a card is a knife created primarily for military purposes: it looks more like a stiletto and its edge, as a rule, is strengthened.

So I think that I have a pchak. Tugri-pchak, most likely, of Bukhara production.

However, I am most impressed by the position of Marat Suleymanov, who claims that card, cord and pchak are not brands at all, but simply the names of one product - a knife - in different languages ("pechak" - in Tatar, "pichok" - in Uzbek, "pshah" - in Azerbaijani, "kord" - in Tajik, "kard" - in Persian. Kard and Kord are close in sound, since Tajiks and Persians (Iranians) belong to the same language group, Uzbeks, Tatars, Azerbaijanis - to another, Turkic)

There is also a "bull" - a Karachay knife (see the article "Bychak - the knife of every Karachay" on this site), but the Karachays and their closest relatives - the Balkars, as you know, are also Turkic-speaking peoples.

There are also knives of the Turkmen-Saryks (photo from Rusknife)

Thus, without touching on military topics, it seems most correct to say:

National Uzbek knife (pichok, or pchak)

National Tajik knife (cord)

National Uighur knife (pchak)

National Karachai knife (bull)

Here is another photo from the “Turkestan Album” 1871-1872

Samarkand, Pichak Bazaar (By the way, the original says “Pisyak Bazaar”)

In previous years, Uzbek pchaks came to the European part of the USSR in the form of single specimens, most often they were brought from expeditions in Central Asia. As a rule, their quality was not at a high level.

Since the end of the 90s of the last century, the Soyuzspetsosnaschenie company began regular deliveries of Uzbek pchaks to Russia, and it became possible to purchase them at the company's office or in retail. Currently, they can be purchased in many knife stores and oriental culinary shops, including online stores (in particular, in Dukan Vostoka, Pchak-handmade knives, etc.).

At first, suppliers bought pchaks in bulk at the bazaars in Uzbekistan, so it was impossible to find out either the name of the master or the place of manufacture from the sellers. As the market saturated, the trade began to "civilize", and now you can buy pchak made by a particular master (especially from those sellers who buy products directly from the masters), and choose the type, style and materials of the blade and handle.

During the Soviet Union, the most popular were pchaks from the city of Chust, where there was the only knife factory in Uzbekistan.

Photo from the Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan, the selection is called "Chust 1987"

At present, the bulk of Uzbek pchaks are produced in the city of Shakhrikhon, Andijan region of Uzbekistan, where there is a whole urban area (“makhalla”) of cutlers (“pichokchi”), in which entire family dynasties of blacksmiths and pchak fitters work.

Photo from the Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan, the selection is called "Shahrikhon 1999"

Thus, the famous craftsman Komiljon Yusupov, who devoted more than 50 years of his life to his craft, and was elected the elder of the mahalla pichokchi of Shakhrikhon, passed on his art to his sons and now the brothers can make, if they wish, very good products.

Usto Bakhrom Yusupov

In other regions of Uzbekistan, individual craftsmen (“usto”) and pichakchi families also live and work, but their products are much less common. For example, the Abdullayev family, who lives and works in Bukhara, also makes pchaks, but their true “horse” is hand-forged scissors for various purposes, famous throughout Uzbekistan.

Related to the Uzbek pchaks, Tajik knives (“cords”) are mainly produced in the city of Istaravshan (former Ura-Tyube).

Also, stands with pchaks and cords are always present at various knife exhibitions: “Blade”, “Arsenal”, “Hunting and Fishing” and others ...

Usto Abduvahob and his knives:

The director of the store "Dukan Vostoka" Bakhriddin Nasyrov with Uzbek masters - "usto": usto Ulugbek, usto Abdurashid, usto Abduvakhob.

Usto Ulugbek

Usto Abdurashid

Both pchaks and cords are made by hand, and it is safe to say that each such knife carries a particle of the master's soul.

Already with an external examination, you can judge the level of quality of the knife:

- good build and processing of the blade, a pronounced hardening line and a thin cutting edge allows you to count on a good and long cut;

- well-soldered or cast from pure tin (light and shiny) gulband allows you to use pchak or cord in the kitchen without the risk of lead poisoning;

- a clean and long ringing after clicking on the blade, the absence of a shank at the saddle handle indicates a high-quality assembly;

- the absence of gaps between the device and the handle, or cracks in the handle handle prevents the reproduction of microorganisms in them;

If possible, pchak and cord, like any other tool for work, need to be selected “by touch” so that it becomes a “natural extension of the hand”.

