I'm thinking of making one for my next project. Does anyone here have an approximate weight for one, and measurements for the blade? Wikipedia says it was usually mounted on a 5 foot haft, making it very short for a polearm, but I'm guessing it would easily be 6 feet total length including the part of the blade that goes past the haft.

I'm thinking of making either one like this:

[ Linked Image ]

The blade looks really thin, and if its not a trick of the light, it appears to have a reinforced tip for thrusting.

[ Linked Image ]

Or like this one, on the left:

[ Linked Image ]

By the way, are those rivets I see at the back of the poll on the last one? (bigger image, so you can see it more clearly) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Bardiche.jpg

Well, here you have 3 Russian ones - with lenght of blade and length of the whole thing for comparison.

http://www.muzeumwp.pl/emwpaedia/berdysze-moskiewskie.php

For what it's worth.

There's one in the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Hopefully this link will work:

http://www.clevelandart.org/collections/colle...highlights

Bardiche (Pole Axe)
Germany or Russia, 16th century

Date: 1500s

Medium: steel, leather, brass; wood haft

Dimensions: Overall - l:178.50 cm (l:70 1/4 inches) Wt: 1.66 kg Blade - w:14.20 l:60.20 cm (w:5 9/16 l:23 11/16 inches)

Department: Medieval Art

Type of art work: Arms and Armor

Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance

Accession No.: 1916.1563

Location: Gallery 210


Full length pic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thoog/3529007578/

Danny