Polearm Project -- myArmoury.com

Cole B · Posted: Wed 20 Jun, 2012 5:23 pm Post subject:

Thank you both for all the info, I would definitely be lost without you guys.

As far as nailing the langets - I am a bit worried the langets might come slightly uneven at this price point, so I'm planning all my options as far as that goes.

Interesting about the tacks - did they ever use glue to fix heads into sockets?

Through trial and error I found that they come out best if you hammer on them with a ball peen hammer -before- cleaning the rust off. Cleaning under the heads is annoying though.

Should have a butt cap from KOA in a few days, which should be a good tutorial for mounting the actual head, I'll post some pictures when I do that.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Wed 20 Jun, 2012 6:01 pm Post subject:

mount the nails as drill bits (just the tip in the clamping mechanism,) lock the drill on and just hold a piece of sandpaper against the shaft of the nail. it will be clean in a flash. this works perfectly for polishing decorative bolt heads, too.

Cole B · Posted: Wed 20 Jun, 2012 7:52 pm Post subject:

Oh, the shaft is no problem, the underside of the head is just a bit hard to get at, especially since it's a bit uneven and bent due to my creative smashing on the top. I put them in a bit of wd40 and it seems to have done the trick, just don't want to leave any rust in there once they're attached.

Cole B · Posted: Tue 26 Jun, 2012 11:11 pm Post subject:

Small update to show my amateur job. My conclusion is that rasping is damn hard and I can see why people invented power tools. I need to restain the end.

Here's the butt cap semi-mounted - I found out hammering it down actually secures it a little -too- well, I did it to test the fit and had a crazy hard time getting it off.

(Note: it came with a very nice satin finish and all the gunk on it is because I was beginning the antiquing process when I decided to fit it to the pole)

If anyone is curious about the construction of these, the cap has a solid end and the tapering socket section (which is welded to close the circle) is welded on to that, so it's quite hefty.

Next update: Finishing the antiquing, drilling a hole for the nail, and final mounting. Plus someday the head if Hanwei/GDFB sends their looked for shipment.

Roberto Banfi · Posted: Tue 26 Jun, 2012 11:22 pm Post subject:

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Wed 27 Jun, 2012 1:45 am Post subject:

Cole B · Posted: Sat 30 Jun, 2012 5:58 pm Post subject:

Jean, I know there are tools to work faster but I wanted to go slow and steady as it were. With the cost of shipping poles like that it's not something I wanted to mess up.

I also left the surface of the wood rough and 'rasped' rather than sanding because I read JB Weld holds better on a rough surface.

There you have it. Not pretty but it'll do.

I drilled a one-sided hole in the butt-cap because I was concerned about getting two drilled evenly with each other, and I knew the tight fit + JB weld would be plenty anyway. Then I waited for it to set and drilled the smaller guide hole for my chopped down nail. I think it'd take a chainsaw to get it off at this point.

The distressing didn't take nearly as much as I expected it to, since I let it have 3 days completely covered in rust. I sanded the crap out of it when it first came but I'm guessing I didn't get all the lacquer off. I can always redo it later and tape up the shaft but I was eager to get it mounted.

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Sun 01 Jul, 2012 8:28 am Post subject:

Even with just epoxy and a tight fit the spear butt would be secure, one reason to add the nail is to give it the appearance of a period assembly where a nail might have been considered in many cases the main way to secure a spear butt.

And I like the double security of adhesive and nail and the way it looks. Wink

It is also not going to fall off easily to say the least. Wink

Even smooth the epoxy would be secure but a slightly rough surface is probably a good idea: Another thing I do it I use a file to roughen the inside of the steel socket and make sure that there wasn't some left over grease inside the socket.

Again, nice job.

( EDITED TYPO: Wrote round but meant rough. We many times see what we intended to write when proof reading rather than what is actually written and I try to correct these things when I spot them later using the " E " edit function. At times it's completely my fault and at times it's caused by mis-use of a spellcheck program and accidentally choosing the wrong offered choice when doing a correction. This is sort of an aside and Off Topic but a little bit of proof reading and using a spellcheck is something many should consider to at least catch the worst of the typos ..... I still get many get past me even with multiple re-reads. Sad

).

