Obscure types of BATTLE AXE from around the world 

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The Kalinga axe was tested by Skallagrim ("The Most Brutal Melee Weapon I've Tested so far (Igorot Headhunting Axe)" and "The Most Vicious Axe vs. Zombie Head... Yikes!")

Don't forget the massive Sapper's (Sappeurs) axes of the 19th Century, huge tools wielded by large men, a tool, yes but often used as a weapon.

I love these ethnographic surveys of little-known weapons. Keep 'em coming!

American Naval Boarding axes sometimes had a very funky jagged shape to the beard that is worth looking into. Boarding Axes in general are interesting as they're such multi-tools. Bardiches are also well known but under appreciated. Might be interesting to discuss whether Lochaber Axes, from the other side of your island, are a subtype of Bardiche or their own thing. It'd be super interesting if you can find accounts of Bardiches/Lochaber Axes being used in combat, because it's hard to imagine them in the early modern combat ages that they lasted into.

You may find Eurasian shepherd's axe (known as "ciupaga" in Poland) an interesting example for a future video.

Had seen some of these before, but only knew something about the Norwegian peasant axe. They are classed in three different types depending on the shape of the axe head. The ones in your video were type A and B (I think). Also interesting is that a type of staff called "bergmannsstav" (mountain man staff) developed from this design.

I'd love to see more detail on the Danish/Norwegian Peasant Axe. Nice job with the cultural diversity of axes. I admire the technology of weaponry, and find it fascinating to see how different cultures use their particular resources and techniques to solve common weapon problems.

maybe look at something like the Hungarian Fokos or Polish Ciupaga, Czech Valaška, forgot Romanian axe name sorry.

I Am a Simple Man, i see axes, i click Like! 👍

Geometrically, the Nordic peasant's axe looks like the upper point of the bit is in alignment with the handle. I think that would make it more optimized for sharp force impact thrusts, more for stopping power than for depth of penetration. The angle does look awkward for chopping into someone, but I would love to see both of those hypotheses tested.

The Igorot battle axe is known as the 'pinang'. If a warrior only manages to graze his opponent as he makes a downward or lateral swipe with his pinang, he can very quickly maneuver it in reverse in which the rear projection would come into play. Imagine it hitting the neck or the jaw as reaction time from the opponent will have to be very, very quick indeed in order to counter that. Once it punctures the neck or the ribcage, the main blade only would serve as the coup de grace. It's a weapon designed for ending close combat at the shortest time possible. For the actual taking of heads, the Cordillerans use a different blade, the pinahig.

The Japanese ono/masakari is vastly overshadowed by swords and pole-arms when discussing Japanese historical weapons. Edit: I edited my comment to add in the term masakari, unknowingly removing Matt's heart. Whoops.

Hey Matt! Japanese axes don't seem to get enough love. Everything else gets overshadowed by their swords. Even if fighting axes were more rare, you could still show us some of their tool axes. That would be super Neat'O. Also, I know video games are rarely good sources for historical accuracy, but in the earlier Mount & Blade games we see predominantly longswords, arming swords and the like. But then there's also these larger two handed sabres, usually from the more Swedish sounding areas. We usually think of sabers coming about later on in the age of musketry, so I would assume that those large Swedish sabres are earlier appearances of those types of sword. Of course curved blades of various sorts are found all throughout time and place, so perhaps it wasn't really a new concept or anything. Though the ones I'm referring to are shown to often have a knuckle bow, or a slightly swept cross guard, which was certainly ahead of it's time. At least when comparing to the other swords in common usage at the time, having mostly straight cross guards. But it would still be cool to have a look at those large "proto-sabres", if you will.

Hi Matt,I went to Fiji last year and I was quite surprised at the variety of axes and other fighting implements that were found there. I have never seen anyone go through, defies the implements of the Oceana region and it could be a topic for you to do.

Fantastic video showing some really interesting axes! Thanks!👍

Perhaps the bend in the farmer's axe haft was to center more of the axe head weight over the wooden haft. While this would decrease striking power it might have made easier to use for farmers with little combat training.

Hoping to see a fokos, but not at disappointed in your choices. Very interesting.

