Chad J. Posted October 28 Share Posted October 28 This is a challenge a from a friend. We each forge a zombie killer weapon and take them to our 2025 fall conference for everyone to vote on. I've settled on a halberd but I've not forged one before. My plan is to do a practice or 2 out of mild to get the steps correct. Any suggestions or considerations I need to take? Looking at 24 inches over all for the blade and ax heads. Maybe 8 inches or so wide. Goal is 4 to 5 pounds total weight for the blade and with a 2 to 3 pound mace for a counter balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted October 29 Share Posted October 29 Chad: A couple of comments: First, the blade/point opposite the blade of a halberd was usually straight ( for piercing armor) or hooked down (to snag a horseman off his horse or to catch an opponent's shield). IMO, bent up does not offer any advantage. Second: Because a halberd head takes a lot of force when it is swung I would be skeptical about mounting it with a tang rather than a socket. The pins holding the tang to the shaft would be under a LOT of shear force and I think they would likely break or deform. If you do use a tang you'll need much heavier rivets than showm in the diagram. I'd suggest 1/4" or 3/8". Also, you will need some very strong wood for the shaft. I suggest ash but if you can't get that, oak, And I'd suggest a collar aroung the mounting area to reinforce it. But a socket woul solve a multitude of sins. Third: I am not sure if the lines on the inside of the blade and the back spike represent an inlet (lower) area or a proud (higher) area. Either way, they represent a lot of non-functional work. If you are going to do several practice pieces I suggest that the Model A not have these. Then, see how it looks and if it would be improved by elaboration and if the improvement is worth the additional time and work. Let us see how it progresses. GNM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 29 Share Posted October 29 Chad: George and I agree on a couple points anyway. First the blade opposite the axe needs to be smaller, and point downward or straight. By smaller I mean it should be more like a dagger and it needs to taper from base to point or it WILL get wedged in armor or flesh. Same for the main blade it needs to be a straight taper or diminishing curve, a palmate blade invites losing your weapon in the enemy's carcass. The axe blade looks good enough but a deeper beard makes hooking shields, horseman or horse legs easier. If you use a tang on a halberd or battle axe it needs to be very long, 18" or better with a socket at the head and langettes down the sides to reinforce the haft. Take a look at "Orleans battle axe" to get a look at what I think you're thinking of for a battle axe. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted October 29 Author Share Posted October 29 Great tips guys, thanks. This is the first time I'm going through a bit of a design process and I can't find a lot of info on halberds. I agree with the tang. I'm not the best with sockets but with practice I'll get them. I'd planned on putting a collar on the staff and was actually looking at hickory for the pole, I've not had much luck with oak. The lines you were not sure about were me thinking of fullering the area out to reduce overall weight and adjust balance, that would be a needed but not too likely. The top blade I'm actually considering making single edge for chopping but I went with a mild leaf design because I kinda like curves. The upward was a design idea I had where I could use that area to pin someone or something, perhaps a redesign of that into more of a taper as suggested. The idea behind this was a bit of a fantasy weapon but I love practical. I'll mess around with a couple redesigns. I'll update this and look forward to more suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted October 29 Author Share Posted October 29 Found it, the forward swept blade was something I had seen before but couldn't quite place. I stole that element from the Corseque. The whole idea is to ensure those bitey little zombies keep their distance. I need to do more homework on pole arms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 29 Share Posted October 29 Okay, I can see your inspiration after searching for images, it's not like I have all this stuff memorized you know. A number of the images with the more triangular side blades make me think they were intended to lock and pin sword blades so a fellow soldier could spear or whack him. Or maybe shove the opponent's spear aside so your shield mate wouldn't get kabobed. I doubt many zombies carry swords, spears or shields so most anything halberd-like should work fine. Thinking about it a bore stopper would be a good addition to anti zombie pokers. I figure there's a good chance mr. Z would still be trying to grab and bite you even with a spear through him. Fun thing about fantasy weapons is anything goes though I imagine a pair of boxing gloves on springs would detract from the anti-zombieness of it. Unless Larry, Mo and Curley zombies showed up. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted October 29 Share Posted October 29 Good morning, agreed that a hook would be useful for zombies, not just horsemen. I second the use of langettes - early weapons used them mostly on the front and back of the shaft, the side ones came later - sometimes they still used the front ones, sometimes not. It's partially support, and partially that it makes it harder to hack (zombie bite?) through the hafts. They're not essential with a polearm if the head is socketed but they create a lot of support, and that's important in an era when most of what you can get is new-growth wood, usually dried in a kiln. If you're looking for better hardwoods, try flooring places for scraps and cutoffs, although best is to put aside and season wood from people cutting down old trees in their yards if you have the space for it. Hafts break a LOT in modern reproductions. For sockets, practice those as much as anything. And make a mandrel to form it over, it makes things worlds easier. Nothing much, appropriate size stock and forge/grind to shape. Some of the earlier weapons used clinched nails instead of rivets, and I would say that although they're more prone to coming loose, they're easier to remove if you have to make repairs. Also, if you have too much trouble figuring things out with the shape, bardiches, glaives, and Lochaber axes offer simpler designs and still make pretty awesome anti-zombie weaponry. Good luck, sounds fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted October 29 Share Posted October 29 Chad, here is how I make sockets for everything from arrowheads on up: Start by measuring the diameter of your shaft and deciding hot thick you want the socket there and multiply the diameter by the thickness to see how much stock you are going to need. It's real easy to underestimate and end up with a paper thin socket edge. Draw down the stock to the thickness you want at the neck between the socket and the rest of the weapon. If I am using, say, 1" square stock I may draw it down the nick to 1/2" or even 3/8", Then, establish a zero point at th base of the socket between the socket and the rest of the weapon. Mark it with a punch. Forge out the socket into a fan shape. The end of the fan will be curved at a constant distance from the zero point. This will mean the bottom of the socket will be close to 90 degrees to the axis of the weapon. Start curling up the socket at the narrow portion, the thinner parts will follow as you curve the thicker. I will work from the inside of the socket on decreasing diameter shapes on the swage block until I can't hammer from the inside any longer. Then, I will move to the outside using the fase of the anvil for the thicker portions and a mandrel for the thinner parts. Once the socket is closed up adjust the bottom by filing or grinding to be square and get the socket exactly in line with the axis of the weapon. Then, move on to the rest of the weapon. It's actually easier than it appears written out and I find it pretty intuitive. BTW, this is for a socket with an open seam. If you want to weld it shut you will have to overlap it for a forge weld. Also, I mount it with the rivets at 90 degrees to the seam. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted October 30 Author Share Posted October 30 Thanks for the tips and suggestions. No matter the form it takes this going to be a fun and challenging project that's going to force me to work on skills that I haven't really developed yet. Forge welding bits, making sockets, and more. I'm still looking at glaives, birdaches, and other pole arms but I'll keep this thread going until it's complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.