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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Galloglaich" data-source="post: 4762860" data-attributes="member: 77019">Yeah but we don't have any reason to believe that obviously badly made replica they had was any more realistic than the 1" thick iron-banded Viking shield (real Viking shields average about 3/8" thick and rarely had any metal other than the boss)I'm basing my estimate on other similar weapons which occur around the world, for example the weapon in the center of this photo:<img src="http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/103/l_02a29f5afffb45afaf4deb35c7c1b714.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />...which is from a Swiss Armory and probably dates from the 16th Century, was sold at auction a few years ago, reported at just over 2 kilograms.  it's probably made of ash, not exactly balsawood but not a true hardwood either, rather it's ideal for weapon hafts since it's flexible and strong, which is why they have been using it to make spears and bows since the Neolithic.Same for the similar Flemish <a href="http://www.liebaart.org/goeden_e.htm" target="_blank"> Godendag</a><img src="http://www.liebaart.org/figuren/goedendr.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />...a formidable enough weapon, but not even in the ballpark of 10 lbs let alone 15, more like about 4 or 5 lbs from the several surviving examples (it is an estimate since they only have the iron heads but that does give the diameter and they know the length from various records).You are right of course that a solid hardwood weapon that long might weigh considerably more, but why make something that bulky or heavy? Hardwood is brittle.  It would be more likely to break.  The Maori, Fijians etc. had numerous weapons made of hardwoods, the heavier ones tended to be very small, like this waihaka<img src="http://www.hawaiiandiscovery.com/images/MaoriClubC143.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Which is short enough to be unlikely to break.  This thing will crush skulls like chalk.the long ones (like this taiha) <img src="http://www.shopenzed.com/site/images/167887.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />were relatively light (but plenty hard and heavy enough to kill with either a thrust from the pointy end or a strike from the fat end, which is the whole idea)  And probably made of more flexible wood, though I'm not sure about that.Also if it really is hardwood like the kind used in these Maori weapons the metal studs are kind of superfluous.Bottom line, I still hold to the idea that a weapon which weighed 15 lbs is simply too heavy to use in a hand-to-hand fight, no matter how strong you are.  Maybe someone else knows a lot about Japanese weapons could give us more concrete information on this.G.</blockquote>

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