The only (today) pchaks that cannot be faulted are the pchaks of Mamirjon Saidakhunov

Blade 140x4mm at the butt, evenly descends to the spout. Reduced to zero, the double-sided lens is light, sharpened perfectly. Powdered steel DI-90, heat in the oven, 61 hardening somewhere. Handle 110mm, walrus bone. Gulband is a hard alloy based on tin. The food cuts brutally, the tree cuts dry, the chicken cheerfully butchers. Sheath: 3mm leather, water resistant

True, there is a small nuance - the master lives and works in Ukraine and the price for this knife is quite high (compared to other pchaks)

To date, more than 30 knives from Shakhrikhon, Samarkand, Tashkent and so on are presented in Russia ...

In addition, such knives could not fail to interest Russian manufacturers.

So, at the request of their customers, they make pchaks:

Gennady Prokopenkov

We can see this knife almost every weekend on the NTV channel in the hands of Stalik Khankishiev. Fiber composite based on 40X13, hardened up to 52-54

Dmitry Pogorelov

Steel CPM 3V, HRC - about 60. Length 280 mm, blade length 150 mm, width 33 mm, thickness (3.5-2.5-1.5) mm, weight 135g. Handle -cocobolo Zeroing, excellent cut

Mezhov's workshop

Knife of S. Kutergin and M. Nesterov

H12MF steel, silver, rosewood, rosewood, bone. Knife length 280mm, blade 160mm, width 40mm, thickness 4mm, HRC 57-59

But even from the photograph it is clear that the mixing is by no means "Pchakovsky"

Zlatoust gunsmiths

Steel 95X18, HRC 58, length 292 mm, blade 160 mm, width 35 mm, thickness (2.2-2.0-1.8) mm, weight 120 g. The handle is walnut. Despite the small thickness and good reduction, the cut of this knife leaves much to be desired.

Gunsmith

Damascus, gilding. Length 260 mm, blade 160 mm, width 35 mm, thickness (4.0-3.5-2.0) mm, weight 140g. HRC is about 56. Convergence is about 0.2-0.3 mm.

Despite the various decorations, the cut is much better than the previous AiR.

A little testing showed predictable results - first Prokopenkov with Pogorelov, then Oruzheinik and then A&R by a wide margin.

It is interesting that the usual pchak (see photo) proved to be slightly worse than the pchaks of our eminent masters (in terms of cut quality), but better than the Gunsmith, but not by much.

In the middle of the last century, knives similar to pchak were made by the German company Herder, but I could not find out its specialization

Of course, a pchak, even a good one, is difficult to compare in terms of manufacturability and hygiene with a European chef, and in modern food production it will be less convenient, but in a home kitchen and especially somewhere in nature, this knife can give you a lot of pleasure!

For a more complete picture of the work of the pchak, I recommend that you read Roman Dmitriev's review "Pchak in real life" on this site.

Great help in writing the article was provided by Marat Suleimanov, Roman Dmitriev and the RusKnife forum

Special thanks for providing photos to Bakhriddin Nasyrov ("Dukan of the East") and Alexander Mordvin ("Pchak - handmade knives")

Taken from CookingKnife.ru

Hello! The topic of our conversation today is Uzbek national knives, namely - pchaks. One of the main features of these knives is that all of them not only have the status of household purposes, but are also widely used in the household, and often as kitchen knives. But have pchaks always had only household purposes? And what are their varieties? You will learn about this and much more by reading the article to the end.

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Pchaki: national pride and utility knife

Pchaki knives are of Uzbek origin. None of the researchers of edged weapons doubts this. This traditional and very distinctive Uzbek knife, which has a special decor, has been intensively cultivated in Uzbekistan for many hundreds of years.

Modern legislation has translated pchak from the category edged weapons into the category of knives household purpose. It is recognized that stabbing with a blade of this type is ineffective. To some extent, the creation of such a blade in antiquity, which could be a great look, remains a mystery. piercing bladed weapons, but was intended solely for business purposes.

Design features of the pchak

The appearance of the pchak is easily recognizable due to its unique structure and decorative ornament. The knife consists of a blade, handle and sheath. Pchak Blades usually have a dark color, usually gray, with a blue or yellow tint. In previous centuries, to achieve this effect, they were processed in a liquid solution of clay of a special composition.

