[Jean Thibodeau]

[Dave Stephan]

[Jean Thibodeau]

At equal skill levels the one with the longer reach has the advantage at least initially and it won't be that easy to close the distance for the one with the shorter weapon.

Pulling the dagger out of one's sock might not work as the guy with the mace will get to you first because of reaction time delay, but dropping the now useless spear ( Or long weapon ) and going into wrestling mode could work .... but outcomes would vary according to skill levels, strength, endurance + luck that is always a factor.

Oh, we may be getting too far away from the original Topic subject matter and I encourage others to get back to their favourite weapon of choice other than the sword.

[Michael Ekelmann]

After single edged swords, I'd have to say the axe is my favourite weapon. My ideal weapon combo would be long knife and tomahawk. Too many times watching Last of the Mohicans!

[William P]

gonna go with jean, polearms are the best

particularly the famous swiss/ german halberd

or the bec de corbain poleaxe. i.e the hammer and spike combo.

for close in work a warhammer, topspike, hammer and backspike.. theres no opponent you cant potentially take down.


to quote the old knife infomercial "it slices, it dices!" they do everything

i love weapons that can allow you to do a very large number of things i.e the swiss army knife mentality, i like to keep my options as open as possible as to who or what i can take down.

i like to know i have reduced the number of situations my gear will put me at a disadvantage in, as being as little as possible.

i.e poleaxe, does he have plate? i can dent the plates, or puncture the maile.
does he have just maile and gambeson, ill just run him through with the top spike. or just use the hammer to crush him under the maile
can i outrange swords and shields, yes,

otherwise, a weapon i have used but not properly learned to use, is the danish axe. particularly the ones with the nice up-swept horn.

you can use it in 2 hands, you can hook shields aside, thrust with the horn, etc, its very versatile, except you cant use it with a shield.
but you can quickly reduce the length and strike someone no matter what distance they are.

[Corey Skriletz]

I've always been partial to the battle mace. My favorite style has always been the wood-shafted small-headed maces both knobbed or flanged. If I were to use it in battle, it would probably be during the Norman era, because I feel that maille isn't very well suited to defend against the impact of a well-placed mace blow. I remember seeing scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry that depict a mace being thrown at the enemy. I'm not sure how that would be done...or even why it would be done, it seems like a mace wouldn't make as good of projectile as say a small axe or a javelin. I've never thrown my mace, and I'm not sure I want to.
The mace pictured below is one I bought from KultofAthena.com. I'm not sure who the maker is. I love it, because it gives me the option to customize the shaft which I stained and wrapped in rawhide.

[William P]

[Jan J. Gahy]

My top list of non-sword weapons:

1. Lucerne hammer: You can thrust, you can smash and the best thing - you can do staff fighting with many interesting techniques. And it looks cool

2. Ranseur - great design, staff fighting and keeping distance

3. One handed broad axe - speed, impact, and axe is multipurpose for living and working in middle ages

From these three i have only axe :/

[Shahril Dzulkifli]

Besides from swords, I also like several weapons including the trident.
Tridents have been used over the years as both a weapon (by gladiators) and an implement to catch fish (by fishermen).
In Roman mythology Neptune, the god of the sea, wields a trident to symbolize his power over his realm.
During the Joseon Dynasty in Korea palace guards armed themselves with a trident called dangpa (당파), whose point is tied with a scarlet tassel.
The one pictured below is a modern reproduction of a trident used by gladiators.

[Charles Richmond]

I rather enjoy my Hewing Spear as a break from the sword. Of course one observing me attempting to execute drills with it might very well get the impression that It's the last weapon I should be equipped with............................

A flanged mace also serves well as a stress reliever. Cutting with a sword, while gratifying, is not a substitute for the satisfying feel of smashing something into its component bits. I always walk away feeling quite satisfied.

[Roger Hooper]

My non-sword item would be the poll-axe, the all around Medieval weapon. It can be a spear, an axe, a hammer and a quarter staff.

[Joel N]

I'm very partial to the messer. Does that count as a non-sword? If it doesn't, I'll go with one of my bowie knives. If that still doesn't count because a bowie is arguably a short messer, (in which case I'll skip saying I like daggers, too, since they are also arguably shorter versions of swords,) I'll branch out and say I'd like to have a halberd and/or some other kind of axe-like weapon.

