Russian soldiers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century were often equipped with single edged short blades called tesak.  These weapons are often called short swords or more generally as 'hangers', the more correct translation is 'backsword'.  They function as last ditch cutting or thrusting weapons, and generally look good when carried by formations of soldiers on parade.

Since the late 1700's the Russian army had been equipping its pioneer (engineering) soldiers with unique tesak that featured a unique 'sawback' edge on the upper side.  Whether this was simply a decorative feature or enabled the weapon to be used as a tool is uncertain.  Early versions of this style of tesak were curved, but by the early 1830's it was decided that a new pattern sword would be needed.  This tesak retained the 'sawback' style of earlier models, but had more teeth than its predecessors.  These were also more evenly spaced and produced with greater consistency than earlier patterns.  The blade was also to be straight, which was a departure from earlier patterns and a move towards a more conventional design.  The blade was composed of steel while the fittings were to be made of brass.  It should be noted that swords of this era were also among the first to bear a date indicating their year of manufacture.

When the new tesak entered service in 1834 it was issued to the lower enlisted ranks of the pioneer service where it replaced the curved 1827 pattern tesak.  It was also issued to the enlisted men of the foot artillery at the same time where it replaced the 1817 infantry tesak.  The weapon would serve in this capacity for nearly twenty years in conflicts across Europe and Asia.  The Crimean War would prove to be its last major conflict however, as a new order dictated that the weapon was to be replaced by the 1855 pattern tesak - which was a more conventional design without the distinctive sawback edge.  This change also streamlined production as it reduced the number of different swords in the army inventory, a practice that would continue for the remainder of the century.

Tactical Use and Limitations

The M-1834 tesak was an unwieldy weapon under the best of circumstances.  It proved to be quite heavy and is not particularly well balanced.  In combat it is more suited to a overhead chop or a strong thrusting attack.  The function of the sawback edge is questionable as it would not offer any combat advantage as the teeth are too small and wide to cause significant additional damage.  If they were to be used as a cutting implement against tree branches or other wooden objects, the user would have to wear a heavy leather glove to maintain pressure on the blade as he cut back and forth - a difficult proposition at best, especially considering that a purpose built saw would do the job much faster.

It is most likely that the weapon had a primarily ceremonial function and the sawback edge was retained out of respect for tradition.  The fact that it had some combat capability was simply an added bonus.  Following this argument, it would also explain the shift in 1855 to the more practical tesak as a sidearm.

Deployment Chronology

The 1834 pattern pioneer's tesak was an interesting attempt to craft a weapon that could also act as a tool by making use of the sawback blade.  It used more modern machining than the previous models, but in the end it was replaced by a fairly conventional sword without the innovative 'sawback' feature.  Below, you can read more about the swords that the M-1834 pioneer's tesak replaced as well as the weapons that eventually replaced it.

Sources Cited

Here are some of the most informative sources that we have used in compiling this information for you.  We hope you can find them as useful as we have.

• Kulinsky, A.N, Russian Edged Weapons, Polearms, and Bayonets 18th-20th centuries vol 1, Atlant: St. Petersburg, 2001. Print.