Nowadays, for many pchak became nothing more than a household item. For many centuries, he was the subject of male and family pride, protector and helper. Pchaks were created by artisan cutlers, who were highly valued and traditionally lived in the central regions of Asian cities.

The masters forged the blade of the pchak from steel, as a rule, of not very high quality. This was due to the massive demand for knives. Expensive ones were beyond the means of most townspeople. The master always put on high-quality blades seal — « tamga«.

A fairly wide pchak blade has a traditional wedge-shaped cross section. The butt tapers towards the tip. The width of the blade is emphasized by a thin handle, shifted upwards so that its upper side serves as a continuation of the butt line.

The blade of the Uzbek pchak is of three types. This is due to its economic purpose. The most common kaike form universal and used by everyone. kaike point located on the butt line or slightly elevated above it.

Tolbarga shape resembles a willow leaf. This is how the Uzbek word is translated into Russian. In this type of blade, the butt slightly drops down when approaching the tip, i.e. the tip is located below the butt line. Such a knife is used by butchers when cutting carcasses.

third form blade, Kazakh preferred by fishermen. The line of the butt of the Kazakh from the middle of the length forms a smooth notch, rising to the point. Turning the knife over, it is convenient to remove the scales with this part of the blade with a notch.

Variety of pchak

The handle for knives is made of wood and is not decorated. Sometimes they put a colored ornament on " gulband". This pchak element is cast from tin directly on the knife during manufacture. Gulband serves as a section between the blade and the handle.

sop, pchak shank, repeats the shape of the handle, expanding towards the pommel - chakmok. At the end, a hook-shaped bend goes down. The shank breaks through several teshikov. These are the holes through which the rivets pass. They firmly fix the dice of the handle on both sides.

Before attaching the dies, a special narrow strip of copper or brass is soldered around the entire shank - brinch. On the handle pchaka always equipped with a small recess under the little finger. Small notches are also marked on the shank, near the blade, above and below, in order to gulband held on to the metal of the blade.

Hin, pchak sheath, usually performed from a piece of leather or sewn from dense matter. The seam was located on the back side along the center line. The knife was deeply inserted into the sheath without additional fixation. To prevent cutting the scabbard, the craftsmen made wooden, internal safety inserts.

The history of the origin of pchak

Uzbek pchak knives occupy a special niche in the modern world of edged weapons. It means that they theoretically and historically relate to it, but this is not confirmed by law. At the same time, the history of the Pchaks is much older than some of their "relatives" of other nationalities.

The first examples of Uzbek pchakov belong to the 4th century BC. They are exhibited in museums as artifacts. The narrow blade of these ancient pchaks with a long and smooth rise to the point is striking. Scientists explain this by the fact that knives made of low-quality metal were actively used and worn off during use.

Volumetric archaeological material was found in the sands, during excavations of destroyed old cities or burial places of nomads. These finds date back to the 14th century and differ significantly from the first ancient pchaks. Their blades are versatile. They were ideal for use in the economy, and for use in combat. Since this period, the shape of the knife has not changed.

Pchak - symbol and ritual

Unlike our Russian superstitions, in the East it is customary to give knives for good luck. Sharp objects acquire the power of protective amulets in families, which will drive away misfortunes and illnesses. - not an exception. He was always credited with the power of a talisman. It is both an accessory used in national dances and an element of social status. By the type of blade and the richness of the external decoration, one can accurately determine the position of the owner in the social hierarchy. The debate about the origin of the term and the sword itself is still ongoing among researchers.

Uzbek knife pchak (history of origin, working hypothesis).

Once upon a time in 1991, as a student at the Department of Archeology of Moscow State University, I went on an archaeological expedition organized by the Museum of Oriental Peoples to Samarkand. One of the first impressions that struck me then in the village near Samarkand were old people (babais) constantly meeting on the street in wadded robes (chapans), belted with a belt, on which one could often see a knife hanging in a sheath. As the "senior comrades" explained to me at the time, old people are allowed to walk the streets with a knife, because the knife is considered an element of the national costume. I gathered my courage and asked an old man to show me his knife. Not without pride, he took it out of its scabbard and showed it (in the village they knew that I was from an archaeological expedition and were treated with respect). I had never seen such an instance before. It was very unusual - a thin hilt at the base of the blade, expanding to the pommel (as if ending with a "head"), made of horn, and a straight wide blade with a smooth rise to the back, forming a rather sharp tip. The knife was polished so that I could see my reflection in it, and on its blade, closer to the handle, there was an ornament made in "Arabic script". The old man called it a pichok (knife) and said that I could buy the same one at the market on the outskirts of the city.

