This is a list of historical weapon

Weapon

A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...

s, divided into categories of melee weapons and ranged weapons. They are further subdivided by weapon type and then ordered alphabetically. Although primarily consisting of cold weapon

Cold weapon

A cold weapon is any weapon that does not involve fire or explosions as a result from the use of gun powder or other explosive materials....

s, early gunpowder weapons are also included.

Weapons are grouped according to their uses, with rough classes set aside for very similar weapons. Some weapons may fit more than one category (e.g. the spear may be used either as a pole weapon or as a projectile). Bladed hilt weapons follow Col. D.H. Gordon's classification where applicable.

Hand or fist weapons and fans

Single-handed weapons not resembling a straight dagger blade. Usually wielded without wrist action. Often protects the forearm.

• Bagh nakh (South Asia)
• Brass Knuckles
  Brass knuckles
  Brass knuckles, also sometimes called knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, or knuckledusters, are weapons used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal, usually steel despite their name, shaped to fit around the knuckles...
  
  , Knuckle Dusters (Europe)
• Cestus
  Cestus
  A cestus is an ancient battle glove, sometimes used in pankration. They were worn as are today's boxing gloves, but were made with leather strips and sometimes filled with iron plates or fitted with blades or spikes, and used as weapons.-Terminology:...
  
  , Bladed Cestus, Caestus, Myrmex, Sphairai (Mediterranean)
• Deer Horn Knives
  Deer Horn Knives
  Deer Horn Knives , also known as crescent moon knives, are specialised Chinese bladed weapons consisting of two steel crescents crossing. They are used in Chinese martial arts. This crossing produces four curved, clawlike points, one of which is extended as the "main" blade. The practitioner grips...
  
   (China)
• Finger Knife (Africa)
• Gauntlets (Europe)
• Indian Parrying Weapon (India)
• Katara, Suwaiya (कटार) (South Asia)
• Korean Fan, Mu Puche, Tempered Birch Fan (Korea)
• Madu
  Madu
  A madu is an Indian parrying and thrusting weapon. It consists of a pair of antelope horns fastened behind a small plate consisting of stretched leather, iron, or steel with the tips of the horns pointing in opposite directions. The tips of the horns were often sheathed in steel, and the small...
  
  , Buckhorn Parrying Stick, Maru (South Asia)
• Nyepel, Larim Fighting Bracelet (Africa)
• Pata, Sword Gauntlet (South Asia)
• Push dagger
  Push dagger
  A push dagger is a short-bladed dagger with a "T" handle designed to be grasped in the hand so that the blade protrudes from the front of one's fist, typically between the 2nd and 3rd finger...
  
   (India)
• Roman Scissor
  Scissor (gladiator type)
  The Scissor was a type of Roman gladiator about which almost nothing beyond the name, meaning "cutter, cleaver, render" The Scissor (pl. scissoris) was a type of Roman gladiator about which almost nothing beyond the name, meaning "cutter, cleaver, render" The Scissor (pl. scissoris) was a type of...
  
   (Mediterranean; not well attested. May have been a semicircular blade affixed to the end of a metal cylinder encasing the forearm.)
• Tekagi-shuko, Neko-te (Japan)
• Tekko
  Tekko
  The , which originated in Okinawa, Japan, falls into the category of a "fist-load weapon".By definition, a fist-load weapon increases the mass of the hand so that, given the physical proportionality between the fist's momentum and its mass, it increases the force the bearer can deliver...
  
   (Japan)
• Tessen
  Japanese war fan
  A war fan is a fan designed for use in warfare. Several types of war fans were used by the samurai class of feudal Japan.-Description:War fans varied in size, materials, shape and use. One of the most significant uses was as a signalling device...
  
  , Iron Fan (Japan)
• Wind and fire wheels
  Wind and fire wheels
  Wind-and-fire wheels are mêlée weapons, wielded as a pair, associated with Chinese martial arts such as baguazhang and taijiquan.Each wheel is a flat metal ring approximately 38 cm in diameter. One quarter-segment has a padded grip with a cross-guard; the other three segments have protruding...
  
   (China)

Straight shortswords

• Baselard
  Baselard
  The baselard is a historical type of dagger or short sword of the Late Middle Ages.In modern use by antiquarians, the term baselard is mostly reserved for a type of 14th...
  
  , Basilard (Europe)
• Bilbo
  Bilbo (sword)
  The bilbo, a thrusting-sword, seems to take its name from its place of manufacture: Bilbao , famed for its sword-blades, and formerly known as Bilboa in English. Bilbos have well-tempered and flexible blades. It was very popular aboard ships, where it was used on a similar role as the cutlass was...
  
   (Europe)
• Bronze/Iron Sword, Celtic Dagger, Celtic Sword, Leaf-Shaped Dagger, Leaf-Shaped Sword (Europe)
• Cinquedea
  Cinquedea
  The cinquedea is a civilian short sword . It was developed in northern Italy and enjoyed a period of popularity during the Italian renaissance of the 15th and early 16th centuries....
  
  , Anelace (Europe)
• Colichemarde
  Colichemarde
  Colichemarde is a type of small sword blade that was popular from the late 17th century to the middle 18th century.-Overview:The small sword is considered to be a descendant of the "transition rapier", which itself evolved from the rapier due to the demand for a lighter sword better suited to...
  
   (Europe)
• Cossack Dagger, Kama, Khanjali, Khanjarli, Kinjal, Ottoman Quama, Quama (Middle East)
• Gladius
  Gladius
  Gladius was the Latin word for sword, and is used to represent the primary sword of Ancient Roman soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those used by the Greeks. From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the early...
  
   (Europe, Mediterranean)
• Misericorde (Europe)
• Small sword
  Small sword
  The small sword or smallsword is a light one-handed sword designed for thrusting which evolved out of the longer and heavier rapier of the late Renaissance. The height of the small sword's popularity was between mid 17th and late 18th century...
  
   (Europe)
• Swiss dagger
  Swiss dagger
  The Swiss dagger is a distinctive type of dagger used in Switzerland and by Swiss mercenaries during the 16th century.It develops from similar dagger types known as basler which were in use during the 14th and 15th centuries...
  
  , Holbein Dagger, Schweizerdegen (Europe)
• Xiphos (Mediterranean)

Curved shortswords

• Aikuchi, Haikuchi (Japan)
• Barong (Southeast Asia)
• Kodachi
  Kodachi
  A , literally translating into "small or short tachi ", is a Japanese sword that is too long to be considered a dagger but too short to be a long sword...
  
  , Chisakatana (Japan)
• Pinuti (Southeast Asia)
• Shikomizue (Japan)
• Talibon (Southeast Asia)
• Wakizashi
  Wakizashi
  The is one of the traditional Japanese swords worn by the samurai class in feudal Japan.-Description:...
  
   (Japan)

Sword

Sword

A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

s

Long swords were classified by Col. Gordon as longer than 28 inches/71 cm.

Curved one-handed swords

• Ayudha Katti (South and Southeast Asian)
• Backsword
  Backsword
  A backsword is a sword with a blade on one edge, or an "edge-and-a-quarter." The back of the sword is often the thickest part of the blade and acts to support and strengthen it....
  
   (European)
• Cutlass
  Cutlass
  A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket shaped guard...
  
  , Hanger, Hangar (European)
• Dao
  Dao (sword)
  Daois a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping , often called a broadsword in English translation because some varieties have wide blades. In China, the dao is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the gun , qiang , and the jian , and referred...
  
  , Beidao, Zhibei dao (Chinese)
• Dha
  Dha (sword)
  Dha is the Burmese word for "knife." The term dha is conventionally used refer to a wide variety of knives and swords used by many people across Indochina, especially present-day Myanmar , Thailand, Yunnan, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.-Origins:The broad use and diffusion of the dha across Southeast...
  
   (Southeast Asian)
• Dussack
  Dussack
  A Dussack is a type of short, single-edged sword from Central and Eastern Europe ....
  
  , Disackn, Dusack, Dusagge, Dusegg, Dusegge, Dysack, Tesak, Thuseckn, Tuseckn (European; debated. Although some list this weapon only as a wooden practice sword, others state that there are real, metal examples.)
• Falchion
  Falchion
  A falchion is a one-handed, single-edged sword of European origin, whose design is reminiscent of the Persian scimitar and the Chinese dao....
  
   (European)
• Hunting sword
  Hunting sword
  A hunting sword is a type of single-handed shortsword that dates to the 12th Century but was used during hunting parties among Europeans from the 17th to the 19th centuries. A hunting sword usually has a straight, single-edged, pointed blade typically no more than 25 inches long. This sword...
  
   (European)
• Kampilan
  Kampilan
  The kampílan is a type of single-edged long sword of the Filipino people. Being ancient origin, it has been used in the Philippine islands of Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon for centuries, used for head-chopping....
  
   (Southeast Asian)
• Karabela
  Karabela
  A karabela was a type of Polish sabre . Perhaps one of the most famous types of that type of weapons, it became highly popular in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 1670s...
  
   (European)
• Kastane (Southeast Asia))
• Kilij
  Kilij
  A kilij is a type of saber used by the Turks throughout history starting from late Hsiung-nu period to Avar Empire and Göktürk Khaganate, Uyghur Khaganate, Seljuk Empire, Timurid Empire, Mamluk Empire, Ottoman Empire, and later Turkic Khanates of Central Asia...
  
   (Middle Eastern)
• Klewang
  Klewang
  The klewang is a traditional single-edged sword from Indonesia. In size, weight and shape it is halfway between the golok and the kampilan. The style of the klewang differs between the various cultures of Indonesia; there are straight bladed types, but most are curved.During the Aceh War the...
  
   (Southeast Asian)
• Krabi
  Krabi (sword)
  The krabi is a type of single-edged curved sword used in Thailand. Though used throughout many parts of Southeast Asian culture, this weapon was mainly adapted for the Thai martial art of Krabi Krabong, in which the Krabi can be used either by itself, or dual wielded....
  
   (Southeast Asian)
• Liuyedao
  Liuyedao
  The Liuyedao , is a type of dao that was commonly used as a military sidearm for both cavalry and infantry during the Ming and Qing dynasties. This weapon features a moderate curve along the length of the blade. This reduces thrusting ability while increasing the power of cuts and slashes....
  
   (Chinese)
• Mameluke
  Mameluke Sword
  A Mameluke sword is a cross-hilted, curved, scimitar-like sword historically derived from sabres used by Mamluk warriors of Mamluk Egypt from whom the sword derives its name. It is related to the shamshir, which had its origins in Persia from where the style migrated to India, Egypt and North...
  
   (Middle Eastern)
• Messer
  Messer (weapon)
  Messel during the German Late Middle Ages and Renaissance  was a term for the class of single-edged bladed weapons, deriving from the medieval falchion and preceding the modern sabre.Its hilt included a straight cross-guard and...
  
