Hurlbat Handles: Covered or Bare? -- myArmoury.com

Richard Fay

Hello all!

I purchased Museum Replica's hurlbat several years ago (the plain one they had for a while), and I've always wondered if the handles on these medieval throwing axes would be wrapped in leather or cord, possess wooden scales like some knives, or otherwise covered in some fashion. I am aware of some drawings of hurlbats in Medieval Costume, Armour, and Weapons by Eduard Wagner, Zoroslava Drobna, and Jan Durdik that show a "swelling" of the metal in the handle area. I would think that this would make a better grip than the flat handle on other examples, and the MRL piece. I find the handle to be uncomfortable in the hand, and think it would make a better throwing weapon if the handle was a bit thicker.

So, does anyone here know of any examples in art or museums that show any trace of having a separate grip material attached to the metal of the handle? Or, should I just go ahead and cover it anyway, and say, like all MRL offerings, it's only roughly similar to the historical examples. (Of course, I'm not actually going to be using it any time soon; I currently live in a home with a shared yard. I don't think the neighbors would appreciate an axe through their window!)

I've included my computer-generated drawing of the MRL hurlbat so it's clear what I'm talking about.

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated!

Happy Holidays!

George Hill · Posted: Thu 28 Dec, 2006 9:21 pm Post subject:

I too am most curious. Does anyone have any photos of originals? I have never seen an original myself.

Richard Fay · Posted: Fri 29 Dec, 2006 10:08 am Post subject: hurlbat synonym?

Hello again!

I, too, would love to see a photo of an original hurlbat. I've seen drawings (including one in my set of encyclopedias in the "axe" entry, and in Medieval Costume, Armour, and Weapons), and reproductions, but no originals.

I did find a possible synonym for hurlbat (at least according to Wikipedia-so take it with a grain of salt): whirlbat. This may help a search for this elusive throwing axe.

Oh, I just did a bit of digging here, and found a picture of what may be a hurlbat in the background of the picture Nathan posted in this thread:

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...ht=hurlbat

Are there others out there?

Stay safe!

Nathan Robinson · myArmoury Admin

Featured or not, most major collections have these.

Here are some examples from the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich and Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg.

Richard Fay · Posted: Fri 29 Dec, 2006 1:22 pm Post subject:

Hello all!

Nathan,
Thanks for the wonderful photos! Lots of hurlbats to look at!
I get the impression that hurlbats are more typical of Central Europe. Would this seem to be a correct assumption?

Stay safe!

Egidijus Stonkus · Posted: Tue 19 Jul, 2011 11:42 am Post subject:

Hi

I would like to renew this topic, because I've started to collect info on the hurlbats, and, simply, there's almost none. So, if you, guys, would give any additional information or post any photos from museums, I would be most grateful.

Sincerely,
Egidijus

Timo Nieminen · Posted: Tue 19 Jul, 2011 1:29 pm Post subject:

Puype & Stevens, Arms and Armour of Knights and Landsknechts in the Netherlands Army Museum (Eburon, 2010), has a weapon of similar form, but with a grip. It has a hammer head (4 pronged) rather than an axe head, but similar construction. But it has a proper grip, with guard and pommel.

Ralph Grinly · Posted: Tue 19 Jul, 2011 2:16 pm Post subject:

Given that the Hurlbat was *meant* to be thrown away, I suspect that as little work as possible was done , construction-wise. Question