Finding a Swiss Pike. -- myArmoury.com

Jake Clodfelter · Posted: Sun 11 Feb, 2007 4:23 am Post subject: Finding a Swiss Pike.

I know Cold Steel used to make one some time back. Yet, they are hard to find. I was wondering if anyone else made them.

I would also like to get a Baselard to go with it, and I would like decent quality weapons that wouldn't be breaking the wallat to much.

Anyone got any advice, or know of any makers of the famous Swiss weapons.

Thanks.

Randall Moffett · Posted: Sun 11 Feb, 2007 4:30 am Post subject:

I do not know how swiss it is but CAS sells a pike for a reasonable price. I never have used it but have messed around abot with it- The nice thing is it has a decent middle connection that seemed strong and a good butt spike and you could turn it from pike to spear easily. I think it is 14 feet total, 7 foot spear. Pole weapons and such tend to be harder to find than blades for some reason.

RPM

Gordon Frye · Posted: Sun 11 Feb, 2007 10:19 pm Post subject:

Jake;

Pikeheads that are both useful as well as ornamental are darned hard to find, but what is more difficult are the staves for them. Finding 18' long ash poles can be difficult, and when you find them, shipping can be pretty outrageous. Peavy poles from logging suppliers is probably one of the better sources, though if you and friends want several of them, buying a 2" X 18' plank of ash and cutting it into 2"X2"X18' staves, then working it down to octagon or round is always an option. Here's a source for 1-3/8ths" or 1-58ths " "solid socket pick" poles, though they only go to 16' length in ash: http://www.peaveymfg.com/pickpoles.html#handles (Frankly their "pick poles" look like they could be taken straight out and used as a pike, when you look at them. Interesting...)

One of the few places I've found making a very "plane Jane" pike heads for a reasonable price is here: http://www.navyandmarine.org/ItemsForSale/index.htm They aren't pretty, but they're functional. Both the awl-pike and the leaf-shaped head are viable period forms, however "most" 16th Century pike heads were somewhat more elaborate from what I can tell. Unfortunately not many of those available...

A good solid pike stave should be 16-18' (sometimes more) in length, and fairly burly depending upon the specific period you're doing. I firmly believe that the early pike staves were pretty stout to actually form some sort of resistance against charging horses. They may well have become lighter as time passed and the prevelance of armoured horses became less on the battlefield, but it can be hard to tell. There just aren't many extant pikes around that anyone has bothered to measure. (I'm sure that the one's in Graz would tell a LOT of interesting things, but I've not been able to find out their true dimentions.)

Anyway, good luck in your search!

Cheers,

Gordon

Sean Flynt · Posted: Tue 13 Feb, 2007 10:33 am Post subject:

Russ Ellis · Industry Professional

Sean Flynt · Posted: Tue 13 Feb, 2007 12:47 pm Post subject:

Russ Ellis · Industry Professional

Sean Flynt · Posted: Tue 13 Feb, 2007 2:03 pm Post subject:

Benjamin H. Abbott · Posted: Tue 13 Feb, 2007 2:36 pm Post subject:

I think the pike techniques shown in manual strongly suggest pikes were fairly light, but we've argued about this before. No one really knows.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Wed 14 Feb, 2007 6:32 am Post subject:

David Evans · Posted: Wed 14 Feb, 2007 6:51 am Post subject:

Hisham Gaballa · Posted: Wed 14 Feb, 2007 8:22 am Post subject:

I though pike were made in two halves and joined together in the middle by a metal 'sleeve'?

David Evans · Posted: Sat 17 Feb, 2007 2:47 am Post subject: PIkes