Chinese pole arm

[DaveA]

I appreciate the thoughtful comments and the pictures. I'm familiar with the Quan Do and the associated venerable history. The other photos of polearms illustrate the variety from the region, commensurate with the range found in historical Europe and India.

In my original post in this thread, disregard the provenance of the green sword. I included it only because the shape is unique and reminiscent of the older steel weapon. I thought it might provide a clue.

The older pole arm I acquired in a lot from an estate that included a number of American and European swords dating to late 19th C. This pole arm was the one oddity. I was led to understand it had been in the deceased's collection at least since the 1940s to early 1950s. I'm pretty sure that is well before the fakery we see today became the rule rather than the exception.

Regarding the "weld bead" apparently shown in the last photo: on close inspection this is a spot on the ring that was hammered flat to secure it tightly to the hilt, not a weld. I will try to get a good close up later and post it here. It is a good reminder of the limitations of photography as opposed to holding a specimen in your own hands!

Best Regards,

Dave A