  , Großmesser, Hiebmesser, Kriegsmesser, Langes messer (European)
• Nimcha
  Nimcha
  A Nimcha is a single-handed sword from northwestern Africa, especially Morocco, a type of scimitar or saif.These blades are usually from the late 18th century onwards and are notable for often using older blades. Many nimcha have European blades from as early as the 17th century, and from as far...
  
   (African)
• Piandao
  Piandao
  The Piandao is a type of Chinese sabre used during the late Ming Dynasty. A deeply curved dao meant for slashing and draw-cutting, it bore a strong resemblance to the shamshir and scimitar. A fairly uncommon weapon, it was generally used by skirmishers in conjunction with a shield....
  
   (Chinese)
• Pulwar
  Pulwar
  A pulwar is a single handed curved sword from Afghanistan and neighbouring regions of Pakistan and Northwestern India.-Characteristics:...
  
   (Middle Eastern)
• Sabre
  Sabre
  The sabre or saber is a kind of backsword that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger...
  
  , Briquet (European)
• Schweizersäbel (European)
• Scimitar
  Scimitar
  A scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia .The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular.The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim...
  
  , Saif (Middle Eastern)
• Shamshir
  Shamshir
  A Shamshir also Shamsheer and Chimchir, is a type of sabre with a curve that is considered radical for a sword: 5 to 15 degrees from tip to tip. The name is derived from Persian شمشیر shamshīr, which means "sword"...
  
   (Middle Eastern)
• Shashka (European)
• Szabla
  Szabla
  Szabla is the Polish word for sabre. It specifically refers to an Eastern European one-edged sabre-like mêlée weapon with a curved blade and, in most cases, a two-bladed tip called a feather . Initially used by light cavalry, with time it also evolved into a variety of arms used both for martial...
  
   (European)
• Talwar
  Talwar
  The talwar is a type of curved sword or sabre from India and modern-day Pakistan...
  
   (Middle Eastern)
• Yanmaodao
  Yanmaodao
  The Yanmaodao is a type of dao used as a standard military weapon during the Ming Dynasty and middle Qing Dynasty . The blade is straight until the curve begins around the center of percussion along the last 1/4 or so of the blade approaching the tip...
  
   (Chinese)

Straight one-handed swords

• Arming sword
  Arming sword
  The arming sword is the single handed cruciform sword of the High Middle Ages, in common use between ca. 1000 and 1500, possibly remaining in rare use into the 16th century...
  
  , War Sword (European)
• Basket-hilted sword
  Basket-hilted sword
  The basket-hilted sword is the name of a group of early modern sword types characterized by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. The basket hilt is a development of the quillons added to swords' crossguards since the Late Middle Ages...
  
  , Broadsword, Heavy Cavalry Sword, Mortuary sword, Schiavona (European)
• Chokutō
  Chokuto
  The is a type of Japanese sword that dates back to pre-Heian times. Chokutō were made in later periods, but usually as temple offering swords. Chokutō were straight and single-edged hacking swords. That chokutō's design was originally imported to Japan from China, though seemingly most often...
  
    (Japanese)
• Claymore
  Claymore
  The term claymore refers to the Scottish variant of the late medieval longsword, two-handed swords with a cross hilt, of which the guards were in use during the 15th and 16th centuries.-Terminology:...
  
   (European)
• Épée (European. Although now a fencing practice weapon, it originally was a stiff, heavy, triangular-bladed thrusting sword weighing about 30oz.)
• Espada ropera
  Espada ropera
  The espada ropera was a sword developed in the mid-15th century in Spain. The name referred to swords worn by civilians, as opposed for those meant for battlefield use. Compared to earlier swords, the espada ropera was lighter, thinner, and more ornate. It was first mentioned in an inventory of Don...
  
   (European)
• Estoc
  Estoc
  The French estoc or English "tuck" was a variation of the longsword focused intensely on fighting against mail or plate armour. It was long, straight and stiff, with a diamond or triangular cross-section. An estoc had no cutting edge, just a point. Examples from Poland are more than long, with a...
  
   (European)
• Firangi, Firanghi (Central Asian)
• Flamberge (European)
• Flyssa
  Flyssa
  Flyssa is the traditional sword of the Kabyles tribe of Algeria and part of Morocco during the 19th century and earlier. These type of swords come with blades of various sizes from 12 up to 38 inches. This type of sword was used to break open mail armour, which was still worn in that part of the...
  
   (African)
• Hwandudaedo
  Hwandudaedo
  The Hwandudaedo is a type of ancient Korean sword from the Three Kingdoms of Korea era The Hwandudaedo, a type of Sohwandudaedo, were decorated swords first seen in the south with a folded blade and a ring pommel...
  
   (Korean)
• Ida
  Ida (Sword)
  The Ida is a kind of sword used by the Yoruba people of West Africa. It is a long sword with a narrow to wide blade and sheathe. The sword is sharp, and cuts on contact but begins to dull if not sharpened regularly. It can be single-edged or double-edged....
  
   (African)
• Jian
  Jian
  The jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BCE during the Spring and Autumn Period; one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Goujian.Historical one-handed versions have blades...
  
   (Chinese)
• Kaskara
  Kaskara
  The Kaskara was a type of broadsword characteristic of Sudan and Chad. The blade of the kaskara was usually about a yard long, double edged and with a spatulate tip. While most surviving examples are from the 19th century, the type is believed to have originated in the 16th century, and may...
  
   (African)
• Katzbalger
  Katzbalger
  A Katzbalger is a short Renaissance arming sword, notable for its sturdy build and a distinctive s-shaped or figure-8 shaped guard. Measuring 75–85 cm long and weighing 1–2 kg, it was the signature blade of the Landsknecht...
  
   (European)
• Khanda
  Khanda (sword)
  The blade is usually broad and quite heavy and broadens from the hilt to the tip. The blade transforms into tip rather abruptly. The hilt has a small metal spike coming out in the opposite direction typical of the khanda...
  
   (South Asian)
• Longsword
  Longsword
  The longsword is a type of European sword designed for two-handed use, current during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 .Longswords have long cruciform hilts with grips over 10 to 15 cm length The longsword (of which stems the variation called the bastard...
  
  , Grootzwaard, Langschwert, Spadone, Spada Longa (Lunga), Montante (European)
• Malibar Coast Sword (Southeast Asian)
• Ninjatō
  Ninjato
  The , also known as or , is the most common name for the sword that the ninja are portrayed to have carried by ninja in television and movies. Historically, there is no physical evidence for the existance of this weapon. In reality, the katana was probably the ninja's weapon of choice...
  
   (Japanese)
• Rapier
  Rapier
  A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
  
   (European)
• Saingeom
  Saingeom
  The saingeom is a type of Joseon-era sword from Western Korea fairly common in the Ai-Ching province. It has a 90 centimeter blade, produced primarily by molding rather than hammering....
  
   (Korean)
• Side-sword (European)
• Spadroon
  Spadroon
  The Spadroon is a light sword with a straight blade of the cut and thrust type. The style became popular among military and naval officers in the 1790s, spreading from England to the United States and to France, where it was known as the épée Anglaise. Hilts were often of the beaded or "five-ball"...
  
   (European)
• Spatha
  Spatha
  The spatha was a type of straight sword, measuring between , in use throughout first millennium AD Europe, and in the territory of the Roman Empire until about 600 AD. Later swords from 600 AD to 1000 AD are recognizable derivatives, though they are not spathae.The spatha was used in gladiatorial...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Takoba
  Takoba
  Takoba is the sword that is used across the western Sahel and among ethnic groups such as the Tuareg, the Hausa, the Fulani. It usually measures about one meter. Takoba blades can exhibit several notable features, including three or more hand-ground fuller grooves and a rounded point...
  
   (African)
• Tibetan Jian (Middle Asian)
• Tsurugi
  Tsurugi
  "Tsurugi" is a Japanese word used to refer to any type of broadsword, or those akin to the Chinese . The word is used in the West to refer to a specific type of Japanese straight, double-edged sword no longer in common use.-Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi:...
  
   (Japanese)

Curved two-handed swords

• Dōtanuki
  Dotanuki
  Dōtanuki is a name assumed by a number of Japanese swordsmiths from the Eiroku period onwards, originally named for their place of origin in Kikuchi, old Higo province...
  
   (Japanese)
• Katana
  Katana
  A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
  
   (Japanese)
• Miao dao
  Miao dao
  The Miao Dao is a Chinese two-handed dao or saber of the Republican era, with a narrow blade of up to 1.2 meters or more and a long hilt. The name means "sprout saber", presumably referring to a likeness between the weapon and a newly sprouted plant...
  
    (Chinese)
• Nandao
  Nandao
  Nandao is a kind of sword that is nowadays used mostly in contemporary Chinese wushu exercises and forms. It is the southern variation of the "northern broadsword", or Beidao. Its blade bears some resemblance to the butterfly sword, also a southern Chinese single-bladed weapon; the main difference...
  
   (Chinese)
• Nihontō (Japanese)
• Panabas
  Panabas
  The Panabas is a large, forward-curved sword, used by Muslim tribes in the southern Philippines. It can range in size from 2 to 4 feet and can be held with one or both hands, delivering a deep, meat-cleaver-like cut. In their heyday, they were used as a combat weapon, as an execution tool, and as a...
  
   (Filipino)
• Tachi
  Tachi
  The is one type of traditional Japanese sword worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan.-History and description:With a few exceptions katana and tachi can be distinguished from each other if signed, by the location of the signature on the tang...
  
   (Japanese)
• Uchigatana
  Uchigatana
  The is one type type of traditional Japanese sword worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The uchigatana was the descendant of the tachi.-History:...
  
   (Japanese)

Hand-and-a-half and two-handed greatswords

• Assamese Dao (Indian, Southeast Asian)
• Boar Sword (European)
• Changdao
  Changdao
  Changdao was a type of anti-cavalry sword used in China during the Ming Dynasty. Sometimes called Miao dao , the blade very much resembles a Japanese ōdachi...
  
   (Chinese)
• Claidheamh Da Laimh, Highland Sword (European)
• Dadao
  Dadao
  The dadao one of the varieties of dao or Chinese saber, is also known as the Chinese great sword. Based on agricultural knives, dadao have broad blades generally between two and three feet long, long hilts meant for "hand and a half" or two-handed use, and generally a weight-forward balance...
  
   (Chinese)
• Espadon (European)
• Executioner's sword
  Executioner's sword
  An executioner's sword is a sword designed specifically for decapitation of condemned criminals . These swords were intended for two-handed use, but were lacking a point, so that their overall length was typically that of a single-handed sword...
  
  , Heading Sword, Sword of Justice (European)
• Flame-bladed sword, Flambard, Flammard, Flammenschwert (European)
• Great sword
  Great sword
  The term great sword or greatsword refers to an example of any of a number of large swords used in medieval Europe:* Longsword, in both the Middle Ages and Renaissance....
  
