European polearms featured a variety of solutions for the butt-end of the haft, from leaving it unadorned to adding an iron spike, cap, or plain ferule. Today we look at the differences between these types, how they may have been used, and what factors go into choosing what type of butt-end hardware you might want on a polearm.
We recently published a blog post on how butt-spikes were used in armored combat. Today we contextualize the previous post and also discuss the uses of non-sharpened butt-caps and ferules, and examine their possible uses.
Butt-cap on our Knightly Poleaxe (which will soon be available again, with some notable improvements).
As always, our swords and other weapons are entirely made by us, by hand, at our shop in Minneapolis, MN. Sword blades are hand ground of 6150 carbon steel, hardened and tempered to 50-52 Rockwell. Polearms are 4140 carbon steel. All of our products are made to look, feel, and function just like the historical originals on which they are based. Arms & Armor is dedicated to quality and authenticity.
The use of the butt-spike from Peter Falkner's 1490's fight book, courtesy of the amazing Wiktenauer.
For over four decades we have worked with museums, collectors, and scholars to develop a deep understanding of European weapons; knowledge we use to make products that exemplify the finest qualities of the very best historic pieces. When we select historic items to reproduce, being pretty isn't enough, they have to move with grace and beauty, and beg to be used when in the hand. These are pieces that feel as good as they look, and that work as well as they feel.
Our mission is to craft items that recreate the look, feel, and function of the best historic originals. Whether you are a Collector, Curator, Reenactor, or Historical Martial Artist, we will work with you to create the sword or other historical weapon of your dreams.
The banner picture above is from Hans Talhoffer's 1467 treatise, courtesy of Wiktenauer.
Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is President and CEO of Arms and Armor and a member of the governing board of The Oakeshott Institute. He is a historical martial artist and a former university professor of cultural geography. He has given presentations on historical arms at events including Longpoint and Combatcon, and presented scholarly papers at, among others, The International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Craig Johnson is the Production Manager of Arms and Armor and Secretary of The Oakeshott Institute. He has taught and published on the history of arms, armor and western martial arts for over 30 years. He has lectured at several schools and Universities, WMAW, HEMAC, 4W, and ICMS at Kalamazoo. His experiences include iron smelting, jousting, theatrical combat instruction and choreography, historical research, European martial arts and crafting weapons and armor since 1985