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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 1763507" data-attributes="member: 19675">I thought this might be of interest, given the original post:The double bladed dagger- the Sudanese Haladie<a href="http://www.geocities.jp/bowen_dragon/taki/touken/haladie.htm" target="_blank">http://www.geocities.jp/bowen_dragon/taki/touken/haladie.htm</a><a href="http://therionarms.com/sold/com090.html" target="_blank">http://therionarms.com/sold/com090.html</a>So, there were weapons out there like this that were made...but how common were they?  I don't know.Also, Drifter Bob wrote:Originally Posted by Drifter BobWhile it DOES look a little chromed out to be one built for use, it does, however, conform in general to the standard Kwan Do,in proportions and details down to its spiked butt.  There is another, similar weapon that has a smaller primary blade and a ring or spherical butt.As for:The 200lb weapon story I suspect came from legends like this:<a href="http://www.shaolin.co.za/articles%5Chistory%5Ckwandao.html" target="_blank">http://www.shaolin.co.za/articles\history\kwandao.html</a><a href="http://www.quandoman.com/kwandao.htm" target="_blank">http://www.quandoman.com/kwandao.htm</a>Unfortunately, you'll note that this legend has made it into martial arts magazines and books in such a fashion that implies that the legend was fact.Of the 40lb aspect of the post- I correspond occasionally with the curators of a couple of professional armor curators for major historical armories, like Mr. Philip Abbott from the British Royal Armory, and others sources like the Oakeshott institute ( <a href="http://www.oakeshott.org/" target="_blank">http://www.oakeshott.org/</a> ), Bjorn's Sword site ( <a href="http://bjorn.foxtail.nu/swords.htm" target="_blank">http://bjorn.foxtail.nu/swords.htm</a> ), and a couple of military historians (that is, former soldiers who now teach).  Of all the weapons these guys know of, the only "melee weapons" that actually exceeded 15 pounds were designed for executions- beheadings & skull-crushings.  The heaviest weapons "routinely" used on a battlefield topped out at around 7.5lbs- mainly large 2 hander swords, axes and maces/mauls- but they were still rare.  According to them, most weapons used to arm the hand weighed in at around 3-5lbs.Why?  First, you would have to be superhumanly strong to whip around that kind of mass without exposing yourself to a deadly counterattack.  You would be thrown off balance by a weapon that has that high a percentage of your own body mass.  Second, throughout history, the typical top mass any warrior was asked to tote by himself was around 60lbs, and that included armor, primary and secondary weapons, bedding, tools, rations, etc.  Much more than that, the soldiers bogged down and became fatigued to the point of uselessness.</blockquote>

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