Halberd

AHorsa · 26th May 2019, 06:22 PM

Dear All,

I have this halberd in my possession. The pole of course is a replacement but I wonder if the head is a 16th century authentic peace or from historism. For me it seems that it could be authentic although heavily cleaned.

The length of the metal hea is 48cm. There is a mark like a cross / an X at the beginning of the spike.

Would be interesting to get your oppinion on this piece.

Best regards
Andreas

BUCC_Guy · 6th June 2019, 07:30 PM

Looks real to me. My impression is that it is Swiss or German, early to mid 16th c.

The cleaning is not that big of a deal, in fact it could use some more to get rid of that active rust. The langets are a bigger concern, along with the hefty grain on the shaft. Darken the shaft, clean the active rust, protect existing metal, and toss on a tassel to cover the missing langets.

A dedicated restoration would be a new square or octagonal shaft, reproduced langets, and a good cleaning.

I know we are always told not to clean patina, but that is active rust that will get worse.

M ELEY · 7th June 2019, 05:38 AM

No expert, but I agree it looks legit. Love to have a piece like this, even with the fix-ups. Congrats-

AHorsa · 10th June 2019, 11:24 AM

Thank you Gentlemen! Happy to hear that you also think it is a real piece.
I meanwhile removed the head from the shaft, left it in oil for few hours and slightly cleaned it with fine steel whool, so that the new rust is gone.
I´ll give it a short octogonal shaft on a plate as a stand and maybe a tassel, if I can find one.
Interestingly the nails seem to be still the original ones.

Best regards
Andras

CSinTX · 10th June 2019, 06:46 PM

To me it looks like an original piece that has had the main blade reduced in size.

26th May 2019, 06:22 PM	#1
AHorsa Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Rhineland Posts: 367	Halberd Dear All, I have this halberd in my possession. The pole of course is a replacement but I wonder if the head is a 16th century authentic peace or from historism. For me it seems that it could be authentic although heavily cleaned. The length of the metal hea is 48cm. There is a mark like a cross / an X at the beginning of the spike. Would be interesting to get your oppinion on this piece. Best regards Andreas Attached Images

6th June 2019, 07:30 PM	#2
BUCC_Guy Member Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Tennessee, USA Posts: 52	Looks real to me. My impression is that it is Swiss or German, early to mid 16th c. The cleaning is not that big of a deal, in fact it could use some more to get rid of that active rust. The langets are a bigger concern, along with the hefty grain on the shaft. Darken the shaft, clean the active rust, protect existing metal, and toss on a tassel to cover the missing langets. A dedicated restoration would be a new square or octagonal shaft, reproduced langets, and a good cleaning. I know we are always told not to clean patina, but that is active rust that will get worse.

7th June 2019, 05:38 AM	#3
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,097	No expert, but I agree it looks legit. Love to have a piece like this, even with the fix-ups. Congrats-

10th June 2019, 11:24 AM	#4
AHorsa Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Rhineland Posts: 367	Thank you Gentlemen! Happy to hear that you also think it is a real piece. I meanwhile removed the head from the shaft, left it in oil for few hours and slightly cleaned it with fine steel whool, so that the new rust is gone. I´ll give it a short octogonal shaft on a plate as a stand and maybe a tassel, if I can find one. Interestingly the nails seem to be still the original ones. Best regards Andras

10th June 2019, 06:46 PM	#5
CSinTX Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 233	To me it looks like an original piece that has had the main blade reduced in size.