I was at least vaguely familiar with every one except that Sarawak axe, which I think was completely new to me. A couple thoughts: 1) The Illerup Adal weapons deposit in Denmark turned up a number of axes with bent handles very similar to those Norwegian examples, except in the opposite direction, so that the blade hooks back towards the user. Also among the finds are several examples of chisel-like axe blades (no handles) with the socket inline with the handle, an iron-age survival of the old Bronze Age design, that were evidently mounted on a crooked haft much like those Sarawak axes. Because of the way that trees grow, I suspect that both kinds of axes ended up with the heads angled back towards the user, obviously intentionally in some cases, which leads me to think that that the way they were used took advantage of that backwards hook in someway. Incidentally, these Baltic area axes from the 3rd century (I think - the majority, but not all, the artifacts date to around AD 250) don't look much like later viking axes - quite different design. 2) I was just looking up the Igorots and reading what I could of an early 20th century ethnographic account of them yesterday! Judging from the pictures, there are actually a number of variants of that axe design, and shorter handles and/or much less concavity in the cutting edge are also possible - some have more or less straight edges titling back ~20 degrees or so towards the user. 3)Regarding South African axes, I have to mention Umslopogaas' axe Inkosi-kaas ("Chieftainess" - she must be a woman because she pries into so many things, and a wise one for have been inside the heads of so many men), from the works of H. Rider Haggard. Haggard's Alan Quatermain novels are kind of a forerunner to modern fantasy literature in many ways, set in Africa contemporary to Haggard's own time, but featuring a lot of fantasy or downright supernatural elements, so Inkosikaas can be considered one of the first named weapons in fantasy literature of the (relatively) modern period...She is described as having a repurposed European head rather than a Zulu-made one, but the handle is made from horn and features that wire binding. Umslopogaas shows up in the books Alan Quatermain, Nada the Lily, and She for those interested.

YES! Finally the norwegian farmers axe (Bondeøks) on Scholagladiatoria!!!!!!

dang, i was decently known with most of these weapons, but the Saruwak (i hope i spelled that right) at the end was completely new to me. Very interesting find! I'd love to look up more of that axe from India, but i don't know how to spell its name :P I really love me some good axes in media, and even more so with proper and interesting techniques and choreography. We need more of that. I personally like to create stories, and one of my most prominent characters wields a long axe, where I try my best to envision neat but not over-the-top brutish fighting techniques, such as quarterstaff ones, pommel smashes and hooking. For any future axes, i'd love to hear more/see more spotlight on the Tabar, Ono and/or Masakari, Ge (dagger axe), Labrys, Lochaber Axe, Egyptian axe mace, shepherd's axe, Sagaris and Nzappa Zap. There's also some sort of Chinese ritual axes with big and heavy heads depicting faces on them, but I don't know the names of them. Luristan Bronze axe heads would be interesting as well, if possible.

Hi there, I'm Malaysian and the "biliong" axe is more better known as "beliung" here.

About Nordic curved axes, I will give you an 99% accurate explanation of why they were tilted upwards like this - it's to emulate the crucial advantage of a slashing type sword, the ability to hit, damage or destroy an opponent AND KEEP YOUR WEAPON UNENTANGLED AND READY TO RE-DEPLOY. If your axe head is getting stuck into shields, armors, or rib cages, you are effectively disarmed, often when most vulnerable. It's a crucial disadvantage that will get you killed. But if you hit, hurt and are ready to strike again, that's huge. that's why they were curved. To be closer to swords in usage.

Thank you for making this video. I love axes they're my favorite weapon but I've never seen any of these and I always love learning about new things I've never seen before I'd love to see you talk about an epsilon axe and why they went obsolete but I understand that period and region is way outside your primary specialty Thank you for all your wonderful content

Wouldn't the Norwegian axe be useful as a stand/tripod for early type of firearm? Infantry from the eastern europe used axes as stands for firearms so maybe that was the purpose. Sidearm for melee/peacekeeping on the person and issued matchlock, musket whatever for pitch/siege battle if needed

With a little internet search, i found more information on the Norwegian Peasant/Farmer axes. The bent axe-head is for making slicing draw cuts and it helps with edge alignment both during the swing (centre of mass is shifted to haft) and during the cut (edge closer to haft). Used two-handed these also doubled as walking sticks and a status symbol when on ceremonies/holidays. There was a law by the king for farmers to have a weapon for military use. Many had the option to buy a decent axe from the government for a cheap price, but many had these crafted. Make no mistake, while this was predominantly militia weapon, it is a weapon of war first and a status symbol second.

