The épée (pronounced /’?pe?/) is the modern derivative of the original duelling sword, the rapier, used in sport fencing. Épée is French for “sword”.

The weapon is similar to a foil (compared to a sabre), but has a stiffer blade that is V-shaped in cross-section, has a larger bell guard, and is heavier. The technique however, is somewhat different, as there are no rules regarding priority and right-of-way. In addition, the entire body area is a valid target area.

While modern sport fencing has three weapons (foil, épée, and sabre), each a separate event, épée is the only one in which the entire body is the valid target area. Épée is the heaviest of all fencing weapons.

In most higher-level competitions a grounded metal piste is used to prevent floor hits from registering as touches. Unlike sabre and foil, in épée there are no right-of-way rules regarding attacking. Touches are awarded solely on the basis of which fencer makes a touch first, according to the electronic scoring machines. Also, in épée double-touches are allowed, although the touches must be within 40 milliseconds (1/25th of a second) of each other.

The modern épée typically has a blade which measures 90 centimetres, and weighs up to 770 grams, although it sometimes weighs as little as 150 grams due to various metals and construction techniques. Only hits, or “touches”, made with the push-button tip of the weapon are registered. The épée has a three sided blade, in contrast to the foil and sabre, which have four and two sides respectively. In competitions a valid épée touch is scored if a fencer depresses their tip with 750g of pressure. Since the hand is a valid target, the bellguard is much larger than that of the foil and is most often made of aluminum or stainless steel. The tip is wired to a connector in the bellguard, then to an electronic scoring device or “box”. The bellguard, blade, and handle of the épée are all grounded to the scoring box to prevent hits to the weapon from registering as touches.

In the channel (fuller) formed by the V-shaped blade, there are two thin wires leading from the far end of the blade to a connector in the bellguard. These wires are held in place with a strong glue that protects them from the rigors of an encounter. The amount of glue is kept to a minimum as in the unlikely (but possible) case that a fencer manages a touch in that glue, the touch would be registered on the electrical equipment, as the glue and blade are not grounded. But in the event of point to point and point to glue hits, a point should not be awarded. A “body wire” with a three-pronged plug at each end is placed underneath the fencer’s clothing and attached to the connector in the bellguard, then to a wire leading to the scoring box. The scoring box signals with lights (one for each fencer) and a tone each time the tip is depressed.

The tip of an épée comprises several parts including: the mushroom-shaped movable tip; its housing or “barrel” which is threaded to the blade; a contact spring; and a return spring. The tips are generally held in place by two small grub screws, which thread into the sides of the tip through elongated openings on either side of the barrel. The screws hold the tip within the barrel but are allowed to travel freely in the openings. While this is the most common system, screwless variations do exist. The return spring must allow the tip to support a weight of 750 grams without registering a touch. Finally, an épée tip must allow a shim of 1.5 mm to be inserted between the tip and the barrel, and when a 0.5 mm shim is inserted and the tip depressed, it should not register a touch. The contact spring is threaded in or out of the tip to adjust for this distance. These specifications are tested at the start of large competitions. During competitions, fencers are required to have a minimum of two weapons and two body wires in case of failure or breakage.

The épée is the heaviest of the three weapons (approaching the weight of an actual court sword). However, ultra-lightweight blades can actually reduce the weight of an épée to below that of a foil.[1] On low-end weapons, the épée has a relatively stiff blade, though new technology has resulted in a flexible blade comparable to the other weapons. The épée is characterized by a V-shaped or approximately triangular cross-section , and a large round guard which offers much more protection to the hand than the foil guard.

The épée evolved from civilian weapons such as the smallsword in the late 17th century and became the true dueling sword of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The épée developed when authorities in the 19th century decided that they did not like the killing aspect of the duel, and changed it to a “first blood” sport, thus requiring much more skill as a nick on the wrist or other exposed area could end the duel. But this does not mean that no duelist using the épée died. Of course it would be the goal of each duelist to kill his opponent, and not to simply give a minor flesh wound. Since the Épée was so common in duel, craftsmen decided to tweak the weapon itself. Because a wound to the hand or wrist could end a bout, smiths created épées with larger guards to protect the wrist and hand. Today, épée fencing very much resembles 19th century dueling. There is no right of way, since by virtue of 1st blood the whole body is the target. An épée fencer must hit the target with the tip of the weapon. A difference between épée and foil versus sabre is that body contact is not an offense, unless deliberate; however, it still results in an immediate “halt” to play.

In the pre-electric era, épéeists used a point d’arrêt (“stopping point”), a three-pronged point with small protruding spikes, which would snag on the opponent’s clothing or mask, helping the referee to see the hits. The spikes caused épée fencing to be a notoriously painful affair, and épéeists could be easily recognized by the tears in their jacket sleeves. These days, the adherents of the point d’arrêt are few and far between, and non-electric weapons are generally fitted with foil-style buttons.

NOTE: These rankings are accurate as of August 5, 2008

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The Arbir is a halberd approximately five feet (1.5 m) long.