On the next weekend, I went to the market and after a long bargain with the seller, I became the owner of the largest copy of those that he had on the counter that day. After returning from the expedition, for many years I became the owner of a knife that all my friends envied.

Figure 1. Pchak from Samarkand, 1991.

Today, of course, things are different. Buying a pchak in Moscow is not a problem. But when buying pchak, many do not know what they are buying.

The history and origin of the pchak is hazy and confused.

Today, pchak is called the traditional national knife of the peoples living in Central Asia - Uzbeks and Uyghurs.

The specimens of the 19th-20th centuries closest to modern ones (ethnographic material that became known to modern science after the entry of Central Asia into the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th century, obtained as a result of various expeditions), which are now presented in museums, show us a completely different type knife - with a narrow blade and a long and smooth rise to the point. Explain this shape of the blade simply. The blades of these pchaks are sharpened to the limit, and the change in shape occurred as a result of long-term practical use.

Archaeological data also do not give us an unambiguous answer to the question of the origin of the pchak: in Sogdiana (the territory covering modern Uzbekistan) in the 5th-8th centuries, two types of knives were common: 1. With a straight blade; 2.With curved blade. The maximum width of the blades of the found specimens is 1.8 cm, the stalk is lamellar with a narrowing from the blade to the tip (from 3 mm to 1 mm). All knives were of various sizes, with a total length of up to 14.5 cm, while the length of the handle, at the same time, was up to 3.5 cm. Both types were widespread and were found in large numbers in Penjikent, Kairagach, and Shahristan. (Yakubov Yu. "Early medieval settlements of the mountainous Sogd. Dushanbe, 1988, p. 235).

It is worth noting the extremely poor preservation of the finds (the climate and layers of Central Asia are merciless to iron), which makes typology extremely difficult.

Figure 2. Images of found knives that date back to the 5th-8th centuries (numbers 4-6).

There are also archaeological data on knives found in the burials of nomads in Central Asia, dating back to the last quarter of the 14th century. These "Standard Utility Blade Design" knives represent a remarkably durable, consistent series. They have the following characteristic features. The back of the blades forms a weakly pronounced arc, smoothly descending towards the nose. The cutting edge is arcuate, but steeper than the back. The central axis of the blade and handle is shifted towards the back. The length of the blades ranges from 6 to 14 cm. The thickness is 1.5 mm, the width of the blade at the base is 1-1.5 cm (depending on the length). The handle is subtriangular in shape, 2-4 cm long. The width of the handle at the base is about half the width of the blade. The ratio of the length of the blade to the length of the handle is slightly more than 3:1.

The handle is always separated from the blade by strictly perpendicular ledges, which are structural features. A narrow - 1.5-2 mm wide and thick iron clip was welded to the base of the blade, which is a kind of lock that locks the knife in the sheath. This is a very fragile, often unpreserved part. Its presence is evidenced by the strict perpendicularity of the ledges and the traces imprinted by it, which can be seen on the unrestored metal.

The knives also had a wooden scabbard, which is fixed by traces of wood on the blades.
This type of knife was widespread among nomads already at the end of the first millennium AD.

Illustration 3. Image of nomad knives in the last quarter of the 1st millennium, type 3 according to Minasyan.

All mentioned types of knives have nothing to do with the current form of pchak. It is not yet possible to answer when and under what circumstances the hilt shank rose to the line of the back of the blade so that the hilt stalk is located in the upper third of the blade, and what it was connected with.
That is, ancient copies of knives show us a completely different structural type. The emergence of the modern type of pchak can be explained by the fact that it was introduced from outside or existed in the region, but such knives are still unknown and not described.

On the Internet, there is an opinion about the appearance of knives of a similar shape in Central Asia in the XIV-XV centuries. Their appearance is partly associated with the conquest of Asia by Tamerlane and "an indirect ban on local men to carry weapons / daggers." The authorities could not deprive the Uzbeks of the right to carry weapons, and the most common type of weapons, due to their availability, were knives or daggers. This is an age-old tradition, sacredly revered in the East. And then they turned to the pichakchik artisans (knife artisans), who were "convinced" to change the design of the knife for the population, turning it into a household item. To compensate for the loss of the combat qualities of the knife, Uzbek craftsmen turned to the external form. So a new form of hilt arose, very reminiscent of the hilt of a saber or card.