   (European)
• Katana
  Katana
  A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
  
   (Japanese)
• Longsword
  Longsword
  The longsword is a type of European sword designed for two-handed use, current during the late medieval and Renaissance periods, approximately 1350 to 1550 .Longswords have long cruciform hilts with grips over 10 to 15 cm length The longsword (of which stems the variation called the bastard...
  
  , Bastard Sword, Espée Bastarde, Hand-and-a-half Sword (European)
• Nagamaki
  Nagamaki
  The nagamaki is a Japanese pole weapon with a long and heavy blade with an equally long hilt, used by the samurai warriors of medieval Japan. The nagamaki is very much like the Japanese naginata or a glaive.-History:...
  
  , Nagamaki Sword (attached to sword handle, as opposed to the polearm) (Japanese)
• Nodachi
  Nodachi
  A nodachi is a large two-handed Japanese sword. Some have suggested that the meaning of "nodachi" is roughly the same as ōdachi meaning "large/great sword". A confusion between the terms has nearly synonymized "nodachi" with the very large "ōdachi"...
  
   (Japanese)
• Otachi
  Odachi
  An , was a type of long Japanese sword. The term nodachi, or "field sword", which refers to a different type of sword, is often mistakenly used in place of ōdachi. It is historically known as ōtachi....
  
   (Japanese)
• Parade Sword, Paratschwerter (European)
• Wodao (Chinese)
• Zanbatō
  Zanbato
  A is an especially large type of Japanese sword, the historical use of which is disputed. The sword closely resembles the Nodachi or ōdachi, however it differs from the Nodachi by having a ricasso of approximately 12 to 18 inches . This lends more credence to the theory of the sword having a...
  
   (Japanese)
• Zhanmadao
  Zhanmadao
  The zhanmadao was a single-bladed anti-cavalry Chinese sword of the Song Dynasty.- General characteristics :The zhanmadao is a sabre with a single long broad blade, and a long handle suitable for two-handed use....
  
   (Chinese)
• Zweihänder, Bihander, Dopplehänder, Lowland Sword, Tuck, Two Handed Sword (European)

Axe-like swords

Generally concave blades with the sharpened edge running the length of the non-handle part. Used for heavy, chopping motions.

• Aruval
  Aruval
  An aruval is an Indian machete variety, particularly seen in South India. These evolved independently from the Billhooks of Europe and the British Isles and are usually produced by local blacksmiths using discarded leaf springs of trucks and other heavy vehicles resulting in a strong but easy to...
  
   (South Asian)
• Bolo
  Bolo knife
  A bolo is a large cutting tool of Filipino origin similar to the machete, used particularly in the jungles of Indonesia, the Philippines, and in the sugar fields of Cuba...
  
  , Itak (Asian)
• Falcata
  Falcata
  The falcata is a type of sword typical of the pre-Roman Iberian Peninsula , similar to Greek kopis or Nepalese kukri.-Name:...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Harpe
  Harpe
  The harpē was a type of sword mentioned in Ancient Greek and Latin sources, almost always in mythological contexts. Most notably it was the sword used by Perseus to decapitate the Medusa, and by Cronus to castrate his father Uranus...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Khopesh
  Khopesh
  Khopesh is the Egyptian name of the Canaanite "sickle-sword", in Assyrian known as sappara. Its origins can be traced back to Sumer of the third millennium BCE....
  
  , Sappara, sickle-sword (Middle eastern)
• Kora (Southeast Asian)
• Machete, Vettukathi
  Machete
  The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
  
   (Southeast Asian)
• Makhaira
  Makhaira
  Makhaira is a term used by modern scholars to describe a type of ancient bladed weapon, generally a large knife with a slight backwards curve...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• One-handed Dacian Falx
  Falx
  Falx is a Latin word originally meaning sickle, but was later used to mean any of a number of tools that had a curved blade that was sharp on the inside edge such as a scythe...
  
  , Sica (Mediterranean)
• Parang pandit (Southeast Asian)
• Sosun Pattah (South Asian)
• Yatagan
  Yatagan
  The yatagan or yataghan is a type of Ottomanknife or short sabre used from the mid-16th to late 19th centuries....
  
  , Yataghan (Middle Eastern)

Knives

Knife

A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...

 and daggers

Dagger

A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...

Axe knives

Generally short, concave blades with the sharpened edge running the length of the non-handle part. Used for heavy chopping motions.

• Arit
  Arit
  Arit is a sickle with pronounced crescent-blade patterns and a short handle, but is used typically for farming, not as a fighting weapon....
  
   (Southeast Asian)
• Golok
  Golok
  right|thumb|Golok copying the Martindale No 2 designThe golok is a type of machete or broadsword originating in Southeast Asia. The word golok is of Indonesian origin but is also used in Malaysia and is known as gulok in the Philippines...
  
   (Southeast Asian)
• Hunting Cleaver (European)
• Karambit, Kerambit, Korambit (Southeast Asian)
• Kopis
  Kopis
  The kopis was a sword with a forward-curving blade, primarily used as a tool for cutting meat, for slaughter and animal sacrifice, but also as a weapon....
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Kujang
  Kujang (weapon)
  The kujang is a blade weapon native to the Sundanese people of West Java, Indonesia. According to Sanghyang siksakanda ng karesian canto XVII, kujang was the weapon of farmers and has its roots in agriculture purpose. Kujang is one of the traditional weapon in Sundanese school of Pencak Silat....
  
   (Southeast Asian)
• Kukri
  Kukri
  The kukri is a curved Nepalese Knife, similar to the machete, used as both a tool and as a weapon...
  
  , Khukri (Nepal)
• Mandau (Southeast Asian)
• Pichangatti (Indian)
• Sickle
  Sickle
  A sickle is a hand-held agricultural tool with a variously curved blade typically used for harvesting grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock . Sickles have also been used as weapons, either in their original form or in various derivations.The diversity of sickles that...
  
   (Worldwide; improvised)
• Sudanese Sickle-Knife (African)
• Wedong (Southeast Asian)

Picks and pickaxes

• Chicken sickles
  Chicken Sickles
  Chicken sickles are a number of Chinese bladed weapons similar to the Hook sword and the Okinawan Kama. They can be used as a single or double weapon. It is considered the special weapon of the Xinyi Liuhe style.-Chicken-claw:...
  
   (Chinese)
• Crowbill (European, Central Asian)
• Elephant goad, Ankus, Ankusha, Bullhook, Elephant Hook (South and Southeast Asian)
• Hakapik
  Hakapik
  A hakapik is a club, of Norwegian design, used for killing seals. The hakapik is a multipurpose hunting tool—a heavy wooden club, with a hammer head , and a hook on the end. In Norway, and possibly elsewhere, the hakapik is used only to kill seal pups, while a rifle is used to kill more mature seals...
  
   (European)
• Horseman's pick
  Horseman's pick
  The horseman's pick was a weapon of Islamic origin but used by cavalry during the Middle Ages in Europe. This was a type of war hammer that had a very long spike on the reverse of the hammer head. Usually, this spike was slightly curved downwards, much like a miner's pickaxe. The term is sometimes...
  
  , Martel de Fer (European; also a blunt weapon)
• Kama
  Kama (weapon)
  The is a traditional Filipino and Japanese farming implement similar to a small scythe used for reaping crops and also employed as a weapon...
  
   (Japanese)
• Mattock
  Mattock
  A mattock is a versatile hand tool, used for digging and chopping, similar to the pickaxe. It has a long handle, and a stout head, which combines an axe blade and an adze or a pick and an adze .-Description:...
  
   (European; improvised)
• Pickaxe
  Pickaxe
  A pickaxe or pick is a hand tool with a hard head attached perpendicular to the handle.Some people make the distinction that a pickaxe has a head with a pointed end and a flat end, and a pick has both ends pointed, or only one end; but most people use the words to mean the same thing.The head is...
  
   (European; improvised)
• War hammer
  War hammer
  A war hammer is a late medieval weapon of war intended for close combat action, the design of which resembles the hammer.The war hammer consists of a handle and a head...
  
   (European; also a blunt weapon)

Axe

Axe

The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...

s

• Adze
  Adze
  An adze is a tool used for smoothing or carving rough-cut wood in hand woodworking. Generally, the user stands astride a board or log and swings the adze downwards towards his feet, chipping off pieces of wood, moving backwards as they go and leaving a relatively smooth surface behind...
  
   (European; improvised)
• Bardiche
  Bardiche
  A bardiche or berdiche is a type of glaive polearm known in the 16th and 17th centuries in Eastern Europe and Russia. Ultimately a descendant of the medieval sparth , the bardiche proper appears after 1500, but there are numerous medieval manuscripts that depict very similar weapons beginning ca....
  
   (European)
• Battle axe
  Battle axe
  A battle axe is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes...
  
   (European)
• Broadaxe
  Broadaxe
  A broadaxe is a large-headed axe. There were two types of broadaxes both used for shaping logs by hand hewing. On one type, one side is flat and the other side beveled, a basilled edge, this is a hewing broadaxe...
  
   (European)
• Bhuj, with blade shaped like the dagger on a long shaft
• Congolese Ax (African)
• Dahomey Axe Club (African; also an effective blunt weapon)
• Dane Axe, English Long Axe, Hafted Axe, Shorter Danish Axe, Viking Axe (European)
• Doloire
  Doloire
  The doloire or wagoner's axe was a tool and weapon used during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The axe had a wooden shaft measuring approximately 1.5 metres in length and a head that was pointed at the top and rounded at the bottom, resembling either a teardrop or an isosceles triangle...
  
   (European)
• Fu (Chinese)
• Hand axe
  Hand axe
  A hand axe is a bifacial Stone tool typical of the lower and middle Palaeolithic , and is the longest-used tool of human history.-Distribution:...
  
  , Ovate handaxe (Paleolithic)
• Hatchet
  Hatchet
  A hatchet is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade used to cut and split wood...
  
   (European)
• Labrys
  Labrys
  Labrys is the term for a symmetrical doubleheaded axe originally from Crete in Greece, one of the oldest symbols of Greek civilization; to the Romans, it was known as a bipennis....
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Long-bearded axe
  Long-bearded axe
  A bearded axe, or Skeggöx refers to various axes, used as a tool and weapon, as early as the 6th century AD. It is most commonly associated with Viking Age Scandinavians...
  
   (European)
• Masakari
  Masakari
  The masakari is an ancient Japanese and Chinese weapon. This battle-axe was used by the Yamabushi, the warrior monks. The blade is made of heavy metal with a spike opposite which is attached to the wooden haft through the means of a socket. The masakari has a weight of 4 kg and is...
  
   (Japanese)
• Nzappa zap
  Nzappa zap
  The Nzappa zap is a traditional African weapon similar to an axe or hatchet. It has an ornate wrought-iron blade connected to a club-like wooden handle, often clad in copper, bronze or brass. In practice, it is used much like the American tomahawk, both thrown for short distances and as a melee...
  
