Weighting in on Handle Cross sections: Round vs Oval/ Rectangular

Timo Nieminen · 13th May 2013, 09:57 AM

Yang Hong's "Weapons in Ancient China" also has lots and lots of detail on bronze age weapons. (The book covers up to Ming and early firearms, but the early stuff is covered in most detail. Partly this is because bronze survives time better than iron/steel.) Oval-section socketed spearheads look quite common, and I see that a lot (most?) of the tubular sockets are oval section, not round.

I suspect that an oval haft is important for ge, since the point is so far forward. If one hits imperfectly, the weapon will tend to twist in one's hands. I should mount a repro head on a round pole and hit things!

For recent stuff (i.e., Qing, 19th century Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan), I've only seen round hafts, or regular polygonal hafts, for socketed polearms. All oval/rectangular hafted ones have been "sword-handled". Reproduction "sword-handled" ones are usually oval-hafted. These are comfy and easy to wield, but are heavier than they would be if they were round (and of the same thickness as the thinnest thickness of the the oval).

13th May 2013, 09:57 AM	#10
Timo Nieminen Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 422	Yang Hong's "Weapons in Ancient China" also has lots and lots of detail on bronze age weapons. (The book covers up to Ming and early firearms, but the early stuff is covered in most detail. Partly this is because bronze survives time better than iron/steel.) Oval-section socketed spearheads look quite common, and I see that a lot (most?) of the tubular sockets are oval section, not round. I suspect that an oval haft is important for ge, since the point is so far forward. If one hits imperfectly, the weapon will tend to twist in one's hands. I should mount a repro head on a round pole and hit things! For recent stuff (i.e., Qing, 19th century Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan), I've only seen round hafts, or regular polygonal hafts, for socketed polearms. All oval/rectangular hafted ones have been "sword-handled". Reproduction "sword-handled" ones are usually oval-hafted. These are comfy and easy to wield, but are heavier than they would be if they were round (and of the same thickness as the thinnest thickness of the the oval).