[Marko Susimetsa]

Bow. Especially Mongol bow.

My bow is a modern recreation for the simple fact that I would not have the time and skills to take care of the real thing (let alone pay for one).

http://youtu.be/kVsQaXLHK68?hd=1

Bought it at a medieval fair. Same bows are sold in theUS by Seven Meadows Archery.

I'm planning to get a proper thumb ring to shoot it more authentically and perhaps even try it from horseback one of these days (my sister owns some horses).

[Scott Woodruff]

When it comes to a pure weapon, my first choice would be the spear, my second would be any sort of polearm. I really like the idea of a tool/weapon, in which case I really like axes, messers, seax and such. My ideal swordless panoply would be: round shield, winged spear, handaxe and seax for a 10th-12th century portrayal and a bill, messer and wurfhaken for a 15th century portrayal.

[Gregg Sobocinski]

Two years ago, I would have said polaxe-warhammer for their multi-pronged versatility {http://www.myArmoury.com/feature_higgins_pole.html}, but after seeing Jean T's winged partisan spear, I find myself in the spear camp.
[url]http://www.michaelssmithy.com/Michaels_Smithy/Spears_and_Other_Weapons/Spears_and_Other_Weapons.html

Rationale: No weapon has been more successful before guns finally became reliable-enough in the 19th century. You won't often see spears or warhammers used properly in films because they're just too dangerous, and not easy to make 'flashy' on screen. Successful warfare strategy has depended on spears and their derivatives for success for millennia.

1) I like the complex spears, with hooks and spikes to supplement their use. I'd love to personally compare a simple winged spear, a winged partisan spear, and a well-made runka/ranseur before choosing a specific style. The use of spikes for hooking, blocking, and tripping appeal to me academically, while a moderate cut and thrust spear point strikes me as elegant and efficient.

2) Always choose the best weapon against your opponent of the moment. Spears were adapted successfully in all eras, with the runka/ranseur designed against plate armor. I'd bring friends who trained in formation fighting. Personally, the thought of fighting well armored opponents is pretty intimidating, so I'd choose an earlier period. (12-13th c?).

3) Any pole weapon manual would apply to spear use. It has been observed on this forum that training with the sword also carries-over to skill with pole weapons. I'd probably start with quarterstaff training. I could pick any culture to get ideas.

4) I don't own any historical weapons. If/when I decide to start collecting them, I'll beg Michael Pikula to make some styles of spear, and approach Arms & Armor for others. I've seen each of them make beautiful pole weapons for people on this forum.

[Ralph Grinly]

Favourite non-sword weapon ? I've got to vote for boar/winged spear. Relatively cheap, but damned deadly. Also multi-purpose. Good offensive/defensive weapon..can be used as quarter-staff if necessary for non-lethal work. Also good for keeping you fed via hunting.

[Sjors B]

my favourite non-sword weapon is without doubt the langes/grosses messer
designed as the combat variant of a kitchen knife grosses messer is known to be used by non-nobility for self defence in the late 14th to 16th century. since the 15th century techniques are being described in various german fechtbucher
as for manuscript, they are depicted in talhoffer, Kall, Mair bur foremost in the manuscript of johannes leckuchner.

why it is my favourite weapon? the techniques are very fast, sofisticated and good for putting up a bit of a show in combat.
a nice youtube movie showing some messer techniques:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=DE&hl=de&v=38sVdx7nzhQ

[Christopher Gregg]

I'm going to have to go with the crossbow. Think about it. Anyone can learn to shoot this weapon in an hour, it has long range, is easy to load, can be hard hitting enough to penetrate certain armors, and can be swung like an impact weapon in a pinch. And besides, one could wear a sword as a close-in backup weapon. It's also the only medieval weapon I can think of that is still used to this day (albeit in a hunting capacity), and is just as simple and effective now as it was then.

[Eric G.]

[Phil D.]

Museum Replicas used to make a similar mace quite a few years ago.I have not seen another replica since...

http://www.hankreinhardt.com/Sale/Axes/Maces%20330.htm