Weapons & Warriors: The Scissor of the Romans

Art by TL Jeffcoat

There is much confusion about this mysterious weapon. It’s only known to have been used regularly by gladiators and history is unclear whether the word Scissor refers to the weapon or the style of gladiator. Some historians believe that it is the name of both; some deny the name to either.

The Scissor was a simple weapon in design, with an iron tube and a handle inside topped with a crescent shaped blade. The handle allowed the Gladiator better control of the blade that faced away from the tube and was mounted by a metal shaft. The shaft was most likely attached to the handle, through the top of the tube, to enhance its durability and control. There is some speculation to this, but most weapon specializing historians would agree that the blade would need to be attached to the handle and not just attached to the tube itself or the blade would be impossible to manage when it’s struck by another weapon.

Weapons & Warriors: The Plumbata of the Romans

Art by TL Jeffcoat

Although originally used by the Greeks, this throwing dart is best known from its use by the Roman legions over 1,600 years ago. These weapons are so effective that a legion could halt a charging cavalry before it reaches the line. Half of every battle is killing your enemy, the other half is disorienting or confusing them so they are easier to kill.

The Plumbata is a simple design. It’s a wooden dart that is slightly shorter than an arrow. The iron tipped head is weighted with lead to keep the sharp end pointed towards its target while airborne, no matter how it is thrown. This not only simplifies training, it allows the darts to be thrown under pressure at short ranges without focusing so much on technique. The fletched rear of the Plumbata helps the dart stay balanced, and increases range. The weight of the lead also increases the power of the weapon's impact, allowing it to penetrate light armor, or even horse skin as cavalry tries to flank or charge the legion.

Weapons & Warriors: The Cutlass of the Europeans

Art by TL Jeffcoat

The most famous sword used by pirates in the 1600’s and 1700’s is often rumored to have been invented by pirates, but my research turns that out to be an unproven legend. The Cutlass has been a common tool for sailors for centuries. Its blade is strong enough to cut heavy ropes and canvas, and small enough to be used in close quarters combat. The blade was short enough to easily avoid getting entangled in various riggings found on a sailing vessel while fighting off a boarding party, or boarding another vessel.

The blade is broad, flat, curved, and about 2 feet in length (approximately 0.61 meters). Only the outside of the curved blade is sharpened, and the handle is usually protected by a hand guard of some kind, either a cup shaped piece of elaborately designed metal, or a simple loop. This gives the Cutlass an additional technique with the backhand or jab using the pommel or guard to strike an opponent that is too close to slash with the blade. The hand guard is also useful in protecting the sailor from losing fingers when a blade strikes the handle.

Makraka Drawn...

Art by TL Jeffcoat

I've been writing my fingers off, but I squeezed in some art time by completing the Makraka, and made some more progress on the Hussite War Wagon. Here is the Makraka, check out the original post it's been attached to for more.

Next week, I'm planning to post a new Weapons & Warriors. When I'm not working on that, I'll be working on the new chapters for Devil Dog. Have a great 4th of July world.

Weapons & Warriors: The Horseman's Pick of the Europeans

Art by TL Jeffcoat

The cavalry of Europe had a variety of weapons in their arsenal. One of the craziest and yet effective against the heavy plated knights was the Horseman’s Pick. The design evolved from a version of the war hammer. The balance for the head was sharpened and stretched to create a long spike that was sometimes curved.

All of the weight of the Horseman’s Pick was concentrated in the head of the weapon. The thin light wooden or steal shaft allowed the wielder to swing the weapon and let the momentum of the spiked head do its damage. This was an easy weapon to generate a lot of force with, but the weight of the weapon required the warrior to pull back before a swing. Any Knight that could see the Horseman pull back would have a couple seconds to prepare for the attack, making it a slow and difficult to hit with weapon.