The plane of the blade has a shallow groove running along it that allows the user to determine exactly where the cutting edge is at all times. The arbir is one of three special weapons used by members of the Persatuan Pentjak Silat Selurah Indonesia (PPSI).

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The arming sword (also sometimes called a knight’s or knightly sword) is the single handed cruciform sword of the High Middle Ages, in common use between ca. 1000 and 1350, possibly remaining in rare use into the 16th century. Arming swords correspond to Oakeshott types XI, XII and XIII and are generally considered to be descendant from the migration period or Viking swords. A combination of the Oakeshott and Peterson Typologies shows a chronological progression from the Viking sword to the “transitional sword”, which incorporated elements of both Viking and arming swords. The “transitional sword” continued to evolve into to the presently defined arming sword.

Typically used with a shield or buckler, the arming sword was the standard military sword of the knight (merely called a “war sword”, an ambiguous title given to many types of swords carried for battle) until technological changes led to the rise of the longsword in the late 13th century. There are many texts and pictures depicting effective arming sword combat without the benefit of a shield. According to Medieval texts, in the absence of a shield the empty (normally left) hand could be used for grabbing or grappling opponents. The arming sword was overall a light, versatile weapon capable of both cut and thrust combat; and normally boasts excellent balance. Although a variety of designs fall under the heading of ‘arming sword’, they are most commonly recognized as single-handed double-edged swords that were designed more for cutting than thrusting. Although arming swords have been found with a variety of blade-lengths (measuring from 23 inches recorded in Ewart Oakeshott’s Records of the Medieval Sword to an impressive 39, also recorded in the aforementioned text) most 12th-14th century blades seem to vary between 30 and 32 inch blades. As a rule, arming swords began to polarize in design forms from the late 12th century, becoming either increasingly squat and heavily pointed, or longer and heavier in design. This would seem to be two separate methods of adapting the arming sword to combat increasingly tough armour; either to make the blade sufficiently heavy-duty to inflict blunt trauma through the armour, or narrow-pointed enough to pierce it with a thrust. Arguably these two forms of blade evolve into the longsword, and the cinqueda.

It is a common weapon in period artwork, and there are many surviving examples in museums. The arming sword was worn by a knight even when not in armor, and he would be considered ‘undressed’ for public if he were without it. The first longswords were actually little more than two-handed arming swords, but the difference in length grew substantially as time passed. Long after these larger weapons came into use, the arming sword was retained as a common sidearm, eventually evolving into the cut & thrust swords of the Renaissance.

Arming swords are sometimes incorrectly referred to as longswords or broadswords (the former actually refers to a long-bladed two-handed sword and the latter to a type of broad-bladed basket-hilted sword popular in the 17th and 18th centuries).

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The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, harvest timber, as a weapon and a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many forms and specialized uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle, or helve.

The earliest examples of axes have heads of stone with some form of wooden handle attached (hafted) in a method to suit the available materials and use. Axes made of copper, bronze, iron, steel appeared as these technologies developed. The axe is an example of a simple machine, as it is a type of wedge, or dual inclined plane. This reduces the effort needed by the wood chopper. It splits the wood into two parts by the pressure concentration at the blade. The handle of the axe also acts as a lever allowing the user to increase the force at the cutting edge – not using the full length of the handle is known as choking the axe. For fine chopping using a side axe this sometimes is a positive effect, but for felling with a double bitted axe it reduces efficiency. Generally cutting axes have a shallow wedge angle, whereas splitting axes have a deeper angle. Most axes are double beveled, i.e. symmetrical about the axis of the blade, but some specialist broadaxes have a single bevel blade, and usually an offset handle that allows them to be used for finishing work without putting the user’s knuckles at risk of injury. Less common today, they were once an integral part of a joiner and carpenter’s tool kit, not just a tool for use in forestry. A tool of similar origin is the billhook. However in France and Holland the billhook often replaced the axe as a joiner’s bench tool.

Most modern axes have steel heads and wooden handles, typically hickory in the USA and ash in Europe, although plastic or fiberglass handles are also common. Modern axes are specialized by use, size and form. Hafted axes with short handles designed for use with one hand are often called hand axes but the term hand axe refers to axes without handles as well. Hatchets tend to be small hafted axes often with a hammer on the back side ( the poll).

Axes were frequently used in combat as they were easy to make, and the village edge tool makers were frequently the armourers to the lord of the manor in times of war.

Initially axes were probably not hafted. The first true hafted axes are known from the Mesolithic period (ca. 6000 BC). Axes made from ground stone are known since the Neolithic. Few wooden hafts have been found from this period, but it seems that the axe was normally hafted by wedging. Birch-tar and raw-hide lashings were used to fix the blade.

Sometimes a short section of deer antler (an “antler sleeve”) was used, which prevented the splitting of the haft and softened the impact on the stone blade itself, helping absorb the impact of each axe blow and lessening the chances of breaking the handle. The antler was hollowed out at one end to create a socket for the axehead. The antler sheath was then either perforated and a handle inserted into it or set in a hole made in the handle instead.