   (African, also thrown)
• Ono
  Ono (weapon)
  is the Japanese word for an "axe" or a "hatchet", and is used to describe various tools of similar structure. As with axes in other cultures, ono are sometimes employed as weapons. The few existing academic references and documented examples of this particular weapon are in connection with the...
  
   (Japanese)
• Palstave
  Palstave
  A Palstave is a type of early bronze axe. It was common in the mid Bronze Age in north, western and south-western Europe. In the technical sense, although precise definitions differ, an axe is generally deemed to be a palstave if it is hafted by means of a forked wooden handle kept in place with...
  
   (European, Bronze Age; improvised)
• Sagaris
  Sagaris
  Sagaris is the ancient Greek name for a shafted weapon used by the horse-riding ancient North-Iranian Saka and Scythian peoples of the great Eurasian steppe, also by the Western and Central Asian peoples: the Medes, Persians, Parthayans, Indo-Saka, Kushans, Tocharians...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Shepherd's axe, Valaška (European)
• Sparth Axe (European)
• Tabarzin (Middle Eastern)
• Tomahawk
  Tomahawk (axe)
  A tomahawk is a type of axe native to North America, traditionally resembling a hatchet with a straight shaft. The name came into the English language in the 17th century as a transliteration of the Powhatan word.Tomahawks were general purpose tools used by Native Americans and European Colonials...
  
  , Spontoon Tomahawk (Americas; also thrown)
• Vechevoral (Middle Asian)

Trauma weapons (clubs)

Wielded with one or two hands at close quarters with swinging motions.

• Aklys
  Aklys
  The aklys was a Roman javelin measuring approximately 2 m. in length, thrown with the aid of a leather strap or amentum...
  
   (Origin unknown)
• Cambuk
  Sjambok
  The sjambok or litupa is the official heavy leather whip of South Africa, sometimes seen as synonymous with apartheid but actually much older and still used outside the official judiciary....
  
   (Southeast Asian)
• Chúi
  Chúi
  Chúi is a Chinese mêlée weapon that consists of a large, solid metal sphere on the end of a medium-long handle.This weapon was traditionally used with brute force, as the strength needed to heft such weapons was considerable. As a result, this weapon is not often practiced by kung fu enthusiasts,...
  
   (Chinese)
• Club
  Club (weapon)
  A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times....
  
  , Bludgeon, Cudgel, Stone Club, Truncheon
• Clubbing Boomerang
  Boomerang
  A boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...
  
   (Worldwide)
• Eskrima Sticks
  Eskrima
  Eskrima is the umbrella term for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines, which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives and other bladed weapons, and various improvised weapons...
  
  , Straight Sticks (Southeast Asian)
• Gurz, Ottoman Gurz (Middle Eastern)
• Hammer
  Hammer
  A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, forging metal and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure. The usual features are a handle and a head,...
  
   (improvised)
• Hanbō
  Hanbo
  The hanbō is a staff used in martial arts. Traditionally, the hanbō was approximately three shaku or about long, half the length of the usual staff, the rokushakubō . Diameter was...
  
   (Japanese)
• Horseman's pick
  Horseman's pick
  The horseman's pick was a weapon of Islamic origin but used by cavalry during the Middle Ages in Europe. This was a type of war hammer that had a very long spike on the reverse of the hammer head. Usually, this spike was slightly curved downwards, much like a miner's pickaxe. The term is sometimes...
  
  , Horseman's Hammer, Martel de Fer (European; also a pickaxe weapon)
• Jutte, Jitte (Japanese)
• Kanabō (Japanese)
• Knobkierie, Knobkerry, Knopkierie (African)
• Kurunthadi
  Kalarippayattu stick fighting
  Stick fighting as practiced in Kalarippayattu:*Kurunthadi or muchan is the name for a wooden stick. It derived its name from its length of three chans. Its length is equal to two and half feet . It is practiced as the second part of kolthari stage of kalari payat. It is usually made from the wood...
  
  , Churuvadi, Kuruvadi, Muchan, Otta (Indian)
• La canne
  Canne de combat
  Canne de combat is a French martial art. As weapon, it uses a cane or canne designed for fighting. Canne de combat was standardized in the 1970s for sporting competition by Maurice Sarry. The canne is very light, made of chestnut wood and slightly tapered...
  
   (European)
• Macana
  Macana
  The term macana, of Taíno origin, refers to various wooden weapons used by the various native cultures of Central and South America.The earliest meaning attributed to macana is a sword-like weapon made out of wood, but still sharp enough to be dangerous...
  
   (Americas)
• Mace, Flanged mace (European), Spiked Mace (European, Middle Asian)
• Macuahuitl
  Macuahuitl
  The maquahuitl is a weapon shaped like a wooden sword. Its sides are embedded with prismatic blades made from obsidian, a volcanic glass stone frequently used for tool making by the Aztec and other pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures...
  
  , Maquahuitl (Americas)
• Mere
  Mere (weapon)
  The mere is a type of short, broad-bladed club , usually made from Nephrite jade . A mere is one of the traditional, close combat, one-handed weapons of the indigenous Māori, of New Zealand. A mere could be used to split a skull open.- Form :The Mere is a spatulate, leaf shaped, form of short club...
  
   (New Zealand)
• Morning star
  Morning star (weapon)
  The term morning star is used to describe medieval club-like weapons which included one or more spikes. Each used, to varying degrees, a combination of blunt-force and puncture attack to kill or wound the enemy.- Design :...
  
  , Goedendag, Holy Water Sprinkler (European)
• Mughal Mace (Central Asian)
• Ōtsuchi
  Otsuchi
  An is a large Japanese wooden hammer with a shaft of about . It was mainly used for forcible entry through castle gates and doors....
  
   (Japanese)
• Patu
  Patu
  A patu is a generic term for a club or pounder used by the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. The word patu in the Māori language means to strike, hit, beat, or subdue. .- Weapons :...
  
  , Kotiate, Meremere, Patuki (New Zealand)
• Plançon a picot
  Plançon a picot
  The plançon à picot, or simply plançon , is a medieval infantry weapon designed for smashing and thrusting. It consists of a stout iron-shod baseball-bat-like shaft and a steel spike attached on top. It was cheap and easy to make, and was extremely efficient on heavily armoured opponents, as it...
  
  , Planson (European)
• Roundhead
  Roundhead (weapon)
  A roundhead was a type of mace used during the English Civil War. It is described as having a head about nine inches long, a staff two yards long inserted into the head, twelve iron spikes round about, with another spike in the end...
  
   (European)
• Rungu
  Rungu (weapon)
  For the Zambian tribe , see Rungu A rungu is a wooden throwing club or baton bearing special symbolism and significance in certain East African tribal cultures. It is especially associated with Maasai morans who have traditionally used it in warfare and for hunting...
  
   (African; also thrown)
• Shillelagh
  Shillelagh (club)
  A shillelagh is a wooden walking stick and club or cudgel, typically made from a stout knotty stick with a large knob at the top, that is associated with Ireland and Irish folklore.- Construction :...
  
   (Irish)
• Short Scepter
  Sceptre
  A sceptre is a symbolic ornamental rod or wand borne in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia.-Antiquity:...
  
  , Mace Scepter (European)
• Sledgehammer
  Sledgehammer
  A sledgehammer is a tool consisting of a large, flat head attached to a lever . The head is typically made of metal. The sledgehammer can apply more impulse than other hammers, due to its large size. Along with the mallet, it shares the ability to distribute force over a wide area...
  
  , Maul (European; improvised)
• Tambo
  Tambo (weapon)
  The tambo, in Japanese , is a short staff weapon used in Okinawa and feudal Japan. Today the tambo is used by various martial arts schools.-Description:...
  
  , Tanbo (Okinawan)
• Tekkan
  Tekkan
  The Tekkan or "iron sword" is a Japanese weapon, used during the Edo period until the beginning of the 20th Century.This weapon was an iron truncheon, and could closely resemble a wakizashi sized sword with a blunt iron blade or they could be a cast iron version of a hachiwari .Tekkan became very...
  
   (Japanese)
• Tewhatewha
  Tewhatewha
  A tewhatewha is a long-handled Māori club weapon. It is shaped like an axe and, once formerly used in battle, is now used in ceremonies. Like Pouwhenua and Taiaha, this long club was designed for scientific sparring and lightning strokes and thrusts, aided by quick footwork on the part of the...
  
   (New Zealand)
• Tonfa
  Tonfa
  The tonfa , also known as tong fa or tuifa, is an Okinawan weapon. It is a stick with a handle, and is about 15-20 inches long. It was traditionally made from red oak and wielded in pairs...
  
   (Okinawan)
• Waddy
  Waddy
  A Waddy, nulla nulla or hunting stick is an Australian Aboriginal war club. The former name comes from the Dharuk Aborigines of Port Jackson, Sydney....
  
  , Nulla Nulla (Australian)
• War hammer
  War hammer
  A war hammer is a late medieval weapon of war intended for close combat action, the design of which resembles the hammer.The war hammer consists of a handle and a head...
  
   (European; also a pickaxe weapon)
• Yawara
  Yawara
  The yawara is a Japanese weapon used in various martial arts. It is also the specific weapon of Yawara-Jitsu....
  
  , Yawara-bo (Japanese), Dulodulo, Pasak (Southeast Asian)
• Yubi-bo
  Yubi-bo
  The yubi-bo was a variation of the larger bo and han-bo. It was only about 8 inches long, and was similar to the yawara. It was first used by the ninja of feudal Japan due to its ability to be easily concealed, yet lethal....
  
   (Japanese)

Pole weapon

Pole weapon

A pole weapon or polearm is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is placed on the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range. Spears, glaives, poleaxes, halberds, and bardiches are all varieties of polearms...

s

Wielded mainly with two hands. Primarily for melee with sweeping, thrusting, and/or hooking motions.

Blunt staffs

Stick fighting

Stick fighting is a generic term for martial arts which use simple long slender, blunt, hand-held, generally wooden 'sticks' for fighting such as a staff, cane, walking stick, baton or similar....

• Bâton français
  Bâton français
  The Bâton français, French for "French staff", also known as French stick fighting, is a European historical fencing discipline which uses a staff about 1.2 m long...
  
   (European)
• Bō
  Bo
  -People:*Bo , name origin, plus people with the name*Bo , name origin, plus people with the surname**Bo , Chinese family names*Bo people , extinct minority population in Southern China famous for hanging coffins...
  
   (Japanese)
• Eku
  Eku
  Eku is an ancient weapon of Okinawan kobudō that originated from an oar, approximately 160 cm in length...
  
   (Okinawan)
• Gun (staff)
  Gun (staff)
  The Chinese word gun refers to a long Chinese staff weapon used in Chinese martial arts. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the qiang , dao , and the jian , called in this group "The Grandfather of all Weapons".-Variants:There are various kinds of gun, and they include the...
  
