Just a general question,

spearheads vary in design in every possible way, and its been debated about how capable at slicing and slashing these blades might actually be..

Zombie go boom on youtube recently used a cold steel boar spear to devastating effect against a simulated head, casing massive damage, even decapitating the target.

how often is this utilised? how effective is it?

Im just curious, and trying to grab some info from people who know a bit more.

It just depends on the spearhead design. I recall some cutting techniques with the boar spear in Mair. Most partizans could certainly cut well. Various Japanese spears look made to both cut and thrust. Etc.

Based on George Silver's short staff, which was a 8-9ft staff with a simple metal point on each end, you don't even a bladed head to made effective blow with a stout staff weapon. On the hand, masters like Joseph Swetnam warned that your staff might break if you strike blows with it.

A kitchen knife cuts well. Add a couple of meters of leverage and it cuts better.

I think it depends on what style you're looking at, Craig. George Silver considered the blow just as important as the thrust with his short staff, and it didn't have any cutting edges. I feel confident he would have cut with any spear capable of doing so, and struck mighty blows with any sturdy enough staff weapon regardless of the head. Joachim Meyer's staff system also includes numerous blows. Giacomo di Grassi did advise against cutting with the partizan in single combat, but partizan cuts for single combat appear in other Italian manuals.

It's not my main focus, but what I've seen and read about Japanese spear technique indicates that it commonly employs cuts.

Overall preferences appear to have ranged from equal emphasis on cut/blow and thrust - Silver - to thrust only - Joseph Swetnam, di Grassi when it comes to the partizan in single combat, etc.

Note that di Grassi thought partizans capable of extremely potent cuts even though he recommended against them for single combat. He described partizans as able to cut through pikes on the battlefield.

Also note that Silver's technique for staff against two opponents armed with sword and dagger involved alternating between a blow at the head and a thrust at the body. He argued that only a high ward could defend against the former and that only a low ward to could defend against the latter.

So, I've done a bit of work on this and I did find that my frankish style spear cuts fairly well. It was against milk jugs to be sure, but still.

But I don't think that it'd be a preferred method of use even so. I could use it somewhat like a halberd, but without any of the things that make a halberd worthwhile, like the axe blade to power cuts and luges to hook and bind. More tellingly, the cuts were a lot slower. Most of the deadliness of spears from my experience is the quick thrusts and sudden disengages to thrust again. I only have a chance with my sword if I can interrupt that and bind up the spear. Disengaging and swinging out to cut would give me a heck of an opportunity to bind and move in to where I want to be.

Now, I'm not saying that you would never cut with a spear, and can see that quick slashes might have some value, but I think you should play to the strengths of a weapon. And for the spear that's thrusts.

I own a Windlass long-bladed hewing spear mounted on a five foot shaft with a buttcap. It is by far the favorite weapon in my collection. Soda bottles filled with water stand no chance. Get one...sharpened....You will not regret it. :D ....McM

Though the 11th century at least, the spear was usually used one-handed, with a shield. Hard to see how you could make an effective cut that way. Awkward in a line of battle, too, though of course there were duels and more open skirmishes sometimes. Good way to whack the head off your own spear?

Matthew

Cutting with a spear is really a two-handed technique. There are ways of doing it one-handed, using the body for leverage; one sees these techniques in Jackie Chan movies. One-handed, you're fighting a lot of rotational inertia without much leverage. Which is part of the reason why one sees a lot of square and equilateral (or close to it) triangular section cavalry lance heads. You don't lose much by sacrificing cutting ability on a spearhead you're not going to cut with.

i guess the reason i wondered this was partly just to understand just, how mechanically good you could cut and chop and slice with various spearhead designs

and partly because it was discussed due t the fact that in certain (reenactment) fights, 2 handed spearmen have, in rear rows, used their 2 handed spears to deliver downward strikes, and it was debaed how mnuch damage that could actually achieve since some people argued that being hit by that should be ignored 'because it wouldnt be a lethal blow

so.. what sort of damage could you achieve with a spear, would cutting a gambeson be too much to hope for, with the longer, wider winged spears?

A lot of spears don't seem to be very well balanced for cutting, and if hitting something hard, that balance and flexibility of the haft can limit the force applied to the target when cutting. So not as good against armour as halberds, bills, etc.

But a long haft gives you a lot of speed. On soft targets, it will be a matter of blade geometry and sharpness. It should cut as well, or maybe better, than a sword with similar tip geometry. Doing tip cuts, that is. Potentially better, because with a long haft, the spearhead can move very fast.

What is harder to do with a spear is a slicing draw cut. Note the effect of slicing if you want to go through a gambeson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn1VmbtEum8

Since spearheads tend to be pointy, they need some thickness at the point, and will cut similarly to pointy swords. Which means they might not cut as well as thin-tipped round-tipped swords. But flattish, sharp spearheads will cut well.

A lot of spears don't seem to be very well balanced for cutting, and if hitting something hard, that balance and flexibility of the haft can limit the force applied to the target when cutting. So not as good against armour as halberds, bills, etc.

But a long haft gives you a lot of speed. On soft targets, it will be a matter of blade geometry and sharpness. It should cut as well, or maybe better, than a sword with similar tip geometry. Doing tip cuts, that is. Potentially better, because with a long haft, the spearhead can move very fast.

What is harder to do with a spear is a slicing draw cut. Note the effect of slicing if you want to go through a gambeson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn1VmbtEum8

Since spearheads tend to be pointy, they need some thickness at the point, and will cut similarly to pointy swords. Which means they might not cut as well as thin-tipped round-tipped swords. But flattish, sharp spearheads will cut well.

The thrust is to be preferred over the cut because the human body, even without armor, is designed to ward of slashing blows better than piercing attacks. Still, some of the leaf blade spear designs can do some amazing cutting.

I would be interested to hear any specific comments Jean has on this topic based on the large spear head that Michael made for him. Jean, if you are reading this do you have any thoughts?

I have a number of spears of different cross section. The only one I would try in the cut is one very similar to the Limani example posted above. Such a strike would not be my first choice but I suspect the geometry would be satisfactory.