The distribution of stone axes is an important indication of prehistoric trade. thin sectioning is used to determine the provenance of the stone blades. In Europe, Neolithic ‘axe factories’, where thousands of ground stone axes were roughed out are known from many places, such as:

Stone axes are still produced and in use today in parts of Irian Jaya, New Guinea. The Mount Hagen area was an important production centre.

From the late Neolithic/Chalcolithic onwards, axes were made of copper or copper mixed with arsenic. These axes were flat and hafted much like their stone predecessors. Axes continued to be made in this manner with the introduction of Bronze metallurgy. Eventually the hafting method changed and the flat axe developed into the ‘flanged axe,’ then palstaves, and later winged and socketed axes.

The Proto-Indo-European word for “axe” may have been pelek’u- (Greek pelekus p??e???, Sanskrit parashu, see also Parashurama), but the word was probably a loan, or a Neolithic wanderwort, ultimately related to Sumerian balag, Akkadian pilaku- .[citation needed]

At least since the late Neolithic, elaborate axes (battle-axes, T-axes, etc.) had a religious significance and probably indicated the exalted status of their owner. Certain types almost never show traces of wear; deposits of unshafted axe blades from the middle Neolithic (such as at the Somerset Levels in Britain) may have been gifts to the deities.

In Minoan Crete, the double axe (labrys) had a special significance, used by women priests in religious ceremonies. In 1998 a labrys, complete with an elaborately embellished haft, was found at Cham-Eslen, Canton of Zug, Switzerland. The haft was 120 cm long and wrapped in ornamented birch-bark. The axe blade is 17,4 cm long and made of antigorite, mined in the Gotthard-area. The haft goes through a biconical drilled hole and is fastened by wedges of antler and by birch-tar. It belongs to the early Cortaillod culture.

In the Roman fasces, the axe symbolized the authority to execute and were often used as symbols for Fascist Italy under Mussolini.

In folklore, stone axes were sometimes believed to be thunderbolts and were used to guard buildings against lightning, as it was believed (mythically) that lightning never struck the same place twice. This has caused some skewing of axe distributions.

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A bo (?: ??) or kon, is a long staff, usually made of tapered hard wood, for example white oak, bamboo and in some cases for training purposes, rotan. Sometimes it is made of metal or plated with metal for extra strength; also, a full-size bo is sometimes called a rokushakubo (???: ???????). This name derives from the Japanese words roku (?: ??), meaning “six”; shaku (?: ???); a Japanese measurement equivalent to 30.3 centimeters (0.994 ft); and bo. Thus, rokushakubo refers to a staff about 6-shaku (1.82 m; 5.96 feet) long. The bo is typically 3 cm (1.2 inch) thick , sometimes gradually tapering from the middle to 2 cm (0.8 inch)at both ends. This thickness allows the user to make a tight fist around it in order to block and counter an attack. The most common shape, maru-bo, is a round staff, while kaku-bo (four-sided staff), rokkaku-bo (six-sided staff), hakkaku-bo (eight-sided staff) also exist.[1] Other types of bo range from heavy to light, from rigid to highly flexible, and from simple pieces of wood picked up from the side of the road to ornately decorated works of art.

The Japanese martial art of wielding the bo is bojutsu. The basis of bo technique is te, or hand, techniques derived from Quanfa and other martial arts that reached Okinawa via trade and Chinese monks. Thrusting, swinging, and striking techniques often resemble empty-hand movements, following the philosophy that the bo is merely an “extension of one’s limbs”. [2] As in Okinawa-te, attacks are often avoided by agile footwork and returning strikes made at the enemy’s weak points. [2]

The bo is typically gripped in thirds, and when held horizontally in front, the right palm is facing away from the body and the left hand is facing the body, enabling the bo to rotate. The power is generated by the back hand pulling the bo, while the front hand is used for guidance. When striking, the wrist is twisted, as if turning the hand over when punching. [3] Bo technique includes a wide variety of blocks, strikes, sweeps, and entrapments. The bo may even be used to sweep sand into an opponent’s eyes.

The earliest form of the bo, a staff, has been used throughout Asia since the beginning of recorded history. [4] Used for self defense by monks or commoners, the staff was an integral part of the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu, one of the martial arts’ oldest surviving styles. The staff evolved into the bo with the foundation of kobudo, a martial art using weapons, which emerged in Okinawa in the early 1600s.