   (Chinese)
• Jō
  Jo
  JO, Jo or jo may refer to:*Jō, a ~4-foot-long wooden staff used in some Japanese martial arts*Cho , , also spelled Jo, a common Korean family name*Jo , a 1971 French comedy...
  
   (Japanese)
• Lathi
  Lathi
  Lathi means stick and also refers to an Indian martial art based on cane-fighting. The word is used in Hindi, Bengali and various other Indian languages. The lathi typically measures 6 to and may be tipped with metal. It commonly used as a crowd control device by the Indian Police and other South...
  
   (Indian)
• Naboot
  Naboot
  A naboot is a quarterstaff constructed of palm wood or rattan. It originated in Egypt and is used in the martial art of Tahtib.-References:**...
  
  , Asaya, Asa, Nabboot, Shoum (Middle Eastern)
• Quarterstaff
  Quarterstaff
  A quarterstaff , also short staff or simply staff is a traditional European pole weapon and a technique of stick fighting, especially as in use in England during the Early Modern period....
  
   (European)
• Shareeravadi
  Kalarippayattu stick fighting
  Stick fighting as practiced in Kalarippayattu:*Kurunthadi or muchan is the name for a wooden stick. It derived its name from its length of three chans. Its length is equal to two and half feet . It is practiced as the second part of kolthari stage of kalari payat. It is usually made from the wood...
  
   (Middle Asian)
• Taiaha
  Taiaha
  A Taiaha is a traditional weapon of the Māori of New Zealand.It is a wooden, or sometimes whale bone, close quarters, staff weapon used for short sharp strikes or stabbing thrusts with quick footwork on the part of the wielder. Taiaha are usually between in length...
  
   (New Zealand)

Spear

Spear

A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...

s

Thrown spears and javelins are listed under ranged weapons.

• Ahlspiess
  Ahlspiess
  The Ahlspiess was a thrusting spear developed and used primarily in Germany and Austria from the 15th to 16th centuries. The ahlspiess consisted of a long thin spike of square cross section measuring a meter or more in length, mounted to a round wooden shaft and secured with a pair of langets...
  
  , Awl Pike (European)
• Atgeir
  Atgeir
  An atgeir, sometimes called a "mail-piercer" or "hewing-spear," was a type of polearm in use in Viking Age Scandinavia and Norse colonies in the British Isles and Iceland. It is usually translated in English as "halberd", but most likely closer resembled a bill or glaive during the Viking age...
  
   (European)
• Boar spear
  Boar spear
  A boar spear is a spear used for boar hunting. It is relatively short and heavy and has two "lugs" or "wings" on the spearsocket behind the blade, which act as a barrier to prevent an injured and furious boar from working its way up the shaft of the spear to attack the hunter.The boar spear also...
  
   (European)
• Brandistock
  Brandistock
  A brandistock was a short type of pole weapon which was used by both infantry and civilians alike between the 16th and 19th centuries. Measuring some 5 feet long, the brandistock construction was unique for polearms in that it had a retractable blade...
  
  , Buttafuore, Feather Staff (European)
• Dangpa-chang
  Dangpa
  Dangpa is the Korean name for a three-pronged spear first described in the Muyejebo, a 16th century martial arts manual from the Joseon Dynasty.-Types:...
  
   (Korean; also thrown)
• Dory
  Dory (spear)
  The dory or doru - ie not pronounced like the fish - is a spear that was the chief armament of hoplites in Ancient Greece. The word "dory" is first attested in Homer with the meanings of "wood" and "spear". Homeric heroes hold two dorys...
  
  , Doru (Mediterranean)
• Hasta
  Hasta (spear)
  Hasta is a Latin word meaning spear. Hastae were carried by early Roman Legionaries, in particular they were carried by and gave their name to those Roman soldiers known as Hastati...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Hoko yari (Japanese)
• Jukjangchangbo
  Korean spears
  Over time various types of Korean spears have evolved, many similar found to weapons found elsewhere in Asia and the world, as much due to a process of convergent evolution as to external influence.-Types of Korean spears:...
  
  , Chichang, Dongyemochang, Daijichang, Nangsun, Sabarichang, Toupjang, Yangjimochang (Korean)
• Lance
  Lance
  A Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...
  
   (European)
• Menaulion
  Menaulion
  The menaulion or menavlion , also menaulon or menavlon was a heavy spear with a length of 2.7 to 3.6 meters with a thick shaft, used by the Byzantine infantry as early as the 10th century AD, against enemy heavy cavalry. To give it increased strength, whole oak or cornel saplings were preferably...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Migration Period spear
  Migration Period spear
  The spear together with the sword, the longsax and the shield was the main equipment of the Germanic warriors during the Migration period and the Early Middle Ages.-Terminology:...
  
  , Framea, Gaizaz, Gar, Geirr, Ger (European)
• Military fork
  Military fork
  A fork is a pole weapon which was used in war in Europe between the 15th and 19th centuries. Like many polearms, the military fork traces its lineage to an agricultural tool, in this case the pitchfork....
  
   (European)
• Pike
  Pike (weapon)
  A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...
  
  
• Pitchfork
  Pitchfork
  A pitchfork is an agricultural tool with a long handle and long, thin, widely separated pointed tines used to lift and pitch loose material, such as hay, leaves, grapes, dung or other agricultural materials. Pitchforks typically have two or three tines...
  
   (improvised)
• Qiang (spear)
  Qiang (spear)
  Qiang is the Chinese term for spear. Due to its relative ease of manufacture, the spear in many variations was ubiquitous on the pre-modern Chinese battlefield...
  
   (Chinese)
• Ranseur
  Ranseur
  A ranseur was a type of polearm used across Europe up to the 15th century. It was still seen in court as a ceremonial weapon through the 17th century...
  
  , Rawcon, Runka (European)
• Saintie (Middle Asian)
• Sarissa
  Sarissa
  The sarissa or sarisa was a 4 to 7 meter long spear used in the ancient Greek and Hellenistic warfare. It was introduced by Philip II of Macedon and was used in the traditional Greek phalanx formation as a replacement for the earlier dory, which was considerably shorter. The phalanxes of Philip...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Sibat
  Sibat
  right|300px|thumb|Spearheads used by Filipino natives.A sibat is a staff or spear used as a weapon or tool by natives of the Philippines. It also called bangkaw, sumbling or palupad in the island of Negros. Sibat are typically made from rattan, either with a sharpened tip or a head made from metal....
  
  , Bangkaw, Palupad, Sumbling (Southeast Asian)
• Spetum
  Spetum
  A spetum was a pole weapon of Europe during the 13th century. It consisted of a long pole some 6-8 feet long which was mounted with a spear head with two projections at its base. Many variations of this design flourished over time; some feel that the ranseur is a variation of the spetum...
  
   (European)
• Swordstaff
  Swordstaff
  A Swordstaff is a Scandinavian polearm, used in the medieval ages. It is made by placing a blade at the end of a staff, thus giving the same benefits of a sword with the range of a spear or polearm...
  
   (European)
• Trident
  Trident
  A trident , also called a trishul or leister or gig, is a three-pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and was also a military weapon. Tridents are featured widely in mythical, historical and modern culture. The major Hindu god, Shiva the Destroyer and the sea god Poseidon or Neptune are...
  
  
• Trishula
  Trishula
  A trishula is a type of Indian trident but also found in Southeast Asia. It is commonly used as a Hindu-Buddhist religious symbol. The word means "three spear" in Sanskrit and Pali....
  
   (Indian, Southeast Asian)
• Yari
  Yari
  is the term for one of the traditionally made Japanese blades in the form of a spear, or more specifically, the straight-headed spear...
  
   (Japanese)

Polearms with axe-like blades

• Arbir
  Arbir
  The Arbir is a halberd approximately five feet 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...
  
   (Southeast Asian)
• Bardiche
  Bardiche
  A bardiche or berdiche is a type of glaive polearm known in the 16th and 17th centuries in Eastern Europe and Russia. Ultimately a descendant of the medieval sparth , the bardiche proper appears after 1500, but there are numerous medieval manuscripts that depict very similar weapons beginning ca....
  
   (European)
• Bec de Faucon
  Bec de corbin
  A bec de corbin is a type of pole weapon that was popular in medieval Europe. The name is Old French for "crow's beak". Similar to the Lucerne hammer, it consists of a modified hammer's head and spike mounted atop a long pole. Unlike the Lucerne hammer, the bec de corbin was used primarily with...
  
   (European)
• Bill
  Bill (weapon)
  The bill is a polearm weapon used by infantry in medieval Europe.The bill is similar in size, function and appearance to the halberd, differing mainly in the hooked blade form...
  
  , Bill Hook, Bill-Guisarme, English Bill (European)
• Bisento
  Bisento
  A is a kind of Japanese pole weapon which greatly resembles a naginata. It consists of a thick curved blade mounted atop a long wooden pole. Much heavier than the naginata in construction, there are some accounts of it being used as a training weapon to improve one's naginatajutsu...
  
   (Japanese)
• Chacing staff
  Chacing staff
  A chasing staff is a kind of polearm that was used in the Middle Ages of Europe. It consisted of an iron-shod staff some 10-12 feet long, with a spike on the butt end and a metal head at the other. The head was made of a large, flat 'blade' which had a few small protrusions coming off of the top...
  
   (European)
• Dagger-axe
  Dagger-axe
  The dagger-axe is a type of weapon that was in use from Shang dynasty until at least Han dynasty China. It consists of a dagger-shaped blade made of jade , bronze, or later iron, mounted by the tang of the dagger to a perpendicular wooden shaft with a spear point...
  
  , Ko (Chinese)
• Danish axe, English Long Axe, Hafted Axe, Longer Danish Axe, Viking Axe (European)
• Fauchard
  Fauchard
  A fauchard is a type of polearm weapon, which was used in medieval Europe from the 11th through the 14th centuries. The design consisted of a curved blade put atop a 2 m long pole. The blade bore a moderate to strong curve along its length, however unlike a glaive the cutting edge was only on the...
  
   (European)
• Gandasa
  Gandasa
  A Gandasa is a Punjabi implement primarily used in cultivation and farming. It consists of a long stick of wood with a wide blade attached to one end...
  
   (South Asian; improvised)
• Glaive
  Glaive
  A glaive is a European polearm weapon, consisting of a single-edged blade on the end of a pole. It is similar to the Japanese naginata and the Chinese Guan Dao....
  
   (European)
• Guan (Kwan) Dao
  Guan dao
  A Guan Dao, Kwan Dao, or Kuan Tao is a type of Chinese pole weapon that is currently used in some forms of Chinese martial arts. In Chinese it is properly called a 偃月刀 yan yue dao , the name under which it always appears in texts from the Song to Qing dynasties such as the Wujing Zongyao and...
  
