[Helleri]

Thought this would be an interesting addition to this line of sub-topic. I found these yesterday in some stuff my boss has while helping him sort/organize his lean-to storage

(Pictures 1 & 2)

This pair of loppers has langets that might be at first confusing as to their function. After all shears are not excepted to receive blows. At most they would lightly abrade small branches. And they definitely would receive a blow to the inside of the handles. It's a good example of non-swung-tool langets and having langets for another/additional reason.

Notice they are along the axis on which the shafts would be under fairly extreme pressure when in use. No doubt this is to reinforce the shafts against snapping where they are most prone to do so.

Applying this thinking forward to weapons, how many times can one reasonably swing a long shafted, heavy ended weapon, even successfully landing blows, before it's wooden shaft cracks or snaps from repetitive stress?

It's something I had not considered before. But langets on weapons may very well be partly about reinforcing the strength of the shaft of a weapon against the stresses put on it (in addition to protecting it from blows).

Construction wise it should also be noted that while these might appear integral to the piece, they are not. They are pinned at the top by those bolsters. There is a slot cut into the wood, that the tang of looper's blades plunge down into. Similar to my own pair of loppers below.

(Pictures 3 & 4)

I hope this isn't too... Off into the weeds for most people's tastes. The tool/weapon association is very close. I'd be as bold as to say that most weapons are, at least in their most primitive forms, derived from tools (I consider hunting weapons to be tools as well). And historically a lot of tools would have doubled as makeshift weapons. So there does come a point where it's hard to talk about weapons or certain aspects thereof without discussing the connection between tools and weapons. Also the study of one can tell a person a lot about the other. As they use many of the same techniques and materials in construction,

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