Prior to the 1400s, Okinawa, a small island located south of Japan, was divided into three kingdoms: Chuzan, Hokuzan, and Nanzan. After much political turmoil, Okinawa was united under the Sho Dynasty in 1429. In 1477, Emperor Sho Shin of the second Sho dynasty came into power. Determined to enforce his philosophical and ethical ideas, while banning feudalism, the emperor instituted a ban on weapons. It became a crime to carry or own weapons such as swords, in an attempt to prevent further turmoil and prevent uprising. [4]

In 1609, the temporary peace established by Sho Shin was violently overthrown when the powerful Satsuma Clan invaded Okinawa. Composed of Japanese samurai, the Satsuma Clan took over the island, making Okinawan independence a thing of the past. The Satsuma placed a new weapons ban on the people of Okinawa, leaving them defenseless against the steel of the samurai’s swords. In an attempt to protect themselves from the devastating forces of the Satsuma, the people of Okinawa looked to simple farming implements, which the samurai would not be able to confiscate, as new methods of defense. This use of weapons developed into kobudo, or “ancient martial art,” as we know it today. [4]

Although the bo is now used as a weapon, its use is believed by some to have evolved from non-combative uses[citation needed]. The bo-staff is thought to have been used to balance buckets or baskets. Typically, one would carry baskets of harvested crops or buckets of water or milk or fish, one at each end of the bo, that is balanced across the middle of the back at the shoulder blades. In poorer agrarian economies, the bo remains a traditional farm work implement.[citation needed] In styles such as Yamanni-ryu or Kenshin-ryu, many of the strikes are the same as those used for yari (“spear”) or naginata (“glaive”).[citation needed] There are stick fighting techniques native to just about every country on every continent.[citation needed]

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A balisong, otherwise known as a butterfly knife or a Batangas knife, is a Philippine folding pocket knife with two handles counter-rotating around the tang such that, when closed, the blade is concealed within grooves in the handles. In the hands of a trained user, the knife blade can be brought to bear quickly using one hand. Manipulations, called flipping, are performed for art or amusement.

A large version of balisong is known as Balisword, typically over three feet when opened.

While the meaning of the term “balisong” is not entirely clear, a popular belief is that it is derived from the Tagalog Language words baling sungay (literally, “broken horn”) as the original balisongs were made from carved animal horns.[1] These knives are also referred to as “fan knives” or “click clacks”.

Another suggested origin of the term “balisong” is its place of origin. There is a small town in Batangas called “Balisong” where the balisong is claimed to have been invented. Balisongs are handmade and forged there by makers using techniques passed down from generation to generation.

The use of the balisong is so popular in the Philippines that an urban legend exists about every Batangueño carrying it everywhere he goes.[2] They are a pocket utility knife used by people of Filipino society. They have also been used to fight duels over matters of honor, although such practices have been discontinued for hundreds of years.

The butterfly knife appears first documented in a 1710 French book, “Le Perret”, where an intricate and precise depiction of a butterfly knife is outlaid, explaining that the device was developed in the late 1500′s as a utility knife.[3] It then most likely came into popular use in the Philippines through transference intercontinentally to Spain, which coincides with the Spanish governance of the Philippines during that period.

There is conjecture attending to the balisong being an ancient Filipino invention dating back to 800 AD, stating it to be the most ancient of weapons of the Filipino fighting system of Eskrima[4].

During WWII ( 1945 ), U.S.Troops island hopping in the Pacific, returned home with balisong knives. These knives came in the typical pocket size lengths, and also lengths approaching 30+ inches. Vintage balisong knives have hand-ground, non-symmetrical carbon steel blades. The sharp edges formed right to the handle, leaving a small tang area, and are not usually marked by the maker with a modern western tang stamp. Collectors viewing antique carbon steel blade knives debate the exact details defining a traditional heirloom knives of the 1930′s, with post war knives made with shell brass. Longer ceremonial vintage knives periodically display hand carved designs that are filled with colored and clear Japanese lacquer, perhaps the inspiration for modern clear plastic designs.

There are two main types of balisong construction: sandwich construction and channel construction.

Sandwich constructed balisongs are assembled in layers that are generally pinned or screwed together. They allow the pivot pins to be adjusted tighter without binding. When the knife is closed, the blade rests between the layers.

For a channel constructed balisong, the main part of each handle is formed from one piece of material. In this handle, a groove is created (either by folding, milling, or being integrally cast) in which the blade rests when the knife is closed. This style is regarded as being stronger than sandwich construction.

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The Longsword is a type of European sword used during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 (with early and late use reaching into the 13th and 17th centuries, respectively). Longswords have lengthy cruciform hilts with grips over some 15 cm (6 in) in length (providing room for two hands), straight double-edged blades often over 90 cm (35 in) in length, and weigh typically between 1.2 and 1.4 kg (2½ to 3 lb), with light specimens just below 1 kg (2 lb), and heavy specimens just above 2 kg (4½ lb).[1]

The longsword is commonly held in combat with both hands, though some may be used single-handed. Longswords are used for striking, cutting, and thrusting. The specific offensive purpose of an individual longsword is derived from its physical shape. All parts of the sword are used for offensive purposes, including the pommel and crossguard.

Contemporary terminology includes the Dutch grootzwaard, German Langschwert, Italian spadone or spada longa (lunga) and Portuguese montante. The French épée bâtarde references the bastard sword, a type of longsword. The terms “hand-and-a-half sword”, “greatsword”, and “bastard sword” are used colloquially to refer to longswords in general.

