also id like to include this http://www.manningimperial.com/item.php?item_...mp;c_id=14

not the sarissa as a whole, its great in formation but not something youd want alone, but look at that butt spike...
it is a mean-ass, 4 flanged, long spiked MACE in its own right, i mean, hell, if the macedonian phalanxes presented a wall of THOSE, the persians i think would have just simply soiled themselves where they stood.

place a short, 10-20cm haft on that, and sharpen the flanges, and you have a absolute wrecking ball of a weapon.

that will likely bust up a man like anything.
add to it, that spearhead in your other hand, sharpened like a razor, and giving it a very short, 5 inch haft to grip.. thats one nasty knife to have as a backup.

i just cant help but look at the buttspike of the sarissa and think of how nasty a mace that would have made.

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macedonian sarissa head and butt spike from manning imperial
Dimensions - Length of butt spike 340mm, weight 525 grams. Length of head 388mm, weight 470 grams.

Bow, reach out and touch someone. :D
Grozer Hungarian Horse Bow. Now all I need is the horse.

Favorite weapon after a sword. That would have to be a Cannon! :)

My favorite non-sword weapon is probably the stick.

Stick, club, bat, billy club, shillelagh. Two to three feet (for walking stick uses by this meat puppet, about 39-40") of hickory, ash, yew, oak, heck, bamboo. Thirty or forty or fifty thousand years of use. Maybe we should just say "so long the mind of man remembereth not." Found object or carefully, lovingly shaped. Depending on your stick, you can adapt axe or sword techniques. I'm distinguishing the short stick from the long stick (quarter staff), but if I was allowed to cheat I'd expand it to include the long stick.

The fons et origo of fighting weapons.

Improved on, but never quite obsoleted. I'll make no arguments that it's the best thing ever, or the best thing for any situation, but I will say this: compared with having nothing, I'd always rather have a stick. My preference is for a neutral balance, 1/2" to 3/4" diameter, you can choke up on it, choke down on it.

I've never studied la canne or shillelagh technique, but that's never dampened my fascination for the stick.

One word....Lochaber. Long for reach, sharp for slashing, pointed for stabbing, and hooked for ...well...hooking. That doesnt sound right, does it....

Recurve bow I don't really mind about the specific types. Or. Broken-Back Seax. These are my favorite weapons anyway so this was an easy question :)

I agree with Patrick that the question is very broad in scope, but if we bring it down to hand held weapons without projectiles, thus eliminating firearms and bows, it would still depend on other variables. In a setting where armoured opponents was the norm, I would certainly agree with those who proposed the poleaxe, but should we be in a context without plate armour, a spear would suit me fine.

For me it would have to be a war hammer. The hammer head makes for easy crushing of targets and is less likely to stick than an axe would be, and if that fails to do the job, the spike is a devastating little piece of equipment. I especially like the spike vs. armor, metal etc. You can feel how lethal it is.

As for style, I like the Windlass English war hammer the best out of all the ones I've seen, and I do own one. Very nice and light, and it gets the job done.

I'm probably going to have to go with the 1873 Single Action Army. If we're speaking strictly of melee weapons, then the prize would have to go to the bec de corbin.

Truly, if you want a weapon who's effectiveness and serviceability has been proven time and again, take a look at any breed of scattergun.

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