Cole B · Posted: Sun 01 Jul, 2012 6:58 pm Post subject:

Thanks Jean! After asking like 10 dealers who all said no one has them, I found a place in the UK that has them in stock. The exchange rate and shipping hurts a bit but at this point I want to finish it before I head off to college. So, there could be some final progress pretty soon if nothing goes wrong.

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Sun 01 Jul, 2012 8:50 pm Post subject:

Cole B · Posted: Wed 11 Jul, 2012 1:09 am Post subject:

Halberd head came today, couple in progress pics and my first impressions of the product.

Quite the adventure doing it with minimal tools.

First off, some info about the head for anyone who might be curious.

(I'm guessing the green I'm getting is a reaction with lacquer or grease - I sanded it quite a bit with water but whatever)

It came blunt and rounded on all points, which is pretty good because I would have killed myself about thirty times while pulling it on and off the pole trying to get the fit right.

The overall construction is sturdy - it's basically a solid piece with the halberd shape cut out of it. Not sure how the socket was formed, I'll have to look more closely for welds tomorrow.

The langets seem well attached and sturdy - not sure if they're welded on or what. Not nearly as wide as they looked in the pictures, which I was a bit worried about. They're aligned with each other, a bit bendy in and out but going to be fastened down anyway. The drill holes line up with their corresponding holes but not with the ones further up or down the langets.

The socket is the biggest downside - the inside is pretty crude and uneven so fitting the haft to it was a hassle. With the langets and shape it would be difficult to thoroughly clean up. I spent a lot of time just experimentally working the wood to see if I could get it further in. Definitely the price point showing up.

Last comment on it - size-wise I'd say it's not as reported (dealers list it as for a 1 1/4 or 1 1/8 shaft) but the socket it self is a bit under an inch wide. I had to take a lot of wood off my 1.25 pole, just don't expect to drop it right on if you use a pole that size.

I sanded and re-stained the pole since it had taken a bit of a beating during the fitting process for the butt-cap and head. I should have left it plain and stained it at the end but having the pole for so long before the other pieces, etc etc.

Tomorrow is final fitting of the head with JB weld and getting the langet nails in and peened, and finished pictures.

Steve Shimmer · Posted: Wed 11 Jul, 2012 9:50 am Post subject:

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished job, and can sympathise with the difficulties you've had with fitting the head.

I fortunately had a rubber safety cap to hand when working on my pollaxe. These things were designed to kill folks, so pulling the head off to fix something can be a little dangerous, and it would be just just plain embarrassing to get impaled on your own polearm.

Jon Wolfe · Posted: Wed 11 Jul, 2012 3:44 pm Post subject:

This is a very interesting project so far. I was thinking about doing the same thing, though also grinding down and rounding off the points, in order to make a halberd trainer. That's very insightful about the inside of the socket, thanks for taking one for the team in that regard. Razz

However, it kind of sucks to hear that the GDFB halberd head is in such short supply, I wish I had ordered one years ago now. Worried

Good luck with finishing this, I really look forward to seeing the result.

Cole B · Posted: Wed 11 Jul, 2012 5:26 pm Post subject:

Cole B · Posted: Thu 12 Jul, 2012 1:06 am Post subject:

Sun went down so I couldn't do anything cool but I snapped a few.

Flaws, flaws everywhere! It's hard to not be super critical of your own work.

Wait, I know..it's munitions grade!

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Thu 12 Jul, 2012 3:19 am Post subject:

[quote="Cole B"]

Cole B · Posted: Thu 12 Jul, 2012 4:11 am Post subject:

You're right on the butt cap - bit of a brain fart after considering the Hanwei lance head.

I have a spyderco sharpmaker and some files but the amount of work it would take to put an edge on it is a bit much. I think I'd need a grinder to consider it. The halberd blade has a somewhat tapering edge but the top and back spike are both completely blunt, the same thickness as the center of the piece. So it would be a lot of reshaping.

Safety wise I think it may be a good idea to keep it blunt, at least until I get a very secure mounting for it. Right now it's up against my wall and I'd be worried about a pet bumping it and decapitating somebody. Plus as you said, a sharp polearm is extremely difficult to train with.

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Thu 12 Jul, 2012 4:26 am Post subject:

Jon Wolfe · Posted: Fri 13 Jul, 2012 10:46 am Post subject:

Very nice! I certainly wouldn't use it as a sparring tool, but with appropriately blunted edges and rounded points, one could us it for solo work and partner drills. The only thing different I would do is us a more squared shaft, with beveled corners.