The Scythe as a weapon.

thinreadline · 11th January 2023, 04:09 PM

elslewhere I have posted what I believe to be a Chinese polearm which cane out of a large castle like manor house in North Wales along with this scythe type polearm

Peter Hudson · 11th January 2023, 11:46 PM

It apppears that many battles included scythes converted to weapons and the example you show may be one of these. My reference at #26 above gives dozens of examples all over Europe and in England plus the museums in which examples may still be seen.

Thanks for adding this example.

The Painting below illustrates Russian Guns being over run by charging Polish soldiers many weilding Scythe weapons. .

werecow · 29th January 2023, 02:29 PM

This thread and particularly the scythe sword above reminds me of this bizarre little sword I picked up a few years ago from a Dutch vendor.

It's about 74cm long out of the scabbard. POB about 9.5cm from the guard.
The blade is not sharpened, or possibly blunted (has about a .5mm edge; no patina and some file marks on the edge that are hard to capture on camera).
I can't comment as to the quality of the steel but it has significant distal taper, from 8mm at the guard to about 3mm at the end of the fuller. It has a few seemingly random letters stamped into it QHUOS and below it W1I and then an upside down 7.
The guard seems to be nickel plated. I think the grip wrapping and washer are some sort of imitation sharkskin and they're not very substantial. The pommel has an obvious nut and bolt construction, but I haven't tried opening it up for fear of damaging something as I am a novice.
The scabbard is rather thin metal and seems to have been blued. The rings are on the inside of the curve, and it has a working locking mechanism that fits the button/clip on the guard.

At first I thought it might be a replacement blade on an old D-guard, but the scabbard is clearly made for it.

I'd love your opinion on it... Since it's a sickle sword and I got it from an area near Belgium, maybe central African (Congo, Ethiopia)? European late 19th/early 20th century april fool's joke? Modern day smithing experiment?

Peter Hudson · 29th January 2023, 06:14 PM

Thank you for your pictures and questions. The short answer is I dont know however I did have a good look for similar styles but didnt have any luck except a Japanese Type 32 Cavalry sabre. with a securing device similar to what is seen on your sword. Lets hope a member can narrow this down a bit.. Regards Peter Hudson.

Teisani · 29th January 2023, 09:11 PM

National History Museum Bucharest.
Sica discovered at Orodel, Dolj county, Romania.
Falx discovered at Sarmizegetusa Romania.

Teisani · 29th January 2023, 09:15 PM

Depictions of falx on Trajan's Column. Replica at the National History Museum in Bucharest.

fernando · 30th January 2023, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by werecow

The rings are on the inside of the curve ... European late 19th/early 20th century april fool's joke? Modern day smithing experiment?

Have you tried hanging the scabbard (with the sword) by its suspension rings ? does it stay balanced or the weight of knuckle guard tends to twist it ?

werecow · 30th January 2023, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fernando

Have you tried hanging the scabbard (with the sword) by its suspension rings ? does it stay balanced or the weight of knuckle guard tends to twist it ?

It definitely wants to twist.

fernando · 30th January 2023, 01:22 PM

One (crucial) detail the inventor of this 'prototype' didn't ponder on

.

Peter Hudson · 30th January 2023, 02:26 PM

Returning to the original post at #1 on this thread I refer readers to the technique of fighting with the Scythe Weapon seen below. A squad of 12 men could effectively defend against charging Cavalry by mixing Scythe weapons with spear carriers.. It would appear that the greatest danger would be to the horses from the downward slashes of the Scythes. Variant forms are shown in the second chart. Records show that large numbers of Scythemen were included in the Orbat of Polish troops even to the point of over running Russian Artillery positions. Certainly the weapon would have had a psycholigical advantage upon the enemy and the damage would have been enormous.

Peter Hudson.

werecow · 30th January 2023, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fernando

One (crucial) detail the inventor of this 'prototype' didn't ponder on

.

Yeah that definitely votes against it ever have been used in practice. I still wonder where / when it came from and what the idea was.

