Real-World Weapon Roster - Add yours

[IcyCool]

Falcata (Shortsword)
Single edge blade, curved and broader towards the point. Possibly used by the Celt-Iberians of Roman times.

Gladius (Shortsword)
A simple Roman sword dating 50 A.D. and later. This style of blade was adopted to be used as a slashing sword instead of the thrusting blades dating before 50 A.D.

Dussack Knife (Dagger)
European, 1600's. Made from a single piece of wood (all metal varieties exist), with a slightly curved blade. The grip is basically a hole in the piece, which when held acts as a sort of rudimentary hand-guard.

Swordbreaker (Dagger)
Strong rigid teeth were cut into one edge of the blade to catch the sword blade of an opponenet, frequently breaking it entirely thus giving this dagger the name "Swordbreaker Dagger."

Pugio (Dagger)
Short, fat bladed dagger (resembles a skinny spade) of Roman design. Usually nicely decorated.

Sgian Dubh (Dagger)
Scottish, 17th-18th century.

Jian (Sword)
Chinese, Ancient-medieval?. A straight double-edged sword.

Qiang (Spear)
Chinese, timeperiod?. Describes spears with various types of heads.

Fu (Axe)
Chinese, timeperiod?. Not a common military weapon, but used by security forces.

Dao (Sabre)
Chinese, timeperiod? Became a popular weapon much later than Jian.

 

[isoChron]

Sax single edged sword from the saxons
see also Scramasax, Longsax. Various length of blades.

Did you check Wikipedia ? You can find various weapons there. Often along with pictures.

 

[IcyCool]

Sax single edged sword from the saxons
see also Scramasax, Longsax. Various length of blades.

Did you check Wikipedia ? You can find various weapons there. Often along with pictures.

I thought the Sax was more of a dagger.

 

[EdL]

I thought the Sax was more of a dagger.

Note that it came in various sizes. Call a short one a dagger and a long one a sword. The same is true of other weapons, such as the katar.

As for the question, I turn my head and look at the nearly 700 page "A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Together with Some Closely Related Subjects" by George Cameron Stone, and I just shake my head.

 

[smilinggm]

Let us not forget about the humble shiv and shank.

"The shiv is the favored weapon of inmates in prisons across the globe.It's famous for its versatility - a shiv can be anything from a glass shard with cloth wrapped around one end to form a handle, to a razorblade stuck in the end of a toothbrush, to a sharpened spoon.

A related term is shank. While the words are used interchangeably, the difference is that a shank is a type of shiv that is fashioned from the metal shank of a prison-issued boot or shoe. Since inmates were able to fashion effective shivs out of metal shanks, most (if not all) prisons no longer issue footwear with metal shanks. Shank is sometimes also used as a verb, meaning 'To stab someone, usually with a shiv, multiple times in a quick succession.' Shanking is a popular prison assassination method."From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In D&D terms a shiv or a shank is basically an improvised kinfe or daggar.

 

[Chaldfont]

What you need is the old Palladium book "Compendium of Weapons, Armor & Castles". I think that's the title. It was a blue softback with a jousting knight on the cover. This thing is the end-all-be-all of RPG weapons. I got it years ago and I still pull it out when someone asks what a certain weapon looks like. I used it last session to show a guy a picture depicting halberd fighting moves.

Its probably one of the most useful RPG books I've ever owned.

 

[genshou]

A question for all you weapon-savvy people.

I've heard the historical existence of the spiked chain and mercurial swords argued both ways. People have said that such weapons did in fact exist at some point in history, people have said that they haven't. Do any of you know of books or other historical references which would "prove" (as far as historical documents can) that such weapons ever existed?

And what about the dire flail?

 

[Kuld]

Sax single edged sword from the saxons
see also Scramasax, Longsax. Various length of blades.

Did you check Wikipedia ? You can find various weapons there. Often along with pictures.

Seax?

If you really want to learn more about weapons check out an Oakeshott book from your local library. I own most of his work.

Or you can go to another forum I frequent. Sword Forum is very good about answeriing questions about any weapons. I have learned alot from just posting there.