Changing the form simultaneously solved another problem - in the fights with knives (in Uzbek "pichakbozlik"), the opponents tried not to kill, but only to injure, otherwise it was supposed to pay the relatives of the victim a large "khun" for the murder - a ransom for blood. The emerging form of the knife reduced the likelihood of death in such knife fights.

But this point of view does not have full-fledged reasonable sources, transitional/early forms of pchaks are unknown.

It is possible to consider a hypothesis about the independent development of the pchak, which was originally an exclusively household (kitchen, cook, table) item and appeared in Central Asia under external influence, but so far its early finds are unknown.

It should be said right away that the typological form of the pchak (one line of the back and the handle) is found in different cultures, in different eras and refers, first of all, to knives for household (kitchen) purposes. For example, bronze knives of the Karasuk type.

Figure 4. Karasuk knives. (D.A. Avdusin, "Fundamentals of archeology")

Another example is the knives of the first millennium of Eastern Europe, which are characterized by a smooth line of transition from the back to the handle with a slight "top" in the central part. A stalk in the form of a narrow triangle 4-5 cm long, as a rule, is separated from the side of the cutting edge by a smooth ledge. The cutting edge of whole specimens of such knives is straight and only towards the end is bent upwards.

Figure 5. Knives with a "blade back turning into a stalk without ledges", type 1 according to Minasyan.

Direct transitions of the line of the back of the blade (butt) into the handle are also found on Russian "table / kitchen" knives of the XV-XVI centuries from Zaryadye (Moscow).

Illustration 6. Knives from Zaryadye, dating back to the 16th-17th centuries.

A typologically similar knife shape is found even on the other side of the globe - gaucho knives in Argentina.

Figure 7. Gaucho knife from Argentina.

Finally, if we turn to the present, we immediately recall Japanese kitchen / chef's knives, which also have a configuration similar to the pchak, with thin handles and a direct transition from the back of the blade (butt) to the handle.

One cannot fail to say that Central Asia is a huge territory along which the Great Silk Road from China ran in ancient times, trade relations were carried out with India and the countries of the Mediterranean. This land is full of historical events. Today we learn about them from the writings of ancient Greek and Roman authors, medieval manuscripts of Arab scribes, discovered archaeological sites.
At the dawn of human history, until the 4th century AD, empires were created and collapsed on the territory of Central Asia: Persian, Alexander the Great and the Seleucids. The Greco-Bactrian, Krishan and Parthian kingdoms existed and disappeared. Later, part of these lands was part of the Sassanid state, in the Arab Caliphate. In the XI-XIII centuries. no less powerful states arose on these lands: the Ghaznavids, Karahnids, Ghurids and Khorezmshahs.

After the conquest of this territory by the Mongols, the Chagatai Khanate was formed, and then the huge power of Timur and his descendants.

The lands of Central Asia became the homeland of many Turkic nomadic tribes engaged in cattle breeding. But this is also the place where the most ancient agricultural cultures appeared.
Located at the crossroads of trade and migration routes, there has always been a cultural influence from the outside: the influence of nomads from the eastern degrees, the influence of Iranian (Persian) culture from Asia Minor (Persia), the Hellenistic influence, the influence of the cultures of India and China.

Undoubtedly, similar forms/types of knives of Indo-Iranian and Turkic origin - Iranian kard, Turkish bichag, Indo-Iranian peshkabz, chura, karud and khayber, Indian kirpan - influenced the appearance of the pchak among the Uzbeks. All these knives are more often dated no earlier than the 16th, or even the 17th-18th centuries, only peshkabs are sometimes attributed to the 15th century.
At the end of the "historical review", one can make an assumption about the emergence of pchaks already after the 15th century under the influence of the Indo-Iranian tradition with a "hard functional purpose" - a kitchen/chef's knife. The owners of pchaks are well aware of how great they are for cutting meat and vegetables.
But for Uzbeks, this is not just a good kitchen knife, but also a wonderful gift for a man, which has a sacred meaning. Edged weapons are an indispensable attribute of national clothing among many peoples of the East. Even those who, due to their social status, do not have the right to own long-bladed weapons (farmers and artisans), wear a knife in a sheath on their belt.