29th January 2023, 02:29 PM	#3
werecow Member Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Leiden, NL Posts: 435	This thread and particularly the scythe sword above reminds me of this bizarre little sword I picked up a few years ago from a Dutch vendor. It's about 74cm long out of the scabbard. POB about 9.5cm from the guard. The blade is not sharpened, or possibly blunted (has about a .5mm edge; no patina and some file marks on the edge that are hard to capture on camera). I can't comment as to the quality of the steel but it has significant distal taper, from 8mm at the guard to about 3mm at the end of the fuller. It has a few seemingly random letters stamped into it QHUOS and below it W1I and then an upside down 7. The guard seems to be nickel plated. I think the grip wrapping and washer are some sort of imitation sharkskin and they're not very substantial. The pommel has an obvious nut and bolt construction, but I haven't tried opening it up for fear of damaging something as I am a novice. The scabbard is rather thin metal and seems to have been blued. The rings are on the inside of the curve, and it has a working locking mechanism that fits the button/clip on the guard. At first I thought it might be a replacement blade on an old D-guard, but the scabbard is clearly made for it. I'd love your opinion on it... Since it's a sickle sword and I got it from an area near Belgium, maybe central African (Congo, Ethiopia)? European late 19th/early 20th century april fool's joke? Modern day smithing experiment? Attached Images Last edited by werecow; 29th January 2023 at 06:46 PM. Reason: Added pics of sword out of the scabbard

29th January 2023, 09:11 PM	#5
Teisani Member Join Date: Oct 2022 Location: Romania Posts: 314	National History Museum Bucharest. Sica discovered at Orodel, Dolj county, Romania. Falx discovered at Sarmizegetusa Romania. Attached Images

29th January 2023, 09:15 PM	#6
Teisani Member Join Date: Oct 2022 Location: Romania Posts: 314	Depictions of falx on Trajan's Column. Replica at the National History Museum in Bucharest. Attached Images

30th January 2023, 02:26 PM	#10
Peter Hudson Member Join Date: Jul 2020 Posts: 311	Returning to the original post at #1 on this thread I refer readers to the technique of fighting with the Scythe Weapon seen below. A squad of 12 men could effectively defend against charging Cavalry by mixing Scythe weapons with spear carriers.. It would appear that the greatest danger would be to the horses from the downward slashes of the Scythes. Variant forms are shown in the second chart. Records show that large numbers of Scythemen were included in the Orbat of Polish troops even to the point of over running Russian Artillery positions. Certainly the weapon would have had a psycholigical advantage upon the enemy and the damage would have been enormous. Peter Hudson. Attached Images Last edited by Peter Hudson; 30th January 2023 at 04:52 PM.

11th January 2023, 04:09 PM	#1
thinreadline Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Wirral Posts: 1,204	elslewhere I have posted what I believe to be a Chinese polearm which cane out of a large castle like manor house in North Wales along with this scythe type polearm Attached Images

11th January 2023, 11:46 PM	#2
Peter Hudson Member Join Date: Jul 2020 Posts: 311	It apppears that many battles included scythes converted to weapons and the example you show may be one of these. My reference at #26 above gives dozens of examples all over Europe and in England plus the museums in which examples may still be seen. Thanks for adding this example. The Painting below illustrates Russian Guns being over run by charging Polish soldiers many weilding Scythe weapons. . Attached Images

29th January 2023, 06:14 PM	#4
Peter Hudson Member Join Date: Jul 2020 Posts: 311	Thank you for your pictures and questions. The short answer is I dont know however I did have a good look for similar styles but didnt have any luck except a Japanese Type 32 Cavalry sabre. with a securing device similar to what is seen on your sword. Lets hope a member can narrow this down a bit.. Regards Peter Hudson.

30th January 2023, 01:22 PM	#9
fernando Lead Moderator European Armoury Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,647	One (crucial) detail the inventor of this 'prototype' didn't ponder on .