[Hamish C]

I have a couple of reproduction polearm heads from Wulflund, swiss halberds, with langets, that I want to fix to ash shafts. No holes are yet drilled in the langets, but I am considering drilling and fixing with long rivets from one side to the other. Another alternative using handmade nails through staggered drilled holes.

I'd like to know what you guys have tried and how successful was it?

[Mark Moore]

Personally, I would go with the nails and DRILLED holes. Always use pilot-holes. I built a spear this way, and it's rock solid...also easier to fix in the event of a broken shaft than with solid rivets. ...McM

[Kel Rekuta]

In Waldman's excellent book on medieval and Renaissance hafted weapons, he provides Xray images of surviving weapons. They clearly demonstrate alternating nails clinched inside the socket and/ or langets.

Drilling a pilot hole through a wood shaft creates a shear point, especially in long grained wood such as ash. After replacing numerous hafts on spears and pollaxes for myself and others over the years specifically because of this issue, I tried the method Waldman suggested. Provided a very straight grained selection of haft, none of my replacements have failed in full contact armoured combat. Clinched nails do not create stress points. The haft will wear out eventually but none have yet. It used to be one or two every single tournament.

http://www.brill.com/hafted-weapons-medieval-...nce-europe