The evolution of the sword before and after the development of the longsword was not entirely linear. Swords of an older type may have coexisted with newer variants for quite some time, making it difficult to trace a single path of sword evolution. Instead, the course of sword development is layered with some swords evolving from a previous type of sword, acting as its able contemporary, and eventually being abandoned while the original design continued in use for some time afterward. Similarly, variants of a particular type of sword may have come about not to replace it, but to simply coexist with it until a new evolution brought a close to both older types of weapons. Such situations present both the path of sword development as a whole and the encompassed rise and fall of the longsword as chronologically nebulous and confused by broad definitions, both modern and contemporary.

The relatively comprehensive Oakeshott typology was created by historian and illustrator Ewart Oakeshott as a way to define and catalogue swords based on physical form, though a rough sense of chronology is apparent. This typology does not set forth a prototypical definition for the longsword, however. Instead, it separates the broad field of weaponry into many exclusive types based on their predominant physical characteristics including blade shape and hilt configuration. The typology also focuses on the smaller, and in some cases contemporary[2], single-handed swords like the arming sword.

The longsword, with its longer grip and blade, appears to have become popular during the 14th century and remained in common use, as shown through period art and tale, from 1250 to 1550.[3] The longsword was a powerful and versatile weapon, but was not considered the only weapon needed for learning the arts of war. Sigmund Ringeck, an influential Fechtbuch (combat manual) author, writes that young knights should learn to “wrestle well, (and) skilfully wield spear, sword, and dagger in a manly way.”[4] It is apparent that even to a master swordsman, other weapons and techniques are of great importance for battle. For close personal infantry combat, however, the longsword was prized for its versatility and killing capability.[5]

It is in the Types XIIa and XIIIa that the first early variants of the longsword arise as simply longer versions of the single-handed sword. There are rare archeological findings of swords of this type from as early as the late 12th century.[6] Boasting both increased grip length and increased blade lengths, these weapons would have been powerful hewing swords, perhaps developed to further combat the prevalence of chain mail[7] and plate armour. These weapons also firmly fit the modern colloquial term “hand-and-a-half sword”, as Oakeshott notes, because they do not provide a full two-hand grip as do some early extant specimens and the 16th century Bidenhänder.

The bastard sword, or contemporary espée bastarde, is a type of sword dating from roughly the early 15th century. It received its name for fitting into neither the one-handed sword family, nor the two handed sword family, thus being labelled a “bastard”.[citation needed] These weapons featured longer grips similar to those found on the longswords. The extra space was not enough to allow both hands entirely, however, but was enough to provide for the use of a couple of fingers or a part of the palm, providing some extra leverage.[8] The grips of bastard swords often feature a “waisted” appearance, as in the Oakeshott Type XVIa.[9] The bastard sword, more so than the great sword, plays into the “hand-and-a-half sword” classification, as some great swords provided considerably more than an extra “half” hand for gripping. Similarly, the shorter length of the weapon at roughly 45 to 55 inches (115-140cm) put the sword halfway between the shorter single-handed sword and the larger (and occasionally fully two-handed) great sword.[10]

Like all other types of swords, the bastard sword existed in a number of configurations, generally tending towards a strongly tapered and thicker blade as time went on. This manifestation, along with a relatively small blade length in relation to hilt length, gave the sword a very precise and reactive nature that served well for cutting or thrusting, much like a side-sword.[9] The form of the bastard sword began very much like that of the greatsword, based in the beginning of the 15th century off transition swords evolving from the spatha. Like the transition swords, the first bastard swords featured a plain or cruciform cross-guard (cross) and a round or wheel pommel.[8] Later development of the weapon, however, saw the inclusion of curved quillions, ring guards, and compound hilts similar to those on baskethilts (swords like the schiavona that nearly enclosed the entire hand in a protective guard).[10] These served to provide increased protection for the wielder’s hands and may have also positively affected the balance of the weapon.

Such swords with compound hilts include the German Reitschwert, a form of cavalry sword, and the “Degen” or “Knight’s Sword”. It is possible, however, that these swords are in fact a single-handed manifestation of the estoc.[9]

While nearly every longsword is in some way different from another, most contain a few essential parts. The blade of the sword forms the cutting portion of the weapon and is usually double-edged. Blades came in a variety of shapes and sizes. Broad and thin blades are more effective for cutting-oriented longswords while thick tapering blades are found on varieties more effective at thrusting. However, all longswords were effective at cutting, slicing and thrusting and variations in form made only minor alterations in use. The hilt comprises the portion of the sword that is not the blade – essentially everything else. Like the blade, hilts evolved and changed over time in response to fashion and as the swords were designed for different specific purposes.

The blade of the medieval longsword is straight and predominantly double edged. The construction of the blade is relatively thin, with strength provided by careful blade geometry. Over time, as is evidenced in the Oakeshott typology and other similar systems, the blades of longswords become slightly longer, thicker in cross-section, less wide, and considerably more pointed. This design change is largely attributed to the use of plate armour as an effective defense, more or less nullifying the ability of a sword cut to break through the armour system. Instead of cutting, long swords were then used more to thrust against opponents in plate armour, requiring a more acute point and a more rigid blade. However, the cutting capability of the longsword was never entirely removed, as in some later rapiers, but was supplanted in importance by thrusting capability.

