War Hammers?

[David]

Can someone put forth some average weights for the heads of traditional late medieval war hammers. Any real examples to post? Thanks.

[A Senefelder]

I don't own a warhammer but did have this until late last year ( darn economy ) http://www.merctailor.com/originals.php?original_pk=97 . We've forged up a few over the years just expirementing and weights came in around 1 pound to 1.25 pounds. The axe above weight in at a bit over three pounds.

[David]

Originally Posted by A Senefelder

I don't own a warhammer but did have this until late last year ( darn economy ) http://www.merctailor.com/originals.php?original_pk=97 . We've forged up a few over the years just expirementing and weights came in around 1 pound to 1.25 pounds. The axe above weight in at a bit over three pounds.

I'm more interested in the hammers than axes. I have a friend who is claiming that "real" war hammers have heads that weigh in at almost 10 lbs. and that seems way out of range to me.

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by David

I'm more interested in the hammers than axes. I have a friend who is claiming that "real" war hammers have heads that weigh in at almost 10 lbs. and that seems way out of range to me.

Not beyond the realms of possability at 10lbs....I find for me though 7lb on a long shaft is more than enough weight to swing and has a great effect on objects struck.

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[fernando]

There must be a wide choice of these things, with a wide range of weights.
According to my expert contact, infantry ones may weigh around 3 lbs and cavalry (long shaft) ones around 7 lbs, as would be the case of this unique Portuguese XV century Crow Beak.

.

[Matchlock]

Hi David,

In Germany and Switzerland they were called Fuss-Streithammer (war hammer for foot soldiers).

I attach two late 15th c. samples from the collections of the German Historic Museum Berlin (b/w) and another fine late 15th c. item retaining its warding off disc (Brechscheibe) - I could not find the correct English term. Anyone ready to add it?

Unfortunately their weights are unrecorded.

The hafts are either of oak or ash.

Best,
Michael

[David]

Originally Posted by fernando

There must be a wide choice of these things, with a wide range of weights.
According to my expert contact, infantry ones may weigh around 3 lbs and cavalry (long shaft) ones around 7 lbs, as would be the case of this unique Portuguese XV century Crow Beak.

.

Nando, is that weight for the entire weapon or just the head?

[cel7]

Originally Posted by David

Can someone put forth some average weights for the heads of traditional late medieval war hammers. Any real examples to post? Thanks.

To revive an old thread, I received this war hammer this morning.
I suspect it's from the late 15th century, but I might be wrong.
It's made of wrought iron. Its total length is 123 cm. It weighs 1790 grams. Regarding these measurements, it should be noted that the point was originally somewhat longer. One of the points on the side is also missing. As you can see, it's had a rough life. Unfortunately, I can't say whether the handle is still original or whether it was replaced at some point.
I do wonder, however, whether this was intended for infantry or cavalry.

[Victrix]

Looks remarkably crude to me. All the war hammers I have seen were clearly defined and neatly shaped. Don’t think you could stab anything with that point or beak. The long shaft ones were typically for infantry, and cavalry would use shorter handled versions. I think the Germans specifically call the latter Riders hammers.

[cel7]

It's certainly not the prettiest. Still, I think it's original, but it may have seen better days.

[kronckew]

My Czekan/obuzek: The Poles were fond of cavalry war hammers. Some like mine with a axe blade, some with the spike. Mine just has the spike in addition, but on the lower end. It weighs less than a kilo.


They were frequently used as status symbols by high ranking soldiers and/ or knights/nobility.
Quite a few threads here on searching for war hammers.


I also have a couple reproductions which are typical, one has a fist holding a spike that emulates a proper antique. the others look more like those posted above. They all weigh less than a couple of kilos, more in the sword range, but the weight distribution makes them feel very tip heavy, of course.

[cel7]

Originally Posted by kronckew

My Czekan/obuzek: The Poles were fond of cavalry war hammers. Some like mine with a axe blade, some with the spike. Mine just has the spike in addition, but on the lower end. It weighs less than a kilo.


They were frequently used as status symbols by high ranking soldiers and/ or knights/nobility.
Quite a few threads here on searching for war hammers.


I also have a couple reproductions which are typical, one has a fist holding a spike that emulates a proper antique. the others look more like those posted above. They all weigh less than a couple of kilos, more in the sword range, but the weight distribution makes them feel very tip heavy, of course.

Hi Kronckew, how old do you estimate this Czekan/obuzek to be?