   (Chinese)
• Guisarme
  Guisarme
  A guisarme was a pole weapon used in Europe primarily between 1000-1400. Like many medieval polearms, the exact form of the weapon is hard to define from literary references and the identification of surviving weapons can be speculative...
  
   (European)
• Halberd
  Halberd
  A halberd is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries. Possibly the word halberd comes from the German words Halm , and Barte - in modern-day German, the weapon is called Hellebarde. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on...
  
   (European)
• Ji
  Ji (halberd)
  The ji , the Chinese halberd, was used as a military weapon in one form or another from at least as early as the Shang dynasty until the end of the Qing dynasty. They are still used for training purposes by many Chinese martial arts...
  
   (Chinese)
• Lochaber axe
  Lochaber axe
  The Lochaber axe was a halberd that came into use in Scotland around 1300. The name of the weapon derives from Lochaber, an area in the western Scottish Highlands, as the weapon was employed principally by the Scottish highlanders, who required armament against cavalry.The axe itself is similar to...
  
   (European)
• Long-handled Nagamaki
  Nagamaki
  The nagamaki is a Japanese pole weapon with a long and heavy blade with an equally long hilt, used by the samurai warriors of medieval Japan. The nagamaki is very much like the Japanese naginata or a glaive.-History:...
  
   (Japanese)
• Man catcher
  Man catcher
  A man catcher is an esoteric type of pole weapon which was used in Europe as late as the 18th century. It consisted of a pole mounted with a two pronged head. Each prong was semi-circular in shape with a spring-loaded 'door' on the front. This created an effective valve that would allow the ring to...
  
   (European)
• Monk's spade
  Monk's Spade
  A monk's spade A monk's spade A monk's spade (Traditional Chinese: 月牙鏟; Simplified Chinese: 月牙铲; pinyin: yuèyáchǎn; literally "Crescent Moon Spade"; also, Traditional Chinese: 禪仗; Simplified Chinese: 禅仗; pinyin: chánzhàng; literally, "Zen Weapon"...
  
   (Chinese)
• Naginata
  Naginata
  The naginata is one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades in the form of a pole weapon. Naginata were originally used by the samurai class in feudal Japan, and naginata were also used by ashigaru and sōhei .-Description:A naginata consists of a wooden shaft with a curved...
  
   (Japanese)
• Ngaw
  Ngaw
  Ngaw is a pole weapon that was traditionally used in Thailand by elephant warriors. It consists of a wood shaft with a curved blade fashioned onto the end, and is similar to the Japanese naginata and the Chinese guan dao . Usually, it also had a hook between the blade and shaft used for...
  
   (Southeast Asian)
• Nulbjakchang
  Korean spears
  Over time various types of Korean spears have evolved, many similar found to weapons found elsewhere in Asia and the world, as much due to a process of convergent evolution as to external influence.-Types of Korean spears:...
  
  , Galgorichang (Korean)
• Ox tongue spear (European)
• Partisan
  Partisan (weapon)
  A partisan is a type of polearm that was used in Europe during the middle ages. It consisted of a spearhead mounted on a long shaft with protrusions on the sides which aided the user in parrying sword thrusts...
  
  , Partizan (European)
• Pollaxe
  Pollaxe
  The pollaxe is a type of European polearm which was widely used by medieval infantry. It is also known by the names poleaxe, pole-axe, pole axe, polax, and Hache ....
  
  , Poleaxe (European)
• Pudao
  Pudao
  The Chinese weapon known as the podao was originally an edged infantry weapon which is still used for training in many Chinese martial arts. The blade of a podao is shaped like a Chinese broadsword, but the weapon has a longer handle usually around one and a half to two meters which is circular...
  
   (Chinese)
• Rhomphaia
  Rhomphaia
  The Rhomphaia was a close combat bladed weapon used by the Thracians as early as 400 BC. Most rhomphaias were polearms, featuring a straight or slightly curved single-edged blade attached to a pole that was considerably shorter than the blade. Some rhomphaias had short handles that extended to...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Sasumata
  Sasumata
  The is a Japanese mancatcher and firefighting tool. Historically, it was usually around 2 meters in length, with a U-shaped head. This head looks similar to a koto bridge, so it is sometimes called a kotojibō. The pole is often sturdy wood, reinforced with iron. Small spikes or other sharp...
  
   (Japanese)
• Scythe
  Scythe
  A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
  
   (improvised)
• Sodegarami
  Sodegarami
  The is a Japanese pole weapon used to entangle sleeves. Historically, it was usually around 2 meters in length, with multiple barbed heads, facing forwards and backwards. The pole is often sturdy wood, reinforced with iron. Small spikes or other sharp protrusions can often be found along the pole,...
  
   (Japanese)
• Tepoztopilli
  Tepoztopilli
  The tepoztopilli was a common front-line weapon of the Aztec military. The tepoztopilli was a pole-arm, and to judge from depictions in various Aztec codices it was roughly the height of a man, with a broad wooden head about twice the length of the users' palm or shorter, edged with razor-sharp...
  
   (Americas)
• Tongi, Two pointed, Four Pointed Tongi (South Asian)
• Tsukubō
  Tsukubo
  The is a Japanese pole weapon. Historically, it was usually around 2 meters in length, with a T-shaped head. The head often has various metal spikes and barbs. The pole is often sturdy wood, reinforced with iron. Small spikes or other sharp protrusions can often be found along the pole, similar to...
  
   (Japanese)
• Two-handed Dacian Falx
  Falx
  Falx is a Latin word originally meaning sickle, but was later used to mean any of a number of tools that had a curved blade that was sharp on the inside edge such as a scythe...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Voulge
  Voulge
  thumb|VoulgesA voulge is a type of polearm that existed alongside the similar glaive in medieval Europe. Superficially, a voulge might strongly resemble a glaive, but there are some notable differences in construction...
  
   (European)
• War scythe
  War scythe
  A war scythe is a kind of improvised pole weapon, similar to a fauchard, usually created from standard scythes. The blade of the scythe is transformed so as to extend upright from the pole, thus forming an infantry weapon practical both in offensive actions against infantry and as a defensive...
  
  

Polearms with spikes and hammers

• Bec de corbin
  Bec de corbin
  A bec de corbin is a type of pole weapon that was popular in medieval Europe. The name is Old French for "crow's beak". Similar to the Lucerne hammer, it consists of a modified hammer's head and spike mounted atop a long pole. Unlike the Lucerne hammer, the bec de corbin was used primarily with...
  
   (European)
• Lucerne hammer
  Lucerne hammer
  The Lucerne hammer is a type of polearm which was popular in Switzerland during the 15th to 17th centuries. It was a combination of the bec de corbin with the blunt war hammer....
  
   (European)

Spears and javelins

All could be used as polearm spears, but were designed and primarily used for throwing.

• Angon
  Angon
  The angon was a type of javelin used during the Early Middle Ages by the Franks and other Germanic peoples including the Anglo-Saxons...
  
   (European)
• Assegai
  Assegai
  An assegai or assagai is a pole weapon used for throwing or hurling, usually a light spear or javelin made of wood and pointed with iron.-Iklwa:...
  
  , Assagai (African)
• Atlatl
  Atlatl
  An atlatl or spear-thrower is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in dart-throwing.It consists of a shaft with a cup or a spur at the end that supports and propels the butt of the dart. The atlatl is held in one hand, gripped near the end farthest from the cup...
  
   and Darts (Americas, Paleolithic cultures)
• Falarica
  Falarica
  Falarica, also Phalarica was an ancient Iberian ranged pole weapon which were sometime used as an incendiary weapon.-Design:The Falarica was a heavy javelin with a long , thin iron head of about 90 centimeters in length attached to a wooden shaft of about equal length...
  
  , Phalarica (Mediterranean)
• Harpoon
  Harpoon
  A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the butt of the projectile to catch the animal...
  
   (Worldwide)
• Javelin
  Javelin
  A Javelin is a light spear intended for throwing. It is commonly known from the modern athletic discipline, the Javelin throw.Javelin may also refer to:-Aviation:* ATG Javelin, an American-Israeli civil jet aircraft, under development...
  
   (Mediterranean
• Jangchang
  Korean spears
  Over time various types of Korean spears have evolved, many similar found to weapons found elsewhere in Asia and the world, as much due to a process of convergent evolution as to external influence.-Types of Korean spears:...
  
   (Korean)
• Lancea
  Lancea
  The lancea was the Roman auxiliaries' short javelin. According to the OED, the word originally came from the Iberian Language , also cf longche, the Greek term for lance. On Spike TV's show Deadliest Warrior, the lancea was the Celt's mid-range weapon....
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Pilum
  Pilum
  The pilum was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about two metres long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 mm in diameter and 60 cm long with pyramidal head...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Soliferrum
  Soliferrum
  Soliferrum or Soliferreum was the Roman name for an ancient Iberian ranged pole weapon made entirely of iron. The soliferrum was a heavy hand-thrown javelin, designed to be thrown to a short distance of up to 30 meters...
  
  , Saunion, Soliferreum (Mediterranean)
• Spiculum
  Spiculum
  A spiculum is a late Roman spear that replaced the pilum at around AD 250 as the infantryman's main throwing javelin. Scholars suppose that it could have resulted from the gradual combination of the pilum and two German spears, the angon and the bebra. As more and more Germans joined the Roman army...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Verutum
  Verutum
  The verutum, or plural veruta was a short javelin used in the Roman army. This javelin was used by the velites for skirmishing unlike the heavier pilum used by the hastati and principes for softening the enemy before advancing into close combat. The verutum's shaft was about 1.1 meters long, much...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• Woomera
  Woomera (spear-thrower)
  A woomera is an Australian Aboriginal spear-throwing device used for when there is a greater distance to be overcome. It is highly efficient and made of wood. Similar to an atlatl, it enables a spear to travel much further than by arm strength alone...
  
  , Amirre (Australian)

Throwing stick

Throwing Stick

The throwing stick or throwing club is one of the first weapons used by early humans and cultures all around the world. In essence, it is a short stave or wooden club thrown as a projectile to hunt small game such as rabbits or waterfowl. In flight, it rotates rapidly cracking the target with one...

s

• Boomerang
  Boomerang
  A boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...
  
   (Australian, Worldwide)
• Knobkierrie, Knopkierie, Knobkerry (African; also a blunt weapon)
• Rungu
  Rungu (weapon)
  For the Zambian tribe , see Rungu A rungu is a wooden throwing club or baton bearing special symbolism and significance in certain East African tribal cultures. It is especially associated with Maasai morans who have traditionally used it in warfare and for hunting...
  
   (African)

Throwing blades and darts

• Chakram
  Chakram
  The chakram , sometimes called a war quoit, is a throwing weapon from India. Its shape is of a flat metal hoop with a sharp outer edge from in diameter...
  
   (Indian, Southeast Asian)
• Martiobarbuli, Plumbata (Mediterranean)
• Shaken
  Shuriken
  A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...
  
