Spear?

[Jim McDougall]

As this is clearly a very old piece and is simply made as would be done by a blacksmith, and in the manner known to have been used in boar hunting spears, it would seem that by Occams principle..it must be a boar spear head.As this is a discussion sharing opinions, all we can do is speculate, and present our cases accordingly.

It is well known that often tools (implements) could become weapons, just as often weapons became tools (using swords for utility). Hunting swords were essentially hangers and used for both.

It is well noted that the lugs on the naval boarding pike I posted are narrow, however the blade seems to have remarkable similarity. Here I would note that pikes did not always have such lugs or crossbars, often simply with blade alone. However, looking into other contemporary polearms, the spontoon typically seemed to have this kind of crossbar, though often in decorative shapes.
Perhaps the cross bar equipped spontoon might have been used in boar hunting?

According to the late Howard Blackmore ("Hunting Weapons",1971) in describing the tucks (thrusting swords) used in hunting boar, sometimes had the crossbar or some type of device to limit penetration (sometimes a disc on the blade) but not invariably. The purpose noted for protecting the hunter seems of course to have become more thoroughly present through the years.

Returning to the potential for this being perhaps an ersatz weapon, for the 'cause' in Revolutionary War times, George Neumann (op.cit.) notes on p.193:
"...when the American Revolution began, the colonies were unable to arm all of their forces with firearms. As a supplementary interim weapon they resorted to the 17th c. pike. The heads were easily forged by local blacksmiths and mounted on poles averaging 12-16 ft. in length".

Further, "...apparently the same crude heads used on land were employed by American naval vessels for boarding spears. The shafts were generally shorter than the land pike (about 5-7 ft.) and omitted the iron butt cone which cut into the wood decks".

It is worth noting that in the American Revolution, much as the circumstances in the Spanish colonies, firearms were much more an issue than typically described in the literature. In the Spanish colonies, especially in the northern frontiers far from regular supply entrepots, guns were not especially reliable and poorly serviced. To make matters worse, the even bigger issue was powder, almost invariably of poor quality and lack of availability. This led to the lance becoming the most commonly used weapon.
This was not just in warfare, but hunting.

In the American Revolution, contrary to popular belief, the flintlock long gun on every mantle was not a standard, and fewer colonists had or knew how to use guns than realized ("Arming America", Michael Bellisles, 2000). Again, the even bigger problem was the lack of ammunition and powder.

While these kinds of crudely made weapons are not commonly found in collecting, as most were simply discarded through the years, and did not have the obvious appeal of edged weapons or guns, they remain most interesting relics when found.

Shown is a British spontoon, detail listed on these notes that the crossbar is intended to prevent penetration into enemy from going too deep, thus preventing withdrawal of the weapon and effectively disarming the user.

[Raf]

It occurred to me that the blade shape of Aspalathos spear might be generically related to to the blades of boar hunting swords. Good for poking the pig on horseback but maybe not so good for wrestling it on the ground.

[M ELEY]

My point exactly, Jim. Many of the spontoons of the era had a crosspiece as well and some of the more privative-style types resemble the piece being discussed. I'm not counting out that it could be a boar spear head, but there's room for other possibilities. Great picture of a British spontoon, BTW!

[Raf]

So when Lyon and Turnbull described these as German or Bohemian boar spears they got it wrong ?

[Norman McCormick]

Originally Posted by Raf

So when Lyon and Turnbull described these as German or Bohemian boar spears they got it wrong ?

Hi,
It would seem so.
Regards,
Norman.

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[Raf]

Agreed. My point was to show that spontoons , genuine or copies sometimes get mis described as boar spears.

[Jim McDougall]

What?! an arms reference made a misteake?
Arms study is always a work in progress, and most authors I am familiar with typically add a disclaimer in their introductions that there will invariably be errors in some cases.

It seems of course that there is an innate comparison between many types of tools and weapons, and as noted earlier often one can become the other and vice versa. There may be notable influences between these as well.

As a matter of functionality, the cross bar's purpose, to prevent excessive penetration in hunting boars would serve as well on a combat weapon. Perhaps the convention on the spontoon had the same root?

By that token, could a spontoon serve as a boar hunting weapon? of course, just as Raf noted early in this discussion.

Good observation BTW Raf, on the remarkable shape of the expanded point on the boar hunt sword! that is a compelling comparison to the blade on the example in OP .

Here I would note again that there are with colonial arms (and tools for that matter), incredible numbers of variants in the examples made by blacksmiths, which of understandably are often in majority.
This is the bane of the arms researcher, trying to categorize or identify these items which are 'outside the box' visually.

Polearms and staff weapons seem to vex many (including me) with the proper terms and classifications. What separates pike from spontoon?
the halberd is easier as it has an axe type head and poll but is simply on a longer shaft instead of handle.

While we may not reach a consensus on the identification of this apparently very old piece, the possibilities remain intriguing, and the discussion here is valuable in the salient points that have come up. Thats what its all about!!

PS,
This reminds me of the flensing knife (for whaling) I posted recently, with a crescent type blade as identified in several nautical antiquities references........and was countered by identification of a virtually identical example used by leather workers.
Could these same type knives have been utilized by both? why not?