Blades differ considerably in cross-section, as well as in length and width. The two most basic forms of blade cross-section are the lenticular and diamond. Lenticular blades are shaped like thin doubly convex lenses, providing adequate thickness for strength in the center of the weapon while maintaining a thin enough edge geometry to allow a proper cutting edge to be ground. The diamond shaped blade slopes directly up from the edges, without the curved elements of the lenticular blade. The central ridge produced by this angular geometry is known as a riser, the thickest portion of the blade that provides ample rigidity. These basic designs are supplemented by additional forging techniques that incorporated slightly different variations of these cross-sections.

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A bayonet (from French baïonnette) is a knife-, dagger-, sword-’ or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on or over the muzzle of a rifle barrel or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear. It is a close quarter battle combat or last-resort weapon.

The origins of the bayonet are somewhat hazy. The term ‘Bayonette’ dates back to the end of the 16th century, but it is not clear if the weapon at the time was the weapon as is known today or simply a type of knife. For example, Cotgrave’s 1611 Dictionarie describes the Bayonet as ‘a kind of small flat pocket dagger, furnished with knives; or a great knife to hang at the girdle’. Likewise, Pierre Borel wrote in 1655 that a kind of long-knife called a ‘bayonette’ was made in Bayonne but does not give any further description [1].There is a legend that during the mid-17th century irregular military conflicts of rural France, the peasants of the Southern French town of Bayonne, who were Basques, having run out of powder and shot, rammed their long-bladed hunting knives into the muzzles of their primitive muskets to fashion impromptu spears and, by necessity, created an ancillary weapon. Another possibility is that the bayonet originated as a hunting weapon: early firearms were fairly inaccurate and took a long time to reload; thus a hunter of dangerous animals such as wild boar could easily have been exposed to danger if the hunter’s bullet missed the animal. The bayonet thus may have emerged to allow a hunter to fend off wild animals in the event of a missed shot. The weapon was introduced into the French army by General Jean Martinet and was common in most European armies by the 1660s.

There is some evidence that the first bayonet appeared in 13th century China[citation needed]. When the developer of the musket found they could not damage an enemy at close proximity, they introduced two types of firearm, one with an attached knife and the other a spear. One is called (Chinese:???), and the other is (Chinese:???)[citation needed].

The benefit of such a dual-purpose arm contained in one was soon apparent. The early muskets fired at a slow rate (about a round per minute when loading with loose powder and ball, and no more than 3–4 rounds per minute using paper cartridges), and were both inaccurate and unreliable. Bayonets provided a useful addition to the weapons system when an enemy charging to contact could cross the musket’s killing ground (a range of approximately 100 yards/metres at the most optimistic) at the expense of perhaps only one or two volleys from their waiting opponents. A foot-long bayonet, extending to a regulation 17 inches (approx. 43 centimetres) during the Napoleonic period, on a 5-foot (around 1.5 metre) tall musket achieved a reach similar to the infantry spear, and later halberd, of earlier times. The bayonet/musket combination was however considerably heavier than a polearm of the same length.

Early bayonets were of the “plug” type. The bayonet had a round handle that slid directly into the musket barrel. This naturally prevented the gun from being fired. In 1671, plug bayonets were issued to the French regiment of fusiliers then raised. They were issued to part of an English dragoon regiment raised in 1672 and disbanded in 1674, and to the Royal Fusiliers when raised in 1685. The danger incurred by the use of this bayonet (which put a stop to all fire) was felt so early that the younger Puysgur saw a ring-bayonet in 1678 which could be fixed without stopping the fire. The defeat of forces loyal to William of Orange by Jacobite Highlanders at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689 was due (among other things) to the use of the plug-bayonet; and shortly afterwards the defeated leader, Hugh Mackay, is believed to have introduced a ring-bayonet of his own invention. Soon “socket” bayonets offset the blade from the musket barrel’s muzzle. The bayonet attached over the outside of the barrel with a ring-shaped socket, secured on later models by a spring-loaded catch on the muzzle of the musket barrel.

A trial with badly fitting socket or zigzag bayonets was made after the battle of Fleurus, 1690, in the presence of Louis XIV, who refused to adopt them. Shortly after the Peace of Ryswick (1697), the English and Germans abolished the pike and introduced these bayonets, and plates of them are given in Surirey de St. Remy’s Mémoires d’Artillerie, published in Paris in that year; but owing to a military cabal they were not issued to the French infantry until 1703. Henceforward, the bayonet became, with the musket or other firearm, the typical weapon of infantry.

Many socket bayonets were triangular in cross-section in order to provide flexing strength in the blade without much increase in weight. Flexing strength was needed in case a bayonet struck a hard object: better to have it bend and be repairable, than have it be stiff and shatter on impact. This design of bayonet did not usually include a grip for using the bayonet apart from the gun, although a socket bayonet was deemed a sidearm anyway, especially in the British army of 1775.