  /Kurumaken, Bo-Shuriken/Throwing Spikes, Hira-Shuriken/Throwing Stars (Japanese)
• Throwing knife
  Throwing knife
  Throwing knives are knives that are specially designed and weighted so that they can be thrown effectively. They are a distinct category from ordinary knives....
  
   (Worldwide)
• Thrown Darts
  Dart (missile)
  Darts are missile weapons, designed to fly such that a sharp, often weighted point will strike first. They can be distinguished from javelins by fletching and a shaft that is shorter and/or more flexible, and from arrows by the fact that they are not of the right length to use with a normal...
  
   (Worldwide)

Throwing axe

Throwing axe

A throwing axe is an axe that is used primarily as a missile weapon. Usually, they are thrown in an overhand motion in a manner that causes the axe to rotate as it travels through the air. Throwing axes have been used since prehistoric times and were developed into the Francisca by the Franks in...

s

Could also be used as axe weapons, but were specifically designed for throwing.

• Francisca
  Francisca
  The francisca is a throwing axe used as a weapon during the Early Middle Ages by the Franks, among whom it was a characteristic national weapon at the time of the Merovingians from about 500 to 750 AD and is known to have been used during the reign of Charlemagne .Although generally associated...
  
  , Francesca (European)
• Hunga Munga
  Hunga Munga
  The mambele is a bladed weapon used by African cultures south of Lake Chad. It consists of an iron blade with a curved back section and rearward spike. It can be used in close combat, or more typically thrown....
  
  , Danisco, Goleyo, Njiga (African)
• Hurlbat
  Hurlbat
  A hurlbat or whirlbat is a ranged weapon consisting of an entirely metal throwing axe sharpened on every auxiliary end to a point or blade, greatly increasing the chance of some form of damage against its target. They are usually constructed from six millimeter thick steel, which makes them...
  
  , Whirlbat (European)
• Nzappa zap
  Nzappa zap
  The Nzappa zap is a traditional African weapon similar to an axe or hatchet. It has an ornate wrought-iron blade connected to a club-like wooden handle, often clad in copper, bronze or brass. In practice, it is used much like the American tomahawk, both thrown for short distances and as a melee...
  
   (African)
• Tomahawk
  Tomahawk (axe)
  A tomahawk is a type of axe native to North America, traditionally resembling a hatchet with a straight shaft. The name came into the English language in the 17th century as a transliteration of the Powhatan word.Tomahawks were general purpose tools used by Native Americans and European Colonials...
  
   (Americas; also an axe weapon)

Longbow

Longbow

A longbow is a type of bow that is tall ; this will allow its user a fairly long draw, at least to the jaw....

s

• Decurve bow (sub-category)
• Deflex bow (sub-category)
• English longbow
  English longbow
  The English longbow, also called the Welsh longbow, is a powerful type of medieval longbow about 6 ft long used by the English and Welsh for hunting and as a weapon in medieval warfare...
  
  , Welsh longbow, Warbow
• Flatbow
  Flatbow
  A flatbow is a bow with non-recurved, flat, relatively wide limbs that are approximately rectangular in cross-section. Because the limbs are relatively wide, flatbows will usually narrow and become deeper at the handle, with a rounded, non-bending, handle for easier grip...
  
  
• Self bow
  Self bow
  A self bow is a bow made from a single piece of wood. Extra material such as horn nocks on the ends, or built-up handles, would normally be accepted as part of a self bow...
  
  
• Daikyū
  Yumi
  is the Japanese term for bows, and includes the longer and the shorter used in the practice of kyūdō, or Japanese archery. The yumi was an important weapon of the samurai warrior during the feudal period of Japan.-History of the yumi:...
  
   (Japanese)

Recurved bows

• Cable-backed bow
  Cable-backed bow
  A cable-backed bow is a bow reinforced with a cable on the back. The cable is made from either animal, vegetable or synthetic fibers and is tightened to increase the strength of the bow. A cable will relieve tension stress from the back of the bow by raising its neutral plane: the border between...
  
  
• Composite bow
  Composite bow
  A composite bow is a bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the back of a wooden core. Sinew and horn will store more energy than wood for the same length of bow...
  
  
• Hungarian bow (sub-category)
• Perso-Parthian bow (Middle Eastern)

Short bows and reflex bows

• Gungdo
  Gungdo
  The Korean Bow is a water buffalo horn-based composite reflex bow, standardized about 1900 AD from the variety of such weapons in earlier use...
  
  , Hwal (Korean)
• Hankyū
  Yumi
  is the Japanese term for bows, and includes the longer and the shorter used in the practice of kyūdō, or Japanese archery. The yumi was an important weapon of the samurai warrior during the feudal period of Japan.-History of the yumi:...
  
   (Japanese)
• Mongol bow
  Mongol bow
  The Mongol bow is a recurved composite bow renowned for its military effectiveness. The old Mongolian bows that were used during the times of Genghis Khan were smaller than the modern weapons used at most Naadam festivals today. Modern Mongolian bows are larger and have string bridges...
  
   (Eastern European, Chinese)
• Turkish bow
  Turkish bow
  The Turkish bow is a recurved composite bow used in the Ottoman Empire.The construction was that of the classic Asiatic composite bow, with a wooden core , animal horn on the side facing the archer, and sinew on the back. Animal glue held it together...
  
   (Eastern European)

Crossbow

Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...

s

• Arbalest
  Arbalest
  The arbalest was a late variation of the medieval European crossbow. A large weapon, the arbalest had a steel prod . Since an arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbows, and because of the greater compressive strength of steel, it had a greater force...
  
  , Arblast (European)
• Bullet Bow, English Bullet Bow, Pellet Crossbow (European)
• Crossbow, Small Crossbow (European, Chinese)
• Gastraphetes
  Gastraphetes
  The gastraphetes was a hand-held crossbow used by the Ancient Greeks. It was described in the 1st century AD by the Greek author Heron of Alexandria in his work Belopoeica, which draws on an earlier account of the famous Greek engineer Ctesibius...
  
   (Mediterranean)
• German Stone Bow (European)
• Pistol Crossbow (subcategory)
• Repeating crossbow
  Repeating crossbow
  A repeating crossbow is a crossbow where the separate actions of stringing the bow, placing the bolt and shooting it can be accomplished with a simple one-handed movement while keeping the crossbow stationary. This allows a higher rate of fire than a normal crossbow...
  
  , Chu-ko-nu, Zhuge Nu (Chinese)
• Skåne Lockbow
  Skåne Lockbow
  The Skåne lockbow was an early form of crossbow from Skåne or Scania, then a province of Denmark. An example was discovered in 1941 in Sweden dating from the 16th century, but seems to be similar to earlier models. The lockbow was used throughout northern Europe between ca. 900-1600 CE...
  
   (European)

Other

• Blowgun
  Blowgun
  "Blowpipe" and "blow tube" redirect here. For other uses of the terms, see GlassblowingA blowgun is a simple weapon consisting of a small tube for firing light projectiles, or darts....
  
  , Blow Tube, Blowpipe (Worldwide)
• Bolas
  Bolas
  Bolas are a throwing weapon superficially similar to the surujin, made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, designed to capture animals by entangling their legs...
  
   (Americas)
• Fukiya
  Fukiya
  Fukiya is the Japanese blowgun. It consists of a 1.2m long tube blowgun, with darts around 20cm . Unlike American-style blowguns, the fukiya has no mouthpiece: instead, users wrap their lips around the pipe. The darts used in the fukiya were called fukibari...
  
   (Japanese)
• Kestros
  Kestros
  A kestros or kestrophedrone, also known as a cestrus or cestrosphendone, is a specially designed sling that is used to throw a heavy kind of dart....
  
  , Cestrosphendone, Cestrus, Kestrophedrone (Mediterranean)
• Sling
  Sling (weapon)
  A sling is a projectile weapon typically used to throw a blunt projectile such as a stone or lead "sling-bullet". It is also known as the shepherd's sling....
  
   (Paleolithic, Mediterranean, European)
• Stave Sling, Fustibale (Mediterranean)

Gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

 weapons

• Arquebus
  Arquebus
  The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...
  
  , Caliver, Hackbut, Harkbus, Harquebus (European)
• Blunderbuss
  Blunderbuss
  The blunderbuss is a muzzle-loading firearm with a short, large caliber barrel, which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity and/or caliber. The blunderbuss could be considered to be an early form of shotgun,...
  
  , Donderbus (European)
• Carbine
  Carbine
  A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....
  
   (European)
• Culverin
  Culverin
  A culverin was a relatively simple ancestor of the musket, and later a medieval cannon, adapted for use by the French in the 15th century, and later adapted for naval use by the English in the late 16th century. The culverin was used to bombard targets from a distance. The weapon had a...
  
   (European)
• Doglock
  Doglock
  Doglock refers to the lock that preceded the 'true' flintlock in both rifles and pistols in the 17th century. Commonly used throughout Europe in the 17th century, it gained popular favor in the British and Dutch military...
  
  
• Fire lance
  Fire lance
  The fire lance or fire spear is one of the first gunpowder weapons in the world.- Description :The earliest fire lances were spear-like weapons combining a bamboo tube containing gunpowder and projectiles tied to a Chinese spear. Upon firing, the charge ejected a small projectile or poison dart...
  
   (Chinese)
• Flintlock
  Flintlock
  Flintlock is the general term for any firearm based on the flintlock mechanism. The term may also apply to the mechanism itself. Introduced at the beginning of the 17th century, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the doglock, matchlock and wheellock...
  
  
• Hand cannon (Chinese, European)
• Huochong
  Huochong
  The Huǒchòng was a tube-like, projection firearm. It first appeared in China during the Song Dynasty and was constructed of bamboo. The bamboo body was replaced with bronze sometime in the late 13th or early 14th century. Although usually described as a cannon, this weapon was more probably a...
  
   (Chinese)
• Long gun
  Long gun
  The term long gun is used to describe classes of firearm and cannon with longer barrels than other classes. In small arms, a long gun is designed to be fired braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun, while in artillery a long gun would be contrasted with a howitzer or carronade.-Small...
  
   (European)
• Matchlock
  Matchlock
  The matchlock was the first mechanism, or "lock" invented to facilitate the firing of a hand-held firearm. This design removed the need to lower by hand a lit match into the weapon's flash pan and made it possible to have both hands free to keep a firm grip on the weapon at the moment of firing,...
  
  
• Musket
  Musket
  A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
  
   (Chinese, European)
• Pistol
  Pistol
  When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
  
   (European)
• Rabauld
  Ribauldequin
  A Ribauldequin, also known as a rabauld, ribault, ribaudkin, infernal machine or organ gun, was a late medieval volley gun with many small-caliber iron barrels set up parallel on a platform, in use during the 14th and 15th centuries. When the gun was fired in a volley, it created a shower of iron...
  
