Blunted Spear Head – Medium – Lord of Battles

This blunted spear head for stage and sport combat is crafted from high carbon steel. The tip flares out into a large, flat button for additional safety. The spearhead is designed to be fitted onto a tapered shaft; it has an open-socket design that allows some of the tapered tip of the haft to slide forward of the socket and along the base of the blade to get a tighter fit if necessary.

Many underestimate the value of the spear when compared with the sword and many incorrectly assume the swords is a professional weapon whereas the spear is a peasant, militia and low-ranking soldiers weapon. The spear was certainly held in high regard among both Vikings and Samurai – who for many the spear was their primary weapon and the sword was a sidearm. It is true however that the spear is the weapon of choice for hastily equipped forces, whereas the sword in many cultures was a more expensive professionals weapon – though this is a overly broad generalization and not a rule.

Though in dueling scenarios the spear can be disadvantaged by a swordsman who gets within reach, it is with battlefield or group combat where the spear truly shines. It is one thing for a swordsman to get past the spearpoint of a single spearman, it is quite another to advance into a group of trained spearmen with good formation and members who know how to support one another – a much more difficult prospect and a foolish proposition for most swordsmen, or even a group of them.

When the spear is on the advance it is difficult for an opponent to defend against multiple spearmen, as it can strike from quite a distance from varying directions and angles from different warriors – it is a hard thing to gauge, judge and defend against. This is why a 13th century Norwegian battle manual, the Konungs skuggsj identifies a single spear as being worth two swords in a battle line.

It is this battle effectiveness among trained spearmen as to why the spear was the heart of the dark age shield wall and why it was reborn in the late Medieval and Renaissance period as the longer pike – a weapon that dominated battlefields until the advent of massed and relatively reliable gunpowder weaponry.