I always hate how exaggerated axes can be in movies and games, but the true underdog are war hammers, which are always reduced to ridiculous parodies of a weapon in practically everything from movies to games and even books! I’ll never understand how making a thing so unwieldy as to be absurd is “cool.” P.s. this might be my favorite channel on RU-vid

hit with stick. hit with sharp rock. hit with sharp rock on stick?

great video. i'd like you to maybe look at the 'shepherd's axe' used in the territories around the carpathian mountains in the future. cheers!

That's very informative video. I am more interested into swords to be honest but axes are also really cool looking and also fascinating weapons. If possible could you talk a bit more about the bronze axes used in the bronze age around the world?

More South East Asian/Pacific content to spice up the excellent Euro/Indian/Nepalese content. Myanmar/Burma, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia (Aceh to West Papua, huge diversity in a vast nation), Papua New Guinea, Soloman Islands, Fiji, Maori, and Indigenous Australians. all have rich hand-to-hand weapon histories that are under-told. Noting that you have covered weapons from some of the above regions/cultures previously and displayed some on your walls, just a polite request for more of the same.

My favorite axe is the francisca. Not sure why, I just really like the idea of it. I'm also partial to the tabar. One video I'd be interested in Matt are the various weapon combinations available with a shield. Why would our infantry or even skilled warrior (landed gentry) choose a spear/sword/axe/mace combination with a shield and what benefits and drawbacks do each of those give?

As for the norwegian farmer axe, having fought in viking age reenactments with a dane axe hacking from the second line over the shieldwall, my theory was always that the shape would really lend itself to far reaching descending cuts done from a distance. With this shape you could do a cut that is thrown forward, something inbetween a cut and a thrust, and get someone in the face essentially circumventing the defense helmets of this period (usually with some kind of extended brow rim) provided. I don't really have much proof to back this though (maybe wounds on battlefield remains of that place and period could shed more light on it).

Although the Norwegian axes are known as farmers axes, the farmers were the biggest group of landowners in Norway and big farms was almost like nobility. The arms requirement varied according to the size of your farm, and poor, small farms could get away with just getting a pike.

Actually, the last one was the only one I think I had seen before though I did not know the details of it. Very interesting video. Would love to see more of these rare weapon types and more of these particular axes explored. Always find your take and research on them fascinating. Thank you.

Axes were probably more common in medieval warfare than the sword was. Cheaper to make, easier to teach.

Another point to consider about tanged axes that can also be used as tools: some blades are set into the handle such that they can be taken out and set perpendicular to quickly create an adze. These films of Mossi woodcarvers show this for example ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gyn7KGPxnM4.html

As a child I was fascinated by our local museum in Adelaide. The South Australian Museum Humanities Collection is excellent and encompasses ethnographic items from the Pacific, Asia, Africa and the Americas. The Papua New Guinea and Pacific cultures collections are particularly strong. I think I have seen examples of nearly all of these there ! (except the Scandinavian one) You missed the wooden (hardwood) axes of New Guinea. Also, the N.Z. Maori "Mere" is a weapon similar to a "Patu" but usually made of "Greenstone" ie jade, and flatter and longer, While this is often described as a "Club", I would say it is more of a club/sword/axe, as some Maori warriors were said to be able to take off an opponent's head with one blow !

Hrm, all this talk about battle axes yet not once did you mention my wife, definitely the scariest battle axe out there!

Hey, Matt. Great video. I was wondering if you could maybe talk in a video about the term “claymore”. It is used all of the time in video games and fiction as a name for something like a longsword or sometimes a great sword. It seems like it is used as a catch all term. Is there a more specific type of sword that is actually a claymore?

With the Norwegian axe maybe the angled head originates from its civilian use; it would allow a downward chop to items which were laid low to the ground (chopping logs?)