In contrast to the superstition that prevails among us that it is impossible to give knives (it supposedly brings misfortune), in Central Asia such a gift is still considered prestigious and desirable. According to the ideas of the peoples of Central Asia, sharp and pointed objects acquire the power of protective amulets that drive away misfortune and disease. And the pchak is also credited with a similar power of a talisman. A knife placed under the pillow in the head of an infant is considered a means of protecting his health. If an adult falls ill, a knife can be put on his head instead of a compress, thus protecting him from the action of evil forces.

A pchak presented by a son to his father demonstrates great attention and love, and such a gift is considered a great honor for the father.

The knife is also given to a “real dzhigit”, to each potential warrior - a young man who has reached the age of 18.
Most often, knives (household, not weapons), as elements of national clothing, are found among nomadic cattle breeders and hunters - North American Indians, the Argentine people of Gaucho, Yakuts, Buryats, Laplanders.

And in the case of pchak, there is a direct influence of the Turkic-speaking nomadic peoples who came in the Middle Ages to the territory of settled farmers - the Uzbeks.
In this part of the review, some aspects of the origin and purpose of the pchak were considered. In the second part, we will talk about the design and types of the modern pchak knife.

Article for the weekly Darakchi.

The news that the famous craftsman from Shakhrikhan, Khairullo Abdurahimov, exhibits his works in Tashkent quickly spread to all fans of the art of creating Uzbek national knives. Even those who were not going to buy a new knife just went to admire the steel blades of a great master. We also met with the master in order to tell you about the choice of the Uzbek pichak.

Pichak is our everything

Pichaki, Uzbek handmade knives have long been a national brand known all over the world. For the people of Uzbekistan, pichak has been more than just a working tool or weapon since ancient times. Pichak is a sacred gift, a great value and a powerful amulet. The largest handicraft centers are still operating in Shakhrikhan, Chust, Bukhara, Tashkent and Samarkand.

Is it possible to buy a good pichak in Tashkent?

Certainly you can. For example, in the Chorsu or Alai bazaars. However, it is worth considering that behind the counter in the bazaar is not a master, but at best one who simply understands the craftsmanship of creating an Uzbek knife. The master has no time to engage in sales, he works tirelessly in the workshop, and, he delivers finished products for sale to resellers. Taking into account the interest of the latter, the prices for national knives are 20-30 percent higher than directly from the master pichokchi or in traditional centers for hand-made knives.

The best option for buying a pichak is to buy it from the hands of the master himself, at exhibitions-fairs, which are held weekly in various halls of Tashkent.

From hand to hand

When you go to choose a knife from a good master, you will not just buy. Ahead of you is a creative meeting with questions and answers, stories, legends and a unique master class on choosing a knife. This meeting brings great joy to both the master and you. The master is pleased to see admiration in your eyes, he wants to tell you about his work. You become richer for the whole world. You are discovering this amazing world of Uzbek knives, one of which will definitely find a place of honor in your home.

When choosing a pichak, you need to remember that no one will tell you about the properties of a knife like the person who created it. Therefore, when meeting with the master, sorting through the knives on his counter, be sure to ask questions in detail about each pichak. The master will gladly tell you everything.

Ask, ask!

We are going with you to the master Khairullo to learn how to choose the Uzbek pichak correctly. There are dozens of luxury knives on the counter. Different sizes, different shapes, different metal of shiny blades, different handles. How to get oriented?

For starters, just look. Pick up each knife in turn, on which the eye stops. Ask the master questions:

What is the name of such a pichak?

What is the shape of the blade called?

What metal are the blades? How do blades made of different metals differ from each other?

What is the handle made of?

What is gulband made of? (the junction of the blade and handle)

What do the patterns on the handle mean?

How to care for a knife? How to sharpen it?

You will be amazed by the master's story. You will learn that knives have personalities and names. And there are many of these names: osh pichak, kassob pichak, chust pichak, arabcha pichak, sherkhan pichak, bola-pichak, Kazakh-pichak...

