Revolutionary Fascine Knife

[Dmitry]

I'd like to see those billhook photos, or a link to the ended auction.

Who is the dealer that's selling fire axes as boarding axes?

Thanks!

[David]

Originally Posted by Dmitry

Who is the dealer that's selling fire axes as boarding axes?

Just to head this one off at the pass gentlemen, please keep accusations such as these to private messaging if you are going to name names....Thank you.

[M ELEY]

The predecessor to the boarding axe was indeed the trade spiked tomahawk axes of the early fur trade. Gilkerson mentions this, as does Hartzler's volume on frontier axes. I've even seen a true N. American Type III boarding axe that had old Native American brass tacks and wire branding that was the real deal (meaning, it started out life as a naval piece, but somewhere along the lines, got traded out as a tomahawk).

Sorry, David. I was not trying to create a stir, nor was I going to openly name that source here-

[broadaxe]

To set things clear, boarding axes were carried to sea way before the "discovering" of America. Check this rather famous manuscript from the 13th century, on the right.

[Dmitry]

Originally Posted by broadaxe

To set things clear, boarding axes were carried to sea way before the "discovering" of America. Check this rather famous manuscript from the 13th century, on the right.

A great image! Thanks for posting it. What is the source?
It appears that a fellow on the left is shooting an arrow with a grenade on the business end, and his friend is slinging one.

[M ELEY]

I must say I am surprised at the early date of this display depicting a classic boarding axe! Had I not seen it, I would have supposed the boarding axes you spoke of from earlier periods would have lacked the spike and been more of the "battle axe" type. Awesome documentation piece as well. This once again makes me question whether some of the earlier "tomahawks" with longer butted hafts might have served in a naval capacity.

[kronckew]

i imagine that the axe was a useful shipboard weapon/tool since it's inception in the start of the age of metals and likely before. as fire is a classical sea weapon, a tool for cutting grappling hook lines, netting, rigging, shifting broken timbers, masts, spars, booms etc. is very useful. a spiked axe is not only such a tool, but makes a handy weapon. maybe not quite as good as a pike or hanger, but a lot better than nothing, especially if you know how to use it. not surprising that fire axes would be very similar if not almost identical. roman legions used a spike axe (dolabra*), i'd guess the roman navy & marines would also. seeing a spike axe in a military vessel would thus have been normal for millenia.

the roman dolabra that follows, if it was a bit more ravaged by time would look much like the axe posted earlier.


dolabra on trajan's column, rome from 113 a.d.:

[broadaxe]

Originally Posted by M ELEY

I must say I am surprised at the early date of this display depicting a classic boarding axe! Had I not seen it, I would have supposed the boarding axes you spoke of from earlier periods would have lacked the spike and been more of the "battle axe" type. Awesome documentation piece as well. This once again makes me question whether some of the earlier "tomahawks" with longer butted hafts might have served in a naval capacity.

This illustration is unique for display of large array of weapons, ship-board: boarding axe, broad axe, fire arrow, fire grenade with staff-sling, grapnel and so on. Dmitry, I don't know the exact source but it is quite famous and used worldwide in naval warfare references. It is the manuscript depicting the chace, capture and exacution at sea of one infamous, early 13th century pirate of the North Sea, Eustace "the Monk", or "Le Moin" or "The Black Monk".
kronckew, very true, yours truely is signed on an online article saying the same. Unfortunately this article is cited occasionaly by sellers on ebay with no credit, sometimes for the wrong reasons.
I had my own thoughts regarding the dolabra as a naval weapon, but the relics I'm familiar with are too large - good for sapping and trench work, cumbersome for ship board.