Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Combination Halberd / Matchlock for comment

Shakethetrees · 6th September 2014, 02:30 PM

I don't mean to be a sceptic, but the "vent" appears to be nothing more than a hole for fastening a haft into the socket, the "barrel" being the socket.

How can something be hafted and also be a firearm that shoots in the same direction as the person wielding it?

Is the shooter supposed to pull out the haft, grab the sharp end, light a match and place it in the "lighter", aim and shoot?

If it is truly a combination weapon, there would be a socket, as it is shown, and another tubular bit with the open end facing in the OPPOSITE direction.

I do not have an answer as to the original use of the "lighter" as you call it, but it could be something added post-manufacture, say thirty years later, and for some as yet unknown purpose.

Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that the added bit is a lighter. Where's the trigger? How do we keep a lit match FROM making contact with the vent, with disastrous results? We would need a spring and a long tail of some sort giving the operator the control of when to shoot. Also, as the "lighter" appears to be just passed through and peened to the opposite side of the head, this is not a good design for something that is supposed to swivel regularly without binding or working loose. Any blacksmith competent enough to make a blade of that sophistication would understand this little bit on engineering.

I think it's a halbard, European, and pretty early at that, but as far as making it a combination weapon or a tomahawk of a type used in the New World, I think we're barking up the wrong tree!

6th September 2014, 02:30 PM	#7
Shakethetrees Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Louisiana Posts: 363	I don't mean to be a sceptic, but the "vent" appears to be nothing more than a hole for fastening a haft into the socket, the "barrel" being the socket. How can something be hafted and also be a firearm that shoots in the same direction as the person wielding it? Is the shooter supposed to pull out the haft, grab the sharp end, light a match and place it in the "lighter", aim and shoot? If it is truly a combination weapon, there would be a socket, as it is shown, and another tubular bit with the open end facing in the OPPOSITE direction. I do not have an answer as to the original use of the "lighter" as you call it, but it could be something added post-manufacture, say thirty years later, and for some as yet unknown purpose. Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that the added bit is a lighter. Where's the trigger? How do we keep a lit match FROM making contact with the vent, with disastrous results? We would need a spring and a long tail of some sort giving the operator the control of when to shoot. Also, as the "lighter" appears to be just passed through and peened to the opposite side of the head, this is not a good design for something that is supposed to swivel regularly without binding or working loose. Any blacksmith competent enough to make a blade of that sophistication would understand this little bit on engineering. I think it's a halbard, European, and pretty early at that, but as far as making it a combination weapon or a tomahawk of a type used in the New World, I think we're barking up the wrong tree!