Weapons & Warriors: The Tonfa of the Japanese

Tonfa Art by TL Jeffcoat

I’ve covered several weapons from Japan that were used by Samurai and Ninja, but the Tonfa was not very common among either. Never the less, it was a common weapon among the common people of Japan during the Shogunate centuries when civilians were not allowed to carry weapons. Sometime around the 1100’s, the Tonfa came into existence in Okinawa. There is a lot of discussion on whether this weapon was first invented in Japan or China, but until that is ever decided, the Tonfa is often associated with Japanese style martial arts schools, so I myself think of it as a Japanese weapon. The use of the Tonfa as a millstone handle did originate in Southeast Asia to grind wheat, but was probably not considered a weapon early on.

The basics of the Tonfa is pretty easy to learn, and is so versatile and effective that many law enforcement agencies in the United States trained their officers to take assailants down with a Tonfa. I used to hear a lot of people call them nightsticks because of their black aluminum materials.

Another picture update!

I completed the two pictures for this week. That's 3 down so far and 2 to go before March. Check out the post on the Katara if you haven't seen it before. It's one of my favorite weapons of all time. The Katara of the Rajput.

I didn't have much else to say this week because I'm still plugging away on the world building. Unfortunately I haven't directed much attention to Devil Dog, but that will change soon. I've almost got all the basic stuff into the World building book. Then it'll just be a bunch of fleshing out details of various things as they come to me. Once I've reached that point, my brain might release me from that world and let me get back to Devil Dog. Apparently my goal of creating impossible tasks has been an absolute success. I have failed part of it, but I've made more progress the last few weeks than I did all of last year. See you next week. For those of you who like the corporate holiday called Valentine's Day, I hope you have a great one.

Kitana and the Tessen!

It’s Just a quick update today. I attempted to do some shading on the Kitana picture, but it wasn’t turning out well. I also tried to change the boots to sandals with straps up to the knees like something Romans would wear, but apparently I’ve never tried to draw toes and they weren’t working out very well at all, even worse than my rubber looking fingers. That's when I dumped that picture and went back to this version. It's no where near as awesome as the one that Midway did, but it's the best I can do for now.

Kitana Preview by TL Jeffcoat

So after doctoring up the lines and colors some, it is as good as my skills can do for now. Maybe later I’ll come back and put in some shadows, but for now, she is ready. Click on the link below to see the entire picture, and if you’re into weapons, to check out the Tessen, which is what Kitana is most known for besides her curves and being a princess.

Tessen of the Samurai 

That's one out of five pictures done for the month, now back to writing, and then finishing the two I'm doing for the Rajput's katara. Here's a sneak peak to the first one I'm on. Already made good progress. The Katara post is one of my most popular Weapons & Warrior's posts, which is why I chose two drawings showing three different variations of it. See you next week with those. I honestly didn't notice the similarity in names (Kitana and Katara) when I decided to do these drawings in this order, lol. My list showed Tessen and then Katara.

Katara preview by TL Jeffcoat

Weapons & Warriors: The Keris of the Javanese

Art by TL Jeffcoat

This wavy dagger is one of the strangest weapons I’ve ever seen. I first saw in it a video game called Diablo II, and I had to find out if it was a real thing and why it was used as a magical conduit in the game when it looked like a knife. The game titled the dagger with the popular American and European name of Kris, but back in the Indonesia Islands where it originated it is called a Keris. The Keris has three parts, the blade, the hilt, and the sheath

The Keris was a ceremonial decoration, a weapon, and the tool of an executioner. In the ancient kingdom of Java, it was common for every man and woman to strap a Keris on their belt and behind their back when traveling outside of their home. The Javanese believed the dagger housed a magic power of its own that was fueled by the spirit within it, and they annually brought them to specifically trained bladesmiths for maintenance as part of a ritual for the spirit. The relationship between the owner and the Keris was important, and to test a blade the owner would sleep with the Keris under his pillow. Depending on whether his dream was good or bad that night he would then know if the blade was right for him. If it was not, the person got rid of it, because a bad blade could bring misfortune.

The blades were forged in layers of various irons and nickel that were folded together repeatedly. The stronger the smith wanted the blade, the longer he would fold the metal. Some blades were folded hundreds of times and took years to finish. Keris blades came in all sizes, but were never long enough to be considered a short sword.

