We did some interesting test-cutting last week against some 8 foot dowels I got from a local lumber yard. They were very light dowels (used for curtain rods) and cutting them doesn't prove anything about anything, but I was interested in taking the experiment a bit further. I don't know what pike shafts were made of, or those of spears or polearms other than Ash. What other woods were used historically? Also, does anyone know where you can get wooden poles made of such woods, preferably without having to mail order, something you could find in a typical big city, and ideally under say ,$20 or $30.

J

According to Waldman, ash was the first choice for polearms, followed by oak. Anything would serve in an emergency, and pine seems to have been common for morgensterns, etc. Valid modern testing would be very difficult. Historically, polearm hafts were fully seasoned and boiled in enormous vats of linseed oil. Even if you had the means to prepare hafts like this for testing, you'd still have to account for langets and the weight of the head. Essentially, you'd have to make an Albion/A&A-quality pike and then test it to destruction with a sword of equal quality (possibly testing the sword to destruction as well).
It could be done, but....

I've seen a number of polearm hafts covered with velvet, leather, or other fabrics, too. Will that be part of your tests? :) :)

Speaking of cutting pikes....

This is has piqued my curiosity some.

http://www.umass.edu/renaissance/lord/pdfs/Morozzo_1536.pdf

I had seen the illustration on page 90 many times, there is a copy of it above my desk at work. Often wondered if the spears on the floor had been cut by the guy with the sword. But I thought "nah...."

Then I found the above complete scan of the 1536 Opera nova.

Check page 62

What do you make of that? I wish i could read the text but my pal Lenny is working on that, hopefully we'll have something soon.

As far as I can make out, the caption says: Elquale traeta del contrasto della Spada e targe, o vero rotella o brochier largo contra arme in alfa, da (solo? folo?), e cofi lancate come manefcaniente.

Which babelfish translates as:

"Elquale traeta of the contrast of the Sword and targe, or true wide small wheel or brochier contra arms in alpha, from (only? folo), and cofi lancate like manefcaniente" wihch means ah, nada to me :)

J

As other people have said, ash followed by oak. Pikes were supposed to have langets, some ordinances state two feet and others state four. The re-enactment group I was a member of for many years made tapered pike shafts copied from surviving originals and used them quite a bit. I can say that it's pretty hard to hold a 16-18 foot pike steady enough to allow a cut to bite. Cuts tend to just knock pikes aside. I have read references to the heads of pikes without langets snapping off when they impacted armour, which in my experience is a much more valid reason to have langets than to protect against sword cuts. Pikes hit with a hell of an impact. I've seen langets bent and the wood snapped clean through.

Cheers
Stephen

Is this from the impact of pikes wielded in a charge or from a pike striking in a "fencing" movement? I can see how it happens in the first case, but the second is rather hard to imagine.

(Just wondering in case you've unearthed evidence that "fencing" with the pike isn't as silly as the historical commanders say it is.)

Many of the pikes that were in the collections I have worked with or have been able to examine have pikes with no langetts at all but a collar to place the shaft inside. These at times can be quite long. Usually they are triangular pieces that are made into a cone. Of the ones that do most were between 10-18 inches in length. I have only seen one that had a 26 inch long ones. I have a feeling that even if the langetts were 4 feet long down the shaft men would still find there way in close enough to cut them off so the length would not seem to me to be the reason they were used on them. A benefit, possibly but I think the additional support to the head a probable reason.

As to the cutting through of the shafts I have found some accounts that have mention but they could be shows of exceptional occurances perhaps depending on how one reads them.

I had never heard of the shafts being boiled before. I would be interested in the source if you would. That would be an interesting treatment for them.

RPM

Here is a link to a picture of some pikes attributed to the Luzern, Switzerland arsenal, and now being offered for sale by an antiques dealer. Note the langets on each of these examples.

Sean, Travis

From English sources there is not one single reference, yet, to say coppiced wood or trunk. The only suggestion I can make is based on the value of ash. Ash is pretty much coppiced when ever it is found throughout the 16th and early 17th Century, to be honest, a lot of wood is being coppiced because it's too useful a source to leave wild!

Found this

"To a carpenter for the fallingof ten ashes to make pikes 0 -6 -0
Item to the joiners for their work in finding out ash to make pikes and cleaving it 1 -6 -8
..... and hewing timber for pikes and bills 1 -0 -0"

Accounts of Jeffery Glasier, Treasurer to the Lichfield garrison Oct-Dec 1645

Doesn't make it very clear. It could be argued that the first line is for felling whole trees, thro I do suspect coppiced wood.

Hello

During a visit to the "Östgöta Länsmuseum" in Sweden i came across some old pikes, apparently they had been cut down and used by the landmanagement office during earthreforms in the 18th century and forgotten there after. The ones we found were made of pine and some of another wood we couldlent identify, possibly ash.

We have made some replicas of Swedish pikes that were used during the 30 year war. Bear in mind that Swedisnh pikes were a bit longer than the continentaly used ones during the 17 th century.

Here are 2 pictures:

http://www.uppbadet.se/bilder/Axtorna-promotion/P5310061.JPG Halfpike (note that the points are blunt for our fighting)
http://www.uppbadet.se/bilder/Axtorna-promotion/P5310039.JPG

Cheers

Arwid

Eastern Martial Arts supply stores sell staffs which have been treated with something or other. The one I got in Dallas was red oak and one inch think. That's one medium you might try.

I could swear I've heard of pike shafts made of cornel wood, though it was almost certainly referring to ancient Macedonia (Alexander the Great, e.g.). Presumably that sort of tree just grows nice straight long pieces?... That might be just in that area of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, too. Sorry, I couldn't begin to give you a citation for that!

Matthew

Hi lads,

Go to this webpage:

http://www.goantiques.com/category,arms-and-armor-1.html

Do a search for "pike" and you'll find two sets of interesting weapons, all at an affordable price.