  , Ribaudkin, Ribault, Organ Gun (European)
• Snaphance
  Snaphance
  A Snaphance or Snaphaunce is a particular type of mechanism for firing a gun . The name is Dutch in origin but the mechanism can not be attributed to the Netherlands with certainty. It is the mechanical progression of the wheel-lock firing mechanism and the predecessor of the flintlock firing...
  
  
• Snaplock
  Snaplock
  A Snaplock is a particular type of mechanism for firing a gun .A snaplock ignites the weapon's propellant by means of sparks produced when a spring-powered cock strikes a flint down on to a piece of hardened steel...
  
  
• Tu Huo Qiang
  Tu Huo Qiang
  Tu Huo Qiang is a kind of early Chinese long gun that first appeared in 1259. The projectile is called zi kē ....
  
   (Chinese)
• Wheellock
  Wheellock
  A wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock, is a friction-wheel mechanism to cause a spark for firing a firearm. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm. The mechanism is so-called because it uses a rotating steel wheel to provide...
  
  , Wheel-lock, Wheel Lock

Composite projectile weapons

Having a built-in gun or ranged weapon combined with some other type of weapon.

• Ax Match and Wheellock (European Axe with Five barrells under a removable blade)
• Carbine Ax (European Axe)
• Halberd Double Barreled Wheellock (European Halberd)
• Mace Wheellock (European Mace)
• Matchlock Ax/Dagger (European Axe, Dagger, Matchlock Combination)
• Pistol sword
  Pistol sword
  A pistol sword is a sword with a pistol or revolver attached, usually alongside the blade. It differs from a rifle with a bayonet in that the weapon is designed primarily for use as a sword, and the firearm component is typically considered a secondary weapon designed to be an addition to the...
  
   (European Sword)
• War Hammer Wheellock (European Pick/Hammer)

Flexibles

Used with whipping or swinging motions. Sometimes attached to another type of weapon.

• Bullwhip
  Bullwhip
  A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather, which was originally used as a tool for working with livestock.Bullwhips are pastoral tools, traditionally used to control livestock in open country...
  
   (Worldwide)
• Cat o' nine tails
  Cat o' nine tails
  The cat o' nine tails, commonly shortened to the cat, is a type of multi-tailed whipping device that originated as an implement for severe physical punishment, notably in the Royal Navy and Army of the United Kingdom, and also as a judicial punishment in Britain and some other...
  
   (European)
• Chain whip
  Chain whip
  The chain whip is a weapon used in some Asian martial arts, including Chinese martial arts, in addition to modern and traditional wushu. It consists of several metal rods, which are joined end-to-end by rings to form a flexible chain. Generally, the whip has a handle at one end and a metal dart,...
  
  , Jiujiebian, Qijiebian, Samjitbin (Chinese)
• Knout
  Knout
  A knout is a heavy scourge-like multiple whip, usually made of a bunch of rawhide thongs attached to a long handle, sometimes with metal wire or hooks incorporated....
  
   (Eastern Europe)
• Lasso
  Lasso
  A lasso , also referred to as a lariat, riata, or reata , is a loop of rope that is designed to be thrown around a target and tighten when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the American cowboy. The word is also a verb; to lasso is to successfully throw the loop of rope around something...
  
  , Lariat, Uurga (Americas, Chinese)
• Nagyka
  Nagyka
  The Nagyka, nagaika, or nagayka is a short, thick whip with round cross-section used by Cossacks of Russia, borrowed from Nogai people, hence the original name "nogaika", or "Nogai's whip". It is also called камча, kamcha from the Turkic word "kamci" for "whip"...
  
   (Eastern European)
• Sjambok
  Sjambok
  The sjambok or litupa is the official heavy leather whip of South Africa, sometimes seen as synonymous with apartheid but actually much older and still used outside the official judiciary....
  
  , Chicotte, Fimbo, Imvubu, Kiboko, Kurbash, Litupa, Mnigolo (Africa)
• Smallwhips, Crops (Worldwide)
• Stockwhip
  Stockwhip
  A stockwhip is a type of whip made of a long, tapered length of flexible, plaited leather with a stiff handle that is used when mustering cattle.- Origin and uses of the stockwhip :...
  
   (Australia)
• Urumi
  Urumi
  The urumi is a long sword made of flexible steel, sharp enough to cut into flesh, but flexible enough to be rolled into a tight coil. Originating in South India, it was most popular in the North Malabar Coast of Kerala and is often mentioned in the ballads of the region.In kalaripayat, the urumi...
  
  , Chuttuval (Indian)

Sectional or composite

Having multiple handles or holdable sections.

• Nunchaku
  Nunchaku
  is a traditional Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope.-Etymology:The Japanese word nunchaku is the Kun'yomi reading of the Kanji term for a traditional Chinese two section staff....
  
   (Okinawan)
• Samjigun
  Three-section staff
  The Three-Sectional Staff, Triple Staff, Three-part Staff, Sansetsukon in Japanese, or originally Sanjiegun , is a Chinese flail weapon that consists of three wooden or metal staffs connected by metal rings or rope. The weapon is also known as a "coiling dragon staff," or in Chinese as a "pan long...
  
  , Sansetsukon (Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan)
• Tabak-Toyok
  Tabak-Toyok
  The Tabak-Toyok is a Filipino weapon closely related to the Okinawan nunchaku. The primary difference between the Filipino version and other versions of the weapon is that the Tabak-Toyok tends to have shorter handles as well as a longer chain. Each handle is approximately four inches long. The...
  
  , Chako (Southeast Asian)
• Two section staff
  Two section staff
  The two section staff is a versatile weapon which originated in China from the ancient Shaolin temple and Shaolin martial arts. It is a flail-type weapon which consists of a staff with a smaller flail attached by a chain.-See also:...
  
  , Chang Xiao Ban (Chinese; could also be considered a polearm)

Chain weapon

Chain weapon

A chain weapon is a weapon made of one or more heavy objects attached to a chain, sometimes with a handle. The flail was one of the more common types of chain weapons associated with medieval Europe, although some flails used hinges instead of chains....

s

Having a heavy object attached to a flexible chain. Wielded by swinging, throwing, or projecting the end, as well as wrapping, striking, and blocking with the chain.

• Chigiriki (Japanese)
• Cumberjung, Double-Ended Flail, Flail with Quoits (Middle Asian)
• Flail
  Flail (weapon)
  The flail is a hand weapon derived from the agricultural tool.The handle is attached to the striking part of a weapon by a flexible chain or cord...
  
  , Fleau d'armes, kriegsflegel (European)
• Flying claws
  Flying claws
  The Flying Claw is used to ensnare a foe and throw him off balance. It originated in China during the Sui Dynasty and is one of the flexible, or soft, weapons in the Chinese martial arts...
  
   (Chinese)
• Kusari-gama
  Kusarigama
  The is a traditional Japanese weapon that consists of a kama on a metal chain with a heavy iron weight at the end. The kusarigama is said to have developed during the Muromachi period...
  
   (Japanese)
• Kyoketsu-shoge (Japanese)
• Kusari-fundo
  Kusari-fundo
  Kusari-fundo is a hand held weapon used in feudal Japan consisting of a length of chain with a weight connected to each end of the chain. Various sizes and shapes of chain and weight were used as there was no set rule on the construction of these weapons...
  
  , Manriki, Manriki-gusari, Manrikigusari (Japanese)
• Meteor hammer
  Meteor hammer
  The meteor hammer , often referred to simply as meteor, is an ancient Chinese weapon, consisting at its most basic level of two weights connected by a rope or chain. One of the flexible or 'soft' weapons, it is referred to by many different names worldwide, dependent upon region, construction and...
  
  , Dai Chui, Dragon's Fist, Flying Hammer, Liu Xing Chui, Sheng bao (Chinese)
• Rope dart
  Rope dart
  The rope dart or rope javelin , also known as Jōhyō in Japanese,is one of the flexible weapons in Chinese martial arts. Other weapons in this family include the meteor hammer, flying claws, and chain whip...
  
  , Jouhyou, Rope Javelin, Sheng Biao (Chinese, Japanese)
• Slungshot
  Slungshot
  A slungshot is a maritime tool consisting of a weight, or "shot," affixed to the end of a long cord often by being wound into the center of a knot called a "Monkey's fist." It is used to cast line from one location to another, often mooring line...
  
   (European, Chinese, Japanese; improvised; not to be confused with a slingshot
  Slingshot
  A slingshot, shanghai, flip, bean shooter or catapult is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame held in the off hand, with two rubber strips attached to the uprights. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket which holds the projectile...
  
  )
• Surujin
  Surujin
  The surujin or suruchin is one of the traditional weapons of Okinawan Kobudo. It comprises a 2–3 metre long rope with a weight tied to each end. Historically this weapon is very prevalent and can be found attached to a weapon or used separately...
  
  , Suruchin (Okinawan)

Shield

Shield

A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....

s

Used not only to block strikes and missiles but also swung outwardly (or in quick upward motions) to strike an opponent. Also used to rush an opponent (known as shield bashing). Some shields had spikes, sharp edges, or other offensive designs.

• Aspis
  Aspis
  "Aspis" is the generic term for the word shield. The aspis, which is carried by Greek infantry of various periods, is often referred to as a hoplon .According to Diodorus Siculus:-Construction:...
  
  , Hoplon (Mediterranean)
• Buckler
  Buckler
  A buckler is a small shield, 15 to 45 cm in diameter, gripped in the fist; it was generally used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand combat during the Medieval and Renaissance, as its size made it poor protection against missile weapons but useful in deflecting the blow of...
  
   (European)
• Ceremonial Shields, Hide, Leather, Wickerwork (Worldwide, Tribal)
• Heater shield
  Heater shield
  The heater shield or heater-shaped shield is a form of European medieval shield, developing from the early medieval kite shield in ca. the mid 13th century....
  
  , Heraldic Shield (European)
• Hungarian shield
  Hungarian shield
  A Hungarian shield was a specific form of targe. It was rectangular at the bottom, but the upper edge swept upward forming a curve. The elongated upper edge was designed to protect the head and neck against sabre cuts. They were characteristic for the Hungarian light cavalry...
  
   (European)
• Ishlangu (African)
• Kite shield
  Kite shield
  A kite shield was a distinct type of shield from the 10th–12th centuries. It was either a reverse teardrop shape or later on, flat-topped. The tapering point extended down to either a distinct or rounded point...
  
   (European)
• Scuta
  Scutum (shield)
  Scutum is the Latin word for "shield", although it has in modern times come to be specifically associated with the rectangular, semi-cylindrical body shield carried by Roman legionaries.-History:...
  
  , oval scutum, tower or rectangular scutum (Mediterranean)
• Targe
  Targe
  Targe was a general word for shield in late Old English. Its diminutive, target, came to mean an object to be aimed at in the 18th century....
  
   (European)

See also

• List of practice weapons
• List of medieval weapons
• List of martial arts weapons
• List of swords