Guys, I totally understood what Ariel meant. I often use the term 'ersatz'.
Dicitionary references;
ERSATZ: ....made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one...
most commonly having 'wartime' connotations,
In my early days of collecting I could not afford the often beautiful pieces being bought by more seasoned collectors, and often got the worn, darkly patinated and sometimes damaged examples typically passed over.
They were often derisively referred to as 'a dogs dinner' (please animal activists no offense meant, it was the phrase used).
However, I knew these were genuinely used, and often they were made up of often incongruent components, but clearly effectively constructed. One of my favorite fields was Spanish Colonial, and the weapons out of these often remote frontier regions were sometimes even bizarre.
One cut down 'dragoon' blade (Spanish motto) had a cast brass briquette hilt and a three bar cavalry guard, all three efficiently melded together.
Obviously this was the makeshift work of some frontier blacksmith using broken parts in an effort to produce a serviceable weapon.
For those of us intrigued by the deep history often held in these outwardly unusual and incongruently assembled weapons, these are pure treasure!
The term 'effective' is key, and while far from the 'cookie cutter' examples found in references, these, while not 'pretty'...certainly were capable of accomplishing their task.
An entire book could be written on the many forms of 'ersatz' weapons used throughout history. Remember, even in the medieval times and battles focused on armored knights and magnificently armed nobles and those of standing....the rank and file were often peasants using all manner of tools and implements as their weapons. Many weapons indeed evolved out of such implements i.e. bill hooks etc.
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