Cold Steel Swiss Halberd – Man at Arms Collection

The original Swiss Army Knife – the Swiss Halberd is a multi-tool for the Medieval and Renaissance battlefield alike. Sharpened for action, it sports a wide, axe-like chopping blade, an integrated spear point and a sharpened hook for dismounting the aspirations of the lofty cavalryman. Its head of 1055 High Carbon steel is blackened. It comes with a hardwood shaft of stained ash wood. Comes disassembled to reduce shipping costs. Halberd head is pre-drilled to allow for two screws to securely fix the head into the shaft. Mounting hardware not included. Please Note: Cold Steel is very inconsistent and random with the poles shipped with this item – poles vary between stained and unstained, and perfectly round to having some flattened sides. You may request a preference in the Special Instructions field when ordering, but we cannot guarantee that your request can be fulfilled due to whatever erratic inventory options we have in stock. Please Note: Mounting Hardware Not Included The halberd was one of the favored weapons of the mercenary companies of the Swiss and their rivals – the German Landesknechts. Like their pike-armed brethren, these men fought in dense, shoulder-to-shoulder formations with their halberds. Fighting together as a mass of stabbing, chopping blades, the halberd formation on the move was akin to a mobile meat grinder, mincing up any foes who were less organized and less aggressive than these mercenary companies. The halberd gave these soldiers the tool to handle any situation and its inherent power was more than enough to make a mockery of even the finest armors. The wide blade had enough heft to hack into even armored foes with frightening force. Striking forth like a serpents tongue, the spear point could find the weak points in armor and was a good recovery move should a chop fall short. The beak-like hook could be used like a pick, striking down with armor-puncturing force into helmets. It was in its best form, par excellence when the beak was used to hook onto a cavalryman, who could then be dragged to the ground and held down as fellow halberdiers finished the hapless horseman off. Should the fighting become so close and entangled that the front ranks were obliged to drop their halberds to fight with daggers and short swords, their comrades behind them could aid them, stabbing at their enemies from behind, giving a multi-depth attack or defence to the fighting formation.