[David McElrea]

Hi all,

Once again I come asking for information regarding a weapon/tool whose name I do not know. This time I don't even have pictures or reference materials-- nonetheless if this is familiar to you, your help would be appreciated.

A friend of mine, in his youth, saw a Hungarian shepherd's staff with a difference. This item was as short as a walking stick but had a small axe-head in place of a handle. Apparently shepherds would use this part of the stick to fight off any animals who threatened their flocks.

Apparently one can find souvenirs which emulate this in the market places, but these are often plastic or some other nasty material. I suggested getting one custom made, but some more info would be helpful.

If this rings any bells, I look forward to hearing from someone.

David

[Ruel A. Macaraeg]

Fokos, same thing as a Polish ciupaga. There was an article on them in a recent Knives Annual.

[David McElrea]

Thanks alot, Ruel.

That was just what I needed-- isn't amazing what you can discover on this site?

Another form I discovered was the "valaska", the Slovakian equivalent.

Between these three, and a range of options (retail or custom) my friend should be able to get what he needs.

Yours,

David McElrea

[Ruel A. Macaraeg]

The guy who wrotes the Knives article makes custom ones -- Joseph Szilaski http://szilaski.com. There are a couple modernized ones offered in the current Atlanta cutlery catalog too.

I have one of those cheap ones; it has a crudely cast brass head, unsharpened. Yet even so, it tracks pretty well on the swing, and you could probably account yourself well against a couple lightly armed attackers with it. The head, though relatively small as far as axes go, could still definitely spill someone's brains out with a good whack.