After you first immerse yourself in this many-sided world of Uzbek knives, start choosing your pichak. To do this, tell the master in detail why you need a knife. For work in the kitchen: as a main working knife, or a meat knife, a fruit knife, a shredding knife. Or maybe you need a knife in order to take it on hikes, or to make a gift to a friend? Or maybe the gift is intended for a foreign guest? Then specify if your guest is a connoisseur of knives, a collector, or just a lover of oriental exotics.

From now on, you need to trust the master. He will lay out several knives in front of you according to your requirements. Take each one again in your hands, and again ask questions about each. Do you think this will end your knife selection process? No no! The most important thing follows...

Find "your" pichak out of ten identical ones!

A young man stands in front of the counter of the master Khairullo and chooses a working knife for the kitchen - osh pichak. The master has already laid out in front of him 10 identical-looking pichaks with white bone handles. With the approval of the master, we offer the young man our help in choosing. The young man happily agrees.

Take any? They are identical? he asks

They are different

But do they look the same?

Looks identical. But you understand, this is not factory stamping, these knives were made by hand. They only appear to be the same, in fact they are different.

How then to choose? Where to look? - the young man sorts out knives in confusion

You don't have to look. Need to feel. Connoisseurs say that the Uzbek pichak is an animated thing, and he himself chooses his owner. Therefore, you now have a special task - to "hear" your knife.

The young man looks at us with disbelief. But we keep on learning.

Take the knives in hand, one by one. Squeeze the handle. Swing your hand, feel the movement of the blade, feel how the handle fits into your hand. You will feel "your" knife immediately. He will call back to you. We don't know how he will do it. Respond definitely and strongly. Maybe it will be like a push or the handle will instantly heat up in the hand.

The young man picks up knife after knife. Master Hyrulla smiles as he watches us. He watches the expression on the young man's face. He appreciated our way of choosing.

Here the young man froze with another knife in his hand. The movements of his hand became more confident, he seemed to be listening to something.

"Aha! He found him!" - we rejoice

But the young man puts down the knife and takes on the next one. That's right, you need to make sure! Moreover, he chooses a man-made knife for the first time in his life.

We follow him through the knives, completely confusing them. But remember where THAT knife went.

The young man, having gone through all the knives, starts the search again.

Not him... Not him... - he mutters, putting down knife after knife.

This! Exactly this one! - the guy exclaims, reaching the very knife marked by us. So he responded, so he felt and understood.

You see, we said that he would certainly respond! We are happy for the young man. - Now be sure to ask the master Khairullo about what kind of metal, bone it is, how to care for the knife and how to sharpen it.

On the issue of sharpening Uzbek knives.

Watch any Uzbek oshpoz. Before starting work, he automatically makes several movements of the knife along the bottom of the bowl or cash desk, tucking the blade. This process is akin to meditation or tuning a musical instrument. It's like you tune into the same frequency with your pichak and resonate. The fact is that inexpensive knives need to be refueled constantly. Their steel is such that once properly sharpened, it requires periodic refueling.

For good pichak, it is enough to take them to the grinder once every one or two years. However, the sharpener here needs a knowledgeable one, because sharpening handmade knives is different from sharpening factory kitchen knives. And inept actions can ruin a great blade.

Talking about Uzbekistan, I cannot but tell about the Uzbek national knife - pchak. Pchak or pechak (uzb. Pichoq - “knife”) is the national knife of the Central Asian peoples - Uzbeks and Uighurs. Traditionally, it has a straight wide blade made of carbon steel with a wedge-shaped section with one-sided sharpening, sometimes with a narrow fuller along the butt. A thin handle, round in cross section, is attached at the level of the butt, slightly widens towards the head, sometimes ending in a beak-shaped pommel. It can be made of horn, bone or wood, also inlaid with colored stone. Pchak is worn in a wide straight leather scabbard. Distributed throughout Central Asia with slight differences in ornament and proportions.

In Uzbekistan, they are made mainly in the eastern and central parts of the country - there were no such knives in Khiva, only imported ones. In Bukhara, in the very center of the city, there are several workshops where pchaks are made, but the prices here are somehow exorbitant, apparently calculated for tourists who come for a day.

Tools in the workshop

The main blank for a knife is an automobile valve, but they are also made from some cheap stainless steel, but it is carbon steel knives that are most valued. There is better steel, there is Damascus, but the prices for such knives are appropriate.

After forging, the knives receive a handle made of fiberglass, plexiglass, metal, horn, bone, and then they are roughly sharpened on a grinding wheel.