The triangular bayonet, unlike an old urban legend, was not designed to create stab wounds “that were difficult to stitch when attended to by a medic, as it is more difficult to stitch a three-sided wound than a two-sided one, thus making the wound more likely to become infected”.[citation needed] This quote ignores the reality of surgery, in that surgeons have sewn up jagged wounds using more stitches when needed, since time immemorial. Instead, three sided bayonets were designed to be an economical compromise between flexing strength and the amount of wrought iron needed to make the bayonet (compare to a structural steel Tee-beam).

Similarly, in the Soviet Union, later bayonet blades, now made of steel, were stiffened with a small cross-section in the form of a cross, in order to make them more compact in form and fold better onto the sides of their rifles (see Mosin Nagant model of 1944). It is said that self-inflicted wounds made by soldiers to get themselves out of the line of battle would be recognized as such and bring them greater disciplinary punishment.[citation needed] In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque, the book’s author, reported that in World War I French soldiers killed German prisoners who had serrated blade bayonets, as they assumed they were for cutting off the limbs of Allied soldiers. These were carried by combat engineers as tools and by NCOs as signs of rank.

18th and 19th century military tactics included various massed bayonet charges and defenses. The Russian Army used the bayonet the most frequently in any Napoleonic conflict. Their motto was “The Bullet is foolish, the Bayonet wise”. This implies that the bullet of a smoothbore musket was wildly inaccurate at ranges past 50 yards (which was true in most cases), but with the close quarters of bayonet fighting, it was hard to miss. It should be noted, however, that in the thick of a close-quarter combat, many soldiers revert to using bayonet-mounted rifles as clubs, this apparently being a more “natural” way of fighting (as described by military historians like John Keegan).

Bayonets were experimented with through much of the 18th and 19th centuries. In the United States Navy before the American Civil War, bayonet blades were even affixed to single-shot pistols, although they soon proved useless for anything but cooking. Cutlasses remained the favoured weapon for the navies of the time, though Queen Victoria’s Royal Navy gave up the pikes once used to repel attacks by boarders in favor of the cutlass bayonet.

The 19th century finally saw the popularity of the sword bayonet. It was a long-bladed weapon with a single- or double-edged blade that could also be used as a shortsword. Its initial purpose was to ensure that riflemen, when in ranks with musketmen, whose weapons were longer, could form square properly to fend off cavalry attacks, when sword bayonets were fitted. A prime early example of a sword bayonet-fitted rifle would be the British Infantry Rifle of 1800-1840, later known as the “Baker Rifle”. (However, one usually removed the sword bayonet on the Infantry Rifle before firing; the weight at the end of the barrel affected balance and stability, hence accuracy)

The hilt usually had quillons modified to accommodate the gun barrel, and a hilt mechanism that enabled the bayonet to be attached to a bayonet lug. When dismounted, a sword bayonet could be used in combat as a side arm. When attached to the musket or rifle, it effectively turned almost any long gun into a spear or glaive, suitable not only for thrusting but also for slashing. World War I saw the shortening of sword bayonets into knife-sized weapons, usable as fighting knives or trench knives, so that the vast majority of modern bayonets are knife bayonets.

Modern bayonets are often knife-shaped with either a handle and a socket, or are permanently attached to the rifle as with the SKS. Depending on where and when a specific SKS was manufactured, it may have a permanently attached bayonet with a knife-shaped blade (Russian, Romanian, Yugoslavian, early Chinese), or a cruciform (late Chinese) or triangular (Albanian) spike bayonet, or no bayonet at all.

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A truncheon or baton (also called a cosh, billystick, billy club, nightstick, sap, blackjack, stick) is essentially a stick of less than arms-length, usually made of wood, plastic, or metal, and carried by law enforcement, corrections, security, and (to a less common degree) military personnel for less-lethal self-defense, as well as control and to disperse combative and non-compliant subjects. A truncheon may be used to strike, jab, block, and aid in the application of armlocks. Truncheons are used to a lesser extent by non-officials because of their easy concealment, and are outlawed in many jurisdictions.

In the Victorian era, police in London carried truncheons about one foot long called bully clubs (from the word bully, a nickname for police officers). This impact weapon has developed into several varieties available today. The truncheon is a straitstick (see below) made from wood or a synthetic material, approximately one and a quarter inches in diameter, and from 18 to 36 inches (910 mm) long, with a fluted handle to aid in gripping. Truncheons are often ornamented with their organization’s coats of arms. Longer truncheons are called “riot batons” because of their use in riot control.

Truncheons probably developed as a marriage between the club/mace and the staff of office/sceptre.

Making straight batons of rubber gives a softer impact. Some of the kinetic energy bends and compresses the rubber and bounces off when the object is struck. The Russian police standard issue baton is rubber, except in places, like Siberia, cold enough that the rubber can become brittle and break if struck against something.

The traffic baton is red to make it more visible when being used as a signaling aid when directing traffic.

Until the mid-1990s British police officers carried traditional wooden truncheons of a sort which had changed little from the Victorian era. After the early 1990s, forces replaced truncheons with side-handle and collapsible batons for all but ceremonial duties.

