nadziak/obuszek

kronckew · 22nd November 2015, 11:09 PM

polish nadziak/obuszek? or both? brass faux axe head with knobbed unsharpened blade for impact, bent hook for hooking your opponent off his horse. age ? tia for comments.

iron ferrule & spike on bottom end, steel cap nailed on head.

900 mm - 35,4 inch x 140 mm - 5,5 inch

WEIGHT: 588 g

more info on arrival.

fernando · 23rd November 2015, 09:00 AM

Not a replica ?

kronckew · 23rd November 2015, 09:25 AM

doesn't appear to be. some age cracks in the haft, darkened patina where a hand would have rubbed near the spike end, spike & brass collar look old. brass/bronze looks like it's been pitted a bit then cleaned/polished. may have pitting from the casting. coming from Ljubljana, slovenia. will know more when it gets here.

not a high class over-decorated one, looks more of a 'villager' shepherd's axe model for the night out on the town touring the local wodka purveyors and defending your honour from the local wolves, 2 & 4 legged. i hear they were outlawed at the height of their popularity because too many people were getting their heads bashed in in brawls where they were employed.

seller described it as an 'unusual walking stick axe'. from what i can find on the internet (& here) they vary from plain to ornate & everything in between and can have rather odd heads. another take on the fokos, ciupaga, velaska, obush, etc. of eastern europe.

the other side:

kronckew · 23rd November 2015, 09:51 AM

here's an 17c-18c polish obuszek that sold for a couple of k. looks related. and a slightly pitted brass 18c one that sold for a tad less.(both not mine

)

broadaxe · 15th December 2015, 10:53 AM

Hungarian fokos, mid-20th century made for symbolic use, traditional dances, presentation etc. Legit piece, NOT a tourist market c**p.
BTW, both two examples above are not Polish either, the left one is also Hungarian, and the right one is Turkish-Ottoman.

kronckew · 15th December 2015, 11:09 AM

thanks for the info, broadaxe.

theswordcollector · 16th January 2016, 10:01 PM

Hi the end/lower piece with brass cap and steel spike is indigenous to that of a walking stick especially in winter. Nice find :-)

Valjhun · 25th January 2016, 05:27 PM

Greetings from Ljubljana, Slovenia.

I'm pretty sure that this is a miners/hunters/fireman/postal or similar organisation parade axe, around 1850. Fairly common in Austro Hungaric associations.

kronckew · 25th January 2016, 06:47 PM

no wonder i was attracted to it. i wonder if the cast design (logo?) on the blade is symbolic of one of those groups.

my maternal granny was austro-hungarian, so it's nice to have stuff from there.

originally from the vienna area her dad moved to the AH part of galetia, she left for the states in the early days of the 20th c. to escape her evil stepmother. still have family in wien and wiener neustadt. many came over from hungary to escape the advancing russians at the end of ww2.

broadaxe · 25th January 2016, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valjhun

Greetings from Ljubljana, Slovenia.

I'm pretty sure that this is a miners/hunters/fireman/postal or similar organisation parade axe, around 1850. Fairly common in Austro Hungaric associations.

Very possible.
I have a similar fokos, bearing logos of the boy scouts and the world jamboree that was held at Gödöllő (Hungary), 1933.

kronckew · 25th January 2016, 09:09 PM

better pic of the blade part, looks like a rather generic design. same on other side.

22nd November 2015, 11:09 PM	#1
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,183	nadziak/obuszek polish nadziak/obuszek? or both? brass faux axe head with knobbed unsharpened blade for impact, bent hook for hooking your opponent off his horse. age ? tia for comments. iron ferrule & spike on bottom end, steel cap nailed on head. 900 mm - 35,4 inch x 140 mm - 5,5 inch WEIGHT: 588 g more info on arrival. Attached Images

23rd November 2015, 09:25 AM	#3
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,183	doesn't appear to be. some age cracks in the haft, darkened patina where a hand would have rubbed near the spike end, spike & brass collar look old. brass/bronze looks like it's been pitted a bit then cleaned/polished. may have pitting from the casting. coming from Ljubljana, slovenia. will know more when it gets here. not a high class over-decorated one, looks more of a 'villager' shepherd's axe model for the night out on the town touring the local wodka purveyors and defending your honour from the local wolves, 2 & 4 legged. i hear they were outlawed at the height of their popularity because too many people were getting their heads bashed in in brawls where they were employed. seller described it as an 'unusual walking stick axe'. from what i can find on the internet (& here) they vary from plain to ornate & everything in between and can have rather odd heads. another take on the fokos, ciupaga, velaska, obush, etc. of eastern europe. the other side: Attached Images Last edited by kronckew; 23rd November 2015 at 09:39 AM.

23rd November 2015, 09:51 AM	#4
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,183	here's an 17c-18c polish obuszek that sold for a couple of k. looks related. and a slightly pitted brass 18c one that sold for a tad less.(both not mine ) Attached Images Last edited by kronckew; 23rd November 2015 at 10:07 AM.

25th January 2016, 09:09 PM	#11
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,183	better pic of the blade part, looks like a rather generic design. same on other side. Attached Images

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23rd November 2015, 09:00 AM	#2
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Not a replica ?

15th December 2015, 10:53 AM	#5
broadaxe Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 332	Hungarian fokos, mid-20th century made for symbolic use, traditional dances, presentation etc. Legit piece, NOT a tourist market c**p. BTW, both two examples above are not Polish either, the left one is also Hungarian, and the right one is Turkish-Ottoman.

15th December 2015, 11:09 AM	#6
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,183	thanks for the info, broadaxe.

16th January 2016, 10:01 PM	#7
theswordcollector Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Berlin Posts: 48	Hi the end/lower piece with brass cap and steel spike is indigenous to that of a walking stick especially in winter. Nice find :-)

25th January 2016, 05:27 PM	#8
Valjhun Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 692	Greetings from Ljubljana, Slovenia. I'm pretty sure that this is a miners/hunters/fireman/postal or similar organisation parade axe, around 1850. Fairly common in Austro Hungaric associations.

25th January 2016, 06:47 PM	#9
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,183	no wonder i was attracted to it. i wonder if the cast design (logo?) on the blade is symbolic of one of those groups. my maternal granny was austro-hungarian, so it's nice to have stuff from there. originally from the vienna area her dad moved to the AH part of galetia, she left for the states in the early days of the 20th c. to escape her evil stepmother. still have family in wien and wiener neustadt. many came over from hungary to escape the advancing russians at the end of ww2.