On the curious curve of the Norwegian farmer's ax, I note that it lines the upper point of the ax head directly with the end of.the shaft. At a guess, I would say it was designed to allow thrusts as well as chops while still keeping the shape of the traditional head.

I'm probably not the only one to point this out, but Skallagrim has actually done testing with a replica of that Igorot axe. It was every bit as scary taking apart ballistic gel targets as it looks like it would be, and the skull analog he used didn't stand a chance at all against that thing.

Russian , Polish Bardiche always fascinated me ...May be something on that next time

I happen to own a very nice replica of a Late Medieval Hungarian battle axe (original circa 1500). It has a particularly vicious appearance, and it's one of those weapons that you would expect a culture to come up with if they were having to fight off occupation by the Ottomans! Btw, it's a bit of a shame that you didn't feature the infamous Russian bardiche! The aforementioned Hungarian axe definitely shows the influence of the bardiche, as well as Muslim battle axes such as the tabar.

The Bondeøks - two thoughts: 1. it reminds me of a walking stick, especially since a lot of them seem to have a shoe with a small spike at the end. 2. some of the specimes are so absurdly angled that I wonder if their primary use was as a tool in timberworking (peeling off bark or cutting branches off a felled tree) or even peat cutting. Regarding your question which axes we are familiar with: I have seen all the shapes before and knew the names of the indian axes, but I have never seen or heard of the bondeøks before.

I have to wonder if the shape of the peasant axe is to prevent it from becoming lodged directly in the target.

Once axe I would recommend is the Cambodian Mak. It is like a cross between the Nagaland axe with the Malaysian. Though some call it a sword but it looks more axe like to me.

Since you asked for suggestions I'd really enjoy more videos about central asian and Turkic weapons and sword use. Also Mughal/Indian would be interesting, I know you've done some in the past but India has so much!

14:06 I noticed someone wielding a weapon like this in Horizon: Forbidden West while my wife was playing it. I thought that it kinda made sense, because it has a good shape for going up against the armored machines. It has a good shape for getting in-between armored plates, and it has that pick-like chisel point on the back.

I believe it's in Sir Gwain & the Green Knight where an axe is described as a "bow-bent axe". Obviously this reference far predates those Scandinavian 17th century axes but I'm wondering if the design serves the same function. From what I understand bow-bent axes had curves throughout their hafts. However b-b & the 17th c axes may function similarly.

Are you sure that the farmers axe is a purpose built weapon? If it was a tool used as a weapon then we should be looking at non-combat reasons for its shape. I am thinking that if one wanted to chop something on the ground the blade would be horizontal when it hit.

Request for shepherd defensive equipment if any in the medieval era. Seems they would encounter many hardships in the wilderness. Just a stick and a dog? Or was there more?

Irish Gallowglass axe is cool. Fokos/shepherds axe is a fun one. Long shaft acting as a walking stick with a fairly small faced axe with a longish head acting as a grip. Commonly carried by cavalry as well because of reach and weight

The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford shows some stone/flint axe heads beside bronze axe heads with exactly the same shape. We found an efficient shape and duplicated it when we changed manufacturing methods. But this and the Pitt Rivers Museum have great examples of some of these unusual axes.

Due to RPGs, I think I've seen illustrations of all of them, but that's not the same as actual information like where they come from. The two surprises for me were the Norwegian farmer's axe ( I had no idea something that odd-looking had such a long run ) and the Igarot/Kalinga axe where I might have seen it in a picture, but had no idea who made it or how it was put together.

there's also the shepherd's axe, also known as fokos, ciupaga, or valaška, small head, thin blade, oftentimes beautifully decorated, predominantly used by Carpathian shepherds as a tool, walking stick, and a weapon to defend against wolves, there are some depictions of them being used by brigands (Juraj Jánošík), as far as I have found, Hungary has some organisations that view and use them as weapons, most elsewhere it became more of a cultural symbol and a prop for certain kinds of dances etc.