Weapons & Warriors: Gunstock War Club of the Native Americans

In the late 1700’s or early 1800’s a new weapon emerged among the Plains Native Americans. It was called the Gunstock War Club and was one of the deadliest weapons in the Native American arsenal. There is no true pinpoint time in history that reveals where the Native Americans first came up with this design, but it is believed that the plains tribes learned it from either the eastern woodlands tribes or the constantly encroaching American settlers. Some Native American historians believe the design existed long before the settlers brought their muskets, but it’s hard to deny that the Gunstock War Club looks a lot like the stock of an old musket.

Art by TL Jeffcoat

Despite its appearances, the Gunstock War Club was not made from the leftover wood of a musket. The shape of the club was similar, but the stock would have been unreliable as a standard club. The curve where the hammer and ammo once was would crack and splinter too easily after just a few strikes. The Native Americans crafted their own Clubs using various woods in their regions with the thought of creating a true club in mind. The wood was cut and smoothed down into the shape of a musket’s stock, but was thinner around the edges to give it sharp corners like an ax. Then a blade was embedded into the point where a musket’s hammer would have been. The blade could be made from anything like bone, flint, or old knives purchased or taken from settlers. Once complete, the club weighed no more than two or three pounds (0.9 to 1.3 kilograms). I could not find any documented length but from pictures I would guess it was about two to two and a half feet (0.6 to 0.8 meters) in length.

Weapons & Warriors: The Khopesh of the Egyptians

Art by TL Jeffcoat

This curved sword was designed with the concept of combining the war axe and the sickle. The Khopesh is probably one of the strangest looking swords ever made. The isolation of ancient Egypt is one of the reasons their culture is so different than their neighbors. They had their own pantheon of deities and their own unique arsenal of weaponry. You can always tell when something is modeled after ancient Egyptian culture as opposed to anywhere else in the world.

The Khopesh was around two feet (60 centimeters) in length. The blade was molded from bronze and sometimes the leather wrapped handle was decorated with electrum (silver and gold mixed metal). The outer curve of the blade was sharpened while the inner side was dull. Overall it was a light weighted weapon which is ideal for carrying around the desert.

Weapons & Warriors: The Lantern Shield of the Europeans

I’ve read several stories about the lantern shield and realized that a lot of historians did not like it much. Some called it impractical and clumsy, some said it was for amateurs, and some claimed that a sword and shield on their own was much better. I disagree with them all. This weapon was never meant to be used by itself. Combined with a rapier (thin bladed fencing style sword), it was a game changer for anyone who had actually trained with the thing. This is one of the most insane weapons I’ve ever run across and I will find a way to get one for my collection someday. It’s truly a masterpiece of mind boggling weaponry.

The Lantern Shield (Art by TL Jeffcoat)

A lantern shield is hard to describe. It has a lot of pieces. All those moving parts are one of the things that make it look clumsy. In Italy during the 1500’s, many duelists practiced using Lantern Shields. The entire thing was made of steel, and bolted together. It was worn on the shield arm. The Lantern Shield was designed to replace the standard lantern carried by duelists when they fought in the dawn hours when sometimes the sun wasn’t up enough. Lanterns made decent shields if the duelist knew how to use them, and if raised at the face of an opponent, would blind them. It was a cheap move, but very effective.

Weapons & Warriors: The Hwacha of the Koreans

The first concept of a multi-firing rocket launcher wasn’t invented by the Americans, the Russians, the Japanese, the French, or even the Germans. Believe it or not, the largest pre-firearm multi-rocket propelled grenade launcher was invented by the Koreans. The design was inspired by a smaller and more portable version the Chinese used, but was not as devastating as what the Koreans came up with. Long ago before there was such a thing as North or South Korea, there was just one Korea that was often oppressed by its neighbors. China refused to trade saltpeter to Korea, Japanese invaded, and pirates raided their fishing villages along the coast. So the Koreans learned to make their own gunpowder and in 1409 they created something the world had never seen before.

