Adze: Essentially a carpenter's tool shaped like an axe but with the
blade at right angles to the handle(s).
Baton: Light truncheon like a policeman's nightstick (billyclub).
Bludgeon: Your standard club with a fancy name attached. It may be
bound with iron to prevent splintering, but pretty much just something to beat
the holy living h**l out of something. Or someone, for that matter.
Bo: A long hardwood staff about six to seven feet in length.
Bola: There are two kinds, as follow.
Hunting Bola: A long cord or thong to which either two or three stones
or weights are attached. Whirled about the head and released at victim's legs, this
weapon will entangle the limbs and disable small prey.
War Bola: A thin, flexible, wire-wrapped cord is used in place of the thong
of the hunting bola, and the stones are replaced with small, spiked balls. Besides
entangling, the wires may cut and the spikes may puncture or slash the flesh. A user
of this weapon typically must wear gauntlets of some kind to protect the fingers.
Boomerang: The weapon of the natives from Australlia, the boomerrang
is a weapon as well as a nation's symbol. The outer edge was either
sharpen and fire-harden or the boomerang was made out of a heavy wood
perfect for skull-cracking. Given the right swing, the valuble weapon
would return to its owner as well.
Caltrops (also Calthrop): Four spikes radiating from a common point so
that in any position, one spike is always pointing straight up. Small ones have spikes
about four inches high, but large ones are assumed to have spikes about eight to ten inches
long. Also have managed to garner the nick name of "war jacks" amongst some gamers.
Chakram: Yes, Xena's weapon. It is the original war frisbee. A flat, steel ring
about an inch wide and about five to twelve inches in diameter that could be thrown or
whirled about the finger before release. The outer edge is sharpened and users must
wear gauntlets of some kind if they insist on catching it to avoid loosing ones fingers or
hand.
Club: These are you basic 'grab a piece a wood and plument' type
weapons. So easy to make that even your average caveman had several
of them stored away for those rainy days. Sometimes the club is made
better by several additions, from rusty nails and spikes to teeth from
a shark or porcupine quills.
Crowbar: A prying tool with enough heft to make it a good bludgeoning weapon in
a pinch.
Flail: Originally, this was an agricultural implement used to seperate wheat from
the chaff. However with a few modifications it made a handy-dandy war implement instead. And
with weights or spikes added and chains substitued for the swinging arm, it could even give
the ever popular morningstar a run for its money.
Heavy flail: Stout haft with swinging arm bound with spiked iron rings.
Light flail: More slender shaft with two or three swinging chains having small
weights attached at the ends.
Heavy Mace: A club-like weapon made all of metal, or with a metal head attached to
a wooden haft. Heads were knobby affairs with several blunt flanges or spikes. Around the
Dark Ages, most priests and religious men were not allowed to shed blood even though they
were expected to fight right next to the knights and the footmen. So they came up with this
weapon that takes the idea of the club and 'bloodless' damage and gives the
priest a way to defend him/her self. Though that 'bloodless' idea was mainly in the minds of
the higher-ups in the church.
Icepick: Anybody who has seen the movie 'Dangerous Attractions' knows
that this innocent houshold item can be just as deadly as a wet cat.
It's a long pointy blade usually used to chip ice from a large block
into smaller pieces.
Jo: A smaller version of the bo, often used in pairs.
Kama: A short, scythe-like weapon easily overlooked as a weapon. Reputed to be
a favorite of ninja.
Kursia: A length of chain that usually has a small hooks on the ends.
Sometimes paired with the kama.
Mitre: Hafted weapon with an enlarged head generally studded with spikes. Usually
lighter and less club-like than a heavy mace.
Morningstar: Short-hafted weapon with a heavy, iron chain connecting the haft and
an iron ball studded with spikes or flanges. Evolved from the mace for extended reach.
Neko: A weapon of Ninja and assassins, the neko are specially designed
spikes that are usually used for climbing up walls or scaling cliffs.
However, these spikes can also be used as weapons, usually with the
tips poisoned to be certain.
Nunchaku: Originally intended as a wheat flail, it is two short hardwood poles
connected by a short chain less than a foot in length.
Pickax: A pickax. Now, tell me what did you expect? However, it is a hafted weapon,
generally ranging from two and one-half to three and one-half feet in length. The head is
steel or iron and is made with two protrusions facing outward from the haft. Typically one
head is slightly shovel-like while the other is a sharper 'pick' form.
Piton Hammer: A small hammer used especially to pound spikes into rock. Typically
used by mountain climbers.
Quarterstaff: A long, stout staff made of heavy wood. Could be used as a staff for
walking and/or as a club for infighting. Made typically of a piece of yew or
other hard wood that has been seasoned then lacured so the wood would
not easily break. The quarter staff got its name from its height,
which was measured against a quarter horse's shoulder to the ground,
which is about 6 feet. Sometimes the foot is fitted with a sharp
point, allowing it to be used somewhat like a poor spear.
Scourge: Also called a 'Cat O'Nine-Tails', a scourge is a whip with
several strands that have small spikes or nails or shark teeth woven
into the strands. Not really effective against men in armor, its main
used were for torture and for disarmenet.
Shurikin: In contemporary usage, this refers to the throwing stars used in the
Orient, specifically in Japan. Some were very small, around the size of a half-dollar coin,
while others ranged to about six inches across. To maintain flight abilities, the spikes
of the star could not be any longer than approximately six inches. An excellent nuisance
weapon, especially if poisoned, but generally of insufficient power to do great damage.
Tessen: The 'war-fan'. A metal ribbed fan that served both as a shield and
as a general's tool. If the situation is particularily dire, I suppose you could always
swat someone with it...
Tonfa: This weapon was originally the handle of a millstone. It is a short
wooden staff, approximately two foot in length, with an offset handle. This weapon is
swung in a swirling motion.
War Hammer: Traditionally, this is a sturdy, hafted weapon with a relatively
small, blunt or clawed head, with a small spike in the back. (This does not refer
to something like Thor's hammer Moljnir from Marvel comics (that is either a hammer or a
mallet))
Wire: Anyone who works with machines has gotten cut by this innocent
piece of equipment. Wire is also very easily hidden and explained away
unlike most of the other weapons in this list here. With wire
sharpened, it can easily cut through skin and bone.
Yo-Yo: That's right, the yo-yo, one of the more popular children's
toys was once a weapon. It was the choice weapon of assassins in
Polynesia, where the yo (the original name) was a 4 or 5 pound rock
with a very sharp edge that was attached to a long coil of hemp. The
assassin would hide in a tree and wait for his victim to pass by
underneath then BAM, he lets the rock drop and cracks in the skull
of the victim. The yo was brought back by sailors who found a way
to turn the deadly and heavy object into something for children to
play with. And yet, it can still be used as a weapon in the hands of someone who knows
what they're doing. Though I am certain that there are those that say that it is more
dangerous in the hands of those who don't.