Bullova are meant for use against unarmoured or lightly armoured opponents and share a lot of parallels in use and training with lathi use (obviously edge alignment would be important with the bullova), furthermore the way they were used to slice explains why they many times had a spike as you flowed into the thrust from slices and vice versa. Easier to demonstrate than explain in writing tbh. The way they were swung defensively to keep multiple attackers at bay is also very lathi like. Defense also was done two ways, against swords usually between the spike and the head, against other polearms you would try and trap the opponents haft with you haft, lock it with your head and twist...the long edge prevented the opponent from grabbing you haft/shaft easily. Shorter examples were sometimes used with shields but most of what I've learnt was two handed use with the longer shafts. It was originally a tribal weapon.

I have the idea that the curved axe show at the beginning was made that way to be carried on the belt with the axe head on your side and the shaft pointing in an angle backwards(or forward), that way you can have a longer shaft and don't interfere with your walking/riding. Also it can be used as a more confortable walking stick

here's the timestamps of the weapons: 4:17 norwegian peasant/farmer axe 6:26 Sotho axe 8:02 Bulova axe 11:25 Dao axe 13:22 Kalinga/Igorot axe 16:09 Biliong axe

I'm particularly fond of the Nzappa zap of the Songye and the Indian tabar-zaghnal, but ultimately my favorite axe design is the good old Scythian Sagaris. The Swallowtail isizenze of Eswatini Kingdom and the Sinawit of the Kalingas remain iconic, not only as symbols of power and authority but also as impressive weapons

Honestly, it's Fire Emblem that taught me to appreciate the battle axe. Hector, Camilla, Edelgard. All my favorite characters weild axes

If memory serves, in H. Rider Haggard's 1887 (or 1888?) novel _Allan Quatermain_, Quatermain's Zulu chieftain pal, Umslopogaas, wields a specialized battle axe, with a handle made from a rhinoceros horn and with a back spike. Most of the time Umslopogaas preferred to use the back spike with surgical precision, hence his nickname "the Woodpecker."

2. Heard of it. They look pretty interesting. 3. Heard of it. I like long axe blades. 4. Never heard of it. It looks really nice. I want one. 5. Never heard of it. Really funky and cool. 6. Heard of it. I think. Might be confusing it with old European axes. 1. Never heard of it. Can't have been very effective. Probably just a farmers tool. Probably ineffective at that as well. Greetings from Sweden, by the way.

So good, i was waiting for this video for so long, finally the Ikakalaka (or kalinga?) Now just needs something on zaghnals (i was actually hoping to see them here tho, buti guess they are closer to a warpick than an axe)

I think the norweigan bonde økse, also called church ax, you took it along when you travelled the long way to church in Norway. Had that shape to be effective against an enemy standing right square in front of you.

Stone’s Glossary is an excellent reference for these weird weapons. Hunga-Munga! You left that one out.

This is a lovely, useful video. Straight to the point, excellent image reference, clear explanation of region and fighting style. This is exactly what I was looking for today. Thank you.

Call me crazy, but the back-leaning head on the farmer's axe reads to me as a tool adaptation more so than a war adaptation. The angle of the head could be an advantage when chopping way down at, for instance, roots as you're trying to dig without having to get down to a crouching position to reach.

About the Igorot Axe and practically most antique weapons and tools especially from Indigenous People in the Philippines (not the christianized) they were all made with stone tools. You can actually find a black and white footage in RU-vid of Igorot blacksmiths forging..

Please react to "Star Wars duel on Fencing World Championships. BEST SOUND" video, it's maybe the best lightsaber fight ever and entirely done irl. :)))

So basicly you are making a video on RU-vid bout axes and have nothing to say about the first axe you are presenting... "Rather overlooked weapon"... You didn't add much, did you?true RU-vid content...

@scholaegladiatoria there's a guy who replied to a Richard with various sources on the Norwegian axe. It's quite interesting information.

Appears to me that these long-hafted, odd angled axes would be perfect for cavalry. Of course, I know nothing.....other than info you provide. ;)

Ever heard of the "Franziska" ?! A very popular frankish throwing axe. You find it all over in reenactment here in germany...

When it comes to fighting or combat axes I only like one-handed like the Germanic/Viking or Native American Tomahawks styles

Seems to me that you'll need to ring Tod and ask him to make a replica peasant axe to experiment with. It's for science!

My guess is that the Norwegian peasant axe is angled that way to accentuate the thrust. Maybe it puts the point at a better angle.