Art by TL Jeffcoat

The Hwacha was a two wheeled cart that could be tied behind a horse, or other animal and shipped to wherever it was needed. The bulk of the weight was centered between two wooden wheels that were not attached by an axle to give them freedom to turn individually. This allowed the cart more mobility. Once unstrapped, one or two men could tilt and aim it before securing it into position. The thing was completely made from wood, usually pine. The top was a hollow box with around 200 tubes in it. This was where the arrows were placed.

The ammo was a specifically designed arrow over a meter in length with a tube of black powder strapped to the side. These projectiles were basically bottle rockets with huge arrowheads at the tip and feathers on the rear to keep it straight in flight. Once the rockets launched the arrow it could travel around 100 meters (around 300 feet) to its target. Although a canon had more destructive power and range, the Hwacha was more effective against a marching army which would be generally close together as waves of Hwacha arrows slammed into them. The heavy arrows had enough force behind them that they could completely penetrate an armored soldier.

Weapons & Warriors: The Halberd of the Europeans

The Halberd, also known as the Swiss Voulge, was a very popular weapon among the Swiss soldiers during the 1300’s and 1400’s. It was not as long as many of the other polearms, but was still a capable weapon against charging cavalry. The halberd is a combination of staff and axe, and unlike a lot of the longer polearms, it was very useful in melee combat against most any weapon. 

Art by TL Jeffcoat

The warriors who trained with halberds were called Halberdiers. Unlike pikes and spears, which are best used thrusting or planting against charging enemies, the Halberd could be held like a staff, or even similar to a daneaxe except with less power and more finesse. The axe blade and spike gave it an extra “edge” in fighting against swords and morning stars. The longer reach of a halberd could often deter an untrained opponent. 

Weapons & Warriors: The Corseque of the Europeans

Art by TL Jeffcoat

At first glance, some would think the Corseque was an over-sized fancy spear. It is actually a member of the polearm family. It was very popular in Europe during the 1500’s and 1600’s. There were many kinds of polearms, especially in Europe. Some had small axe blades or spikes, some were topped with a single spear head, and some were shorter and had multiple blades and spikes. The Corseque was around 4.5 to 7.5 feet (or 1.5 to 2.5 meters) and topped with three blades at the tip, but not like a trident. The center blade was long and flat with two slightly thicker but shorter blades flanking either side. All three blades were made as one complete steel piece with a hollow interior at the base so that a long wooden shaft could be wedged in.

Polearms were most often used by infantry to keep warriors on horseback away from them in battle. The reach of most polearms was enough to strike down a horse or the rider before they could get in reach with hoof or sword. The Corseque had two different styles of blades. The center blade had the typical purpose, to puncture anything that charges the warrior holding it. The blade was long enough to completely penetrate the human body or the neck of a horse and strong enough to puncture a breastplate with enough momentum. 

Weapons & Warriors: The Morning Star of the Europeans

Art by Steven DeVon Jones

Many people have always confused the Morning Star with a mace or flail. Even I used to do it when I was first learning about bludgeoning weapons while playing Dungeons & Dragons as a kid. I knew a mace had a metal shaft with a balled end for crushing things, and I knew the flail had chains. When I ran across the morning star, I was lost. Over the years I’ve stumbled across various people calling a mace a morning star, and sometimes a flail.

In truth, the Morning Star is not the same thing. It isn’t anything like a flail because the Morning Star does not have any chains. It is more closely related to the mace in shape, but that’s where the similarities end. Instead of nubs or angles around the balled end, the Morning Star has a large spike protruding from the top and the ball is covered in smaller spikes or sharpened edges.

There is no uniform version of a Morning Star because it is simply a club-like bludgeoning tool with spikes. They vary in size, from small easily held in one hand types to long heavy two handed shafts with a massive spiked head. While the mace evolved into a steel shaft with a rounded head, the Morning Star retained its wooden shaft. The spikes could be made from virtually anything, but in Europe it was generally steel or iron. 

Weapons & Warriors: Talwar of the Sikhs

The Talwar Art by TL Jeffcoat

There are several variations of this curved sword, but none are completely the same. The Talwar was used by both Moghuls and Sikhs in the region of India. It is slightly curved like a sabre but with a wider blade at the end. The British sabre was most likely modeled after the Talwar. They are similar in design but the handle of the British Sabre is different.