Per the use-of-force policies of most American law enforcement agencies and departments, a baton may be used in a use of force situation when deploying a firearm would be inappropriate or unjustified, but greater force is needed than that which can be met by bare hands.

A peace officer not equipped with a baton may be forced to choose between two extremes in responding to criminal assault: bare hands or firearms. Thus, the baton fills an intermediate role in the weapons available to peace officers, and gives flexibility to defend against physical attack proportionately.

If a peace officer is fired upon by a suspect with a handgun from a distance of several meters, the situation may dictate the officer’s best option is seeking cover, and returning fire with his or her sidearm, if the officer were so equipped. If an unarmed suspect passively resists arrest, and is not actively assaultive against the arresting officer, striking the suspect with a baton in order to gain compliance may (or may not, depending on the use-of-force policy of the officer’s department) be thought excessive force.

Between these extremes (in terms of the threat posed to the officer), a baton would prove useful. If an unarmed suspect tried to attack an officer at arm’s length, and the officer was of lesser strength and size, and couldn’t defend against the suspect without using weapons, it would be fair and prudent for the officer to subdue with baton strikes to non-critical areas of the body. Baton strikes may be justified and ideal in an attack by many unarmed suspects.

Before the 1970s, it was common for law enforcement in the United Kingdom to “skull” a suspect (hit him or her on the head)[citation needed] in order to stun them or knock them unconscious. However, this was unreliable and could be fatal. Civil lawsuits and claims of police brutality resulted in better training to officers. In modern police training it is not permitted to hit the skull, sternum, spine or groin unless the situation is such that such an attack is unavoidable. Now the primary targets are nerves like the common peroneal nerve, or large muscles like the quadriceps or biceps.

Unless otherwise justified (as in a deadly force scenario), the officer avoids directing baton strikes towards the head, neck, face, spine, organs, kneecaps, elbow joints, collarbone, or groin. Strikes that hit there can cause serious or permanent injury or death. Directing baton strikes towards non-critical areas of the body, such as arms and legs, is less likely to produce serious or permanent injury or death.

Despite precautions to minimize blunt trauma, a baton strike to a non-critical area of the body can still be lethal. For example, a strike to a leg can cause a blood clot to develop that if is not detected and treated, can kill.

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“Blowpipe” and “blow tube” redirect here. For other uses of the terms, see Glassblowing

A blowgun (also called a blowpipe or blow tube) is a simple weapon consisting of a small tube for firing light projectiles, or darts. The wielder blows into one end, forcing the dart out the other. Its propulsive power is limited by its user’s respiratory muscles.

Sometimes, for increased effectiveness, the dart is tipped with a poison, most famously curare.

Many cultures have used this weapon, but various indigenous rain forest tribes in South America and South East Asia are the best known wielders. Blowguns are very rarely used by these tribes as antipersonnel weapons, but primarily to hunt small game such as monkeys.

North American Cherokees were known for making blowguns out of river cane to supplement their diet with rabbits and other small creatures.

Today’s modern man uses the lung-powered blowgun with tranquilizer darts to capture wildlife or to stun caged dangerous animals. Herpetologists find the blowgun extremely useful in capturing elusive lizards with stun darts. Today, many people are finding that blowguns offer quite a challenging sport. With different darts to choose from, blowguns are finding their way into everyday society. With the introduction of paintballs and stun darts, the blowgun offers a wide variety of sporting activities.

Some modern blowguns have removable sections, and as a result, paintball adaptors have been made so that people can use blowguns as back up weapons. Some may even play it similarly to slingshot paintball.

see also: fukiya for standard pursued by IFA

There are several competition styles practiced around the world. A standardization of competition style, based upon fukiya, is being pursued by the International Fukiyado Association and hoped to become an Olympic event. It is a 10 meter target shooting, using a standardized barrel caliber and length, and a standardized dart length and weight, as outlined by IFA.

Two other styles are also being pursued to make up the Olympic blowgun event, both based upon the Cherokee Annual Gathering Blowgun Competition. The Field Style competition is similar to the winter Biathlon, where the shooter runs from a starting line to a target lane, shoots and retrieves the darts, and continue to the next station. The course length varies from 400 to 800 m or longer, with between 9 to 16 targets at various heights and shooting distances. The final style is the Long Distance target shoot. The target is a circle of 24 cm diameter, and the firing line is 20 meters away. Three darts are fired by each shooter, at least one must stick in the target. All successful shooters move to the next round, moving back 2 meters each time.

The sport blowgun is managed by International Fukiya Association, with which national associations in the United States, France, Germany and the Philippines are affiliated.

As a primitive weapon, there are no set dimension for blowgun’s length and diameter. However, typically there are three sizes:

In the United Kingdom, the blowgun is categorized as an offensive weapon under the 1988 Criminal Justice Act, and as such it is illegal to manufacture, sell or hire or offer for sale or hire, expose or have in ones possession for the purpose of sale or hire, or lend or give to any other person. Antique blowguns are however exempt.

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