You should get one of those Norwegian axes and test it. See what it's like to swing and use a curved axe.

15:38 The dominant hand clearly goes above the "lug" on the Igorot axe. It works in the same the hook on the hilt of a Dayak mandau works. To keep your wet hands from slipping back and off while you swing. Yes, a hand-stop, but from the hand slipping backwards, not forwards. And it is definitely not a hand guard in any way.

The Norwegian peasant axe looks like it could be used as a formation weapon.

If it's an axe....Tord is the guy to make. Cheers! Great stuff. Thanks Mr. E.

Eastern European Shepard's Axe. Not battlefield weapons but a fantastic defensive tool for protecting oneself and property while still giving good general utility when out in the mountains. I teach its use and keep one handy. My daughter in law likes to have it around because of all of my arms, she trusts herself to weild that effectively should the need arise.

Hello im new to this channel and i love your content. I wanna ask you, In terms of fighting style and weapon choice, What is your favorite historical fighter figure and why? Also, can we expect matt to speak about major historical battles and the weapons used in it.

For the Norwegian axe could the curve be a way of maintaining distance

Physics is Physics. F=M*A Applying maximum force, with optimum resource usage, to a target.

What I would really like is for someone to do a bit of test cutting with the Norwegian peasant axe. Besides _maybe_ being better in a thrust, I cannot see what benefits there could possibly be to that design. It seems to be an evolutionary dead end. It is reminiscent, in a way, to an early Japanese tachi, the kenuki-gata tachi. Many of these (not all) had a straight or nearly straight blade but a slightly curved grip - but the blade was offset at an angle to the tang, giving the illusion of a deep curve. The same principle can be seen in its ancestor, the warabite-to. I know the kenuki-gata tachi is still occasionally made, as either ceremonial swords or a journeyman's piece, but I have not been able to find any practical reviews of one. Much less the Norwegian peasant axe.

Hi Matt. I really like your channel. This is off topic but could you review the movie: Mestiere delle Armi . It is on Netflix. Have a good year.

Gotta love medieval Indian weapons, always looking like a bizarre and unusual punishment for the wielder

When kyrgyz nomads tribes moved from Siberia to Central Asian mountains, the suddenly changed their swords to an axes. Just because in Tien Shan mountains they do not have access to iron as in Siberia, and get it only from trade.

The Dao is a short-handled glaive rather than a long-handled sword, tbh. In a mirror, you wouldn't handle it like a sword because you can't block or parry safely on the wood haft.

I really like the bhuj from Gujarat. It's in a similar a vain to the Nage People's dao.

I would like a follow-up on the peasant axe. It’s such an odd shape that there must be a reason for it.

I know the Igorot axe because Skallagrim made it a bit of a meme. As for other axes, may I suggest a ciupaga? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherd%27s_axe

The bondeøks is pretty interesting. I have always thought that their heads swept "up" like this to extend the top point of the axeblade. These were peasant weaponry, so very likely just repurposed tools. A farmer can in very short time take the most fitting axehead he has, and make a new handle for it for use in war, where he can both hit with it like a dane-axe, and jab the point forward like a polearm, with much more "clean blade" to thrust with before the haft stops it going further. Any better ideas?

Current King of Brits, married his Matron women, not barring him any children. Me as Knight of the descendant of the Cult of Crusaders, this sure notice!

Sotho is pronounced in the same way that you pronounced "Lesotho". "Lesotho" essentially means "the place of the Sotho". It is an Anglicisation of a non-written, Sotho word, which is why it does not sound the way that it is spelt.

It's a funny thing about Axes, once you see them, use them, feel them hit your shield/weapon or body, you just might get hooked.

The farmers axe have similar handle of scythe. Could it have been a refurbished scythe handle? Just a thought on it. I also base this on the angle of the blade. Similar angle if you swap 1 blade for another Just an observation.

The first axe on your list I have a idea why it was shaped that way. Having the blade curved up means you have more blade to trust with. The dao "axe" your showing I would argue is a longhandeld sword not a axe. Would you call the nagamaki a axe too since it's blade is as long as it's handel? No right? Well these look a lot like short sword blades on a longer handel. I have seen most of these before.