By the 15th Century, armor had become so well developed that it was almost impervious to a sword cut and even a thrust. In response warriors started using heavier blunt force weapons such as the mace. Capable of crushing plate armor, the mace was a popular weapon with knights and foot soldiers alike. The 16th Century Italian Mace has 8 flanges and is made of blackened steel with a leather wrapped grip. Please Note: While all-steel maces are sturdy they are not indestructible. They were designed for striking targets softer and less dense than the mace – namely warriors wearing steel armor which was considerably thinner than the mace flanges. Bashing a steel mace onto concrete roads, dense trees and wood beams, cinder blocks, I-beams and other hard or dense targets may result in bending the steel mace, damaging its flanges or causing other damage.
