A real two-bladed sword!

[Dannyalcatraz]

On the 200 lb. issue, I found another reference that said the original Kwan dao was only 90 lbs. and that was extremely heavy. On the 40 lb. issue, I think it's entirely possible that this weapon could weigh that much and still be used for it's original intended purpose.

Seriously- check out the guys at the armories and antique arms dealers- you probably won't even find a heavy lance weighing more than 20 pounds, and that was designed to be toted by a man on a horse. Anything heavier would require a counterweight on the other side of the horse to prevent saddle slide.

Also, at 90lbs, It also would exceed the total weight carried by any armed & armored archaic warrior.

Simple experiment- I bowl with a pair of 16lb balls (insert old joke here ). I carry them in a single bag. Go to a bowling alley and pick up a pair of 16lb balls in one bag and see how overbalanced you'll be.

 

[Drifter Bob]

Were these "battlefield weapons in common use" on European weapons?

European, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander... from the enlightenment period back to the neolithic. The surprising is really more how many similarities there were, and how few really unique weapons existed. For example, the boomerang was not unique to the Australian Subcontinent... it was a common weapon in Egypt, in Sub Saharan Africa, in India, and was apparently used by ancient Celts and Germans in Europe, at least according to Greek and Roman writings from a couple thousand years ago...


DB