Bec de Faucon Poleaxe – Deepeeka

This Bec de Faucon poleaxe has a head and langets of high carbon steel riveted to a carved and stained wooden haft. The pick and spike are unsharpened. The poleaxe is finished with a butt cap of steel. Bec de Faucon (falcons beak) takes its name from the shape of the pick on this poleaxe. The three-pronged hammer is intended to bite into armored surfaces and direct the force of the blow onto three small points which then punch through the armor. The pick can be used to drive powerful, armor-puncturing force into a target and the spike is ideal for finishing a downed opponent with a piercing strike into a gap in an armored harness. Poleaxes such as these were popular weapons, particularly among the knights and nobility of the late Medieval period. These weapons are purpose-designed to rend armor and batter a well-armored opponent. A skilled wielder used it in close quarters with techniques that would look familiar to fighting with staves and the quarter-staff. Unlike the simple stave however, the intimidating poleaxe head gave its wielder a variety of options for dispatching the foe. Due to its popularity with the wealthier warriors of society, poleaxes were commonly used in duels, trials by combat and were even a featured event at tournament.