The entire weapon is made with iron, and the handle is short and capped with a disc shaped piece of metal. The metal disc had a spike protruding from underneath. The short handle gives the warrior a firmer grip, but can also restrict most stabbing and hacking strikes. The blade is sharpened all the way to the hilt, unlike several other similar sword designs. The sword is not just one piece of molded metal. The blade is inserted into the cross guard with an adhesive. Making the blade a separate piece from the handle gives a sword more flexibility when striking. A sword that doesn't give is soon a broken sword.

Weapons & Warriors: The Warrior Saints

I’ve written about warriors who battled to defend their religious rights, but never about a warrior culture that rose up within a pacifist religion. They took up arms to defend themselves and their way of life from forces that threatened to murder them and destroy their way of life. Then they went on to help save the world from a marauding evil. Sounds like a great story of fiction doesn’t it? Well it’s not. Let me tell you about the Warrior Saints of India, the Sikhs.

Guru of the Sikhs (Picture via Wikipedia)

In the late 1400’s and early 1500’s a man named Nanak Dev Ji was born and grew up in the Punjab area. He was a respected and loved man. He was very intelligent and inquisitive. At some point he became the founder of a new religious group that was unlike the other religions. Guru Nanak preached that there was no Hindu or Muslim because in the eyes of God we are all equal. Guru Nanak traveled all over the Middle East and into parts of Africa before returning to India to settle down. The followers of Guru Nanak became known as the Sikhs, which means “to learn.”

The pacifist group grew over the decades and centuries. At times the religion was respected by all, Hindu and Muslims included. Guru Nanak was known to meet and speak to the leaders of both Hindu and Muslims. He preached about equality and working hard to achieve goals in life. He even taught that women and men were equal because without women to raise good men, there would be no good men.

Weapons & Warriors: The Kestros of the Macedonians

This has to be one of the deadliest slings ever made. Unlike the standard stone tossing slings of the Stone Age, the Kestros was sharp, and capable of penetrating light armor when thrown hard enough. The sharpened and weighted tip can do serious damage to an enemy on the battle field if not deflected by metallic armor. In motion the Kestros looks more like a double sling with straps around an iron tipped dart. The dart was usually around a foot in length or maybe a little more and built similar to an arrow. The entire tip is metal and purposely weighs more than the rest of the dart. This forces the tip to face front while airborne, and allows the shaft and feathers, or something similar, to guide it in a straight path.

The Kestros Art by TL Jeffcoat

Macedonian troops (a nation of ancient Greece) under the rule of King Perseus around 150 BC were known to train and use the Kestros in a few battles. It wasn’t used for a very long time, as technology quickly turned to more reliable ranged weapons. The Kestros was a light weight and easy weapon to carry with a quiver of darts that can be slung over a shoulder. The only downside of this deadly sling weapon is the winding up throw. Just like the sling, it was eventually replaced with weapons that didn’t require spinning it before attacking or used lighter ammo.

Weapons & Warriors: The Tepoztopilli of the Aztecs

This weapon could be considered a cross between an axe and a spear. Its fat head and razor sharp edges made it possible to slash or chop like a pole-axe, but the pointed tip and long shaft also made it ideal for thrusting like a spear. Although it was enough like a spear to be throwable, the wide head made it less reliable than other ranged weapons used by the Aztecs. Most likely, this was used against charging enemies, before the Aztec infantry drew clubs and Macuahuitl for closer combat.

The Tepoztopilli art by TL Jeffcoat

The length of the entire Tepoztopilli is around 5 to 6 ft (almost 2 meters) and is one solid piece of wood. The head is about a half foot long and edged with obsidian shards. Each obsidian razor was glued into slots with a plant resin. Like the Macuahuitl, the obsidian edges are potentially sharper than a steel razor. One of these shards is sharp enough to shave with. The pieces were spaced out along the head so that after they penetrate the enemy, the sides of the shards could catch and either break off into the body or hook the spear and cause even more damage.