THE
AXES
OF
CAELERETH |
The Axe originally had been a tool used to cut down trees and refining the tree to suitable pieces of firewood. Later on the Axe was more and more used for self-defence, and it ended up as a weapon of its own, of which there exist various different varieties.
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The Axe is used either as a
one-handed, or a two-handed weapon. It
is made up of two parts, the shaft and the head. The shaft is usually of wood,
but some types are made of
steel or iron. The shaft is
used as a handle for the tool, the place where you hold the
Axe. On the top of it
sits the head. The head is the most important part of the
Axe. It
serves for cutting or bludgeoning, and sometimes
possesses on or more spikes or
an additional blade at the back of it. The head is made either of steel or iron.
The weight of the Axe is concentrated here. There are several types of axes:
Usages Axes, Light Axes, Medium Axes, Heavy Axes and Throwing
Axes.
Description.
In the beginning the Axes where made out of
wood, flint or bone. The flint or bone were attached
to the shaft by strips of leather or other strong and though material. The first
Axes were used as primitive
weapons and tools to gather wood or food. Later on, when the knowledge of metals
emerged, new Axes were made out of
bronze, then improved ones by using steel and iron.
These were the first Lumberjack
Axes. An Axe is wielded by
swinging the shaft at the target, so that the blade on
the head hits the target.
Notes on Axe measurements:
Hold the Axe with the shaft horizontally. One end to
the left, and the other to the right. The head must be at your right side, blade
pointing down. This way you can determine the following
measures:
Base Height
The base height on an axe is the area in the axe, which the shaft
penetrates. The base height is therefore the same height as the shaft.
The following terms are of relevance when talking about Axe handling:
Sharpening
Whenever an Axe-blade is becoming dull, it
needs a decent sharpening. When the Axe is
sharpened, a small grindstone is stroked on the sides of the blade.
Weapon Types. The following Axe types are the most commonly known ones:
USAGE AXES (Lumberjack Axe, Farm Axe)
The
Lumberjack Axe
The Lumberjack
Axe is the most ancient and most
simple of all axe types and serves as a working tool.
The head part is rectangular shaped, with a light
curve in the blade. The main use
of this tool was simply to cut
down trees and to chop the wood into smaller
pieces of firewood. The Lumberjack
Axe wasn’t designed to
kill. Later on in the currents of time, this Axe was
used for defensive reasons, and small alterations were added to it. The blade
became broader, and the shaft stronger. From the basics of this re-forged type
of weapon emerged the Broadaxe.
The Lumberjack Axe can be used two-handed to cut down trees and one-handed to
seperate the log from the branches.
The
Farm Axe
The workhorse of the farmer, woodsman, and builder, this broad bladed
Axe is single sided. The blunt end is about the size
of a human’s clenched fist, and can be used
as a maul. The sharp side is wedge-shaped in cross-section, and from one to
two handspans long. The handle is often curved slightly for comfort and
have a better leverage when swinging.
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The Light Axe
The Light Axe is the
smallest type of Axes. The shaft is short and light,
the square head is small, and the total weight of this Axe
is less than it looks. The Light
Axe is not suitable on foot, as the range is short,
and the blade easily gets stuck in melee
combat. Then again, it is quite effective
on horseback.
The Light Axe is used to swing down on the heads of
the foot soldiers, and slash their heads and necks. As it is small, light, and
quite manoeuvrable, it is dangerous in the hands of skilled fighters. There is
another version of this Axe, with a longer shaft,
which is used as primary weapon, instead of the usual
secondary place the ordinary Light
Axe has.
The Spike Axe
The Spike Axe is the most
unique of all the Axe types. The blade is shaped
as one long piece of metal, bent
down in a deep curve. The blade, which resembles a large, bent spike, is as
sharp as a razor, and at the end of the spike is a pointed end. The weapon is
wielded with great speed, as it is lighter than most swords. The cutting edge is
designed to slash open armour and deal devastating wounds, and the pointed end
is used for dealing the final kill.
There is another version of the Spike Axe, which
resembles more a sword. The difference between these two versions is that the
other’s blade is bent upwards
instead of downwards. The shape of the blade is also a
bit different. It is shaped more like a scythe blade, but the edge is on the
other side.
The Broadaxe
A shorter and stronger shaft than on the Lumberjack
Axe builds up the Broadaxe,
and a broader and more curved blade. The head is considerably larger, as the
blade is thicker and sturdier. The Broadaxe was the
first weapon designed solely to kill. From the designs of the
Broadaxe came several other variations, from where other types of
Axes emerged. Other versions of the
Broadaxe are the Nail Axe,
the Double-bladed
axe and the Oks-Axe.
The Braodaxe is used one-handed.
The Double-edged Axe
This Axe is an additional version of the
Broadaxe. It possesses one additional blade at the
back of the head, lending the Axe its name. One-handed.
The Nail Axe
This Axe is an additional version of the
Broadaxe. It is larger than the Broadaxe,
and it has five spikes at the back of it. One-handed.
The Oks-Axe
Oks-Axes are built like Broadaxes,
but the blade is more square, and the shaft is longer.
One-handed.
The Formation Axe
The Formation Axe is a one
handed heavy Light Axe
in fact, created entirely out of steel. The head is square, with a
lightly curved blade, and a half fore long faintly curved spike at the end. The
Formation Axe is very
manoeuvrable, and can compete with any
sword in formation fighting.
Formation Axes are best wielded with a shield.
The Axe was created as a weapon to be wielded on foot,
but it is a very handy secondary weapon at mounted warfare as
well. The Formation Axe
is preferred by several foot soldiers, as the design of this
Axe makes large bumps and cracks in shields and plate armour, and easily
cracks bone through mail. Use one-handed
as well.
The Star Axe
With a zigzag shaped bladed
Axe, the Star Axe is one of
the strangest Axes in
Caelereth. The blade is put together by five
pieces of steel. One that serves as the
"backbone", and four
triangular pieces placed on the backbone. The
triangles slash down into enemy armour, and as they are blocked by the backbone,
the slash won't go very
deep. Thus it is easy to pull out.
The Star Axe can either be used as a one-handed
or two-handed weapon in
a larger version.
The Dareg Axe
The Dareg axe is a heavy
one-handed axe. It has one piece of heavy head, with a
broad, curved blade. The unusual part of this weapon is that the blade curves
inwards. The curve disables enemy troops to slip away during the blow, and thus
cut deeper, and cut through limbs. The Dareg
Axe is preferred by heavily
armoured foot soldiers.
The Two-handed
Axe
The Two-handed
Axe is a common very heavy
Axe trough. The head’s shape is related to the
Lumberjack Axe, which is a
square head and has a faintly curved blade. The weapon
is not as heavy as it might look, but it is necessary
to wield it with both hands as the shaft is more than one and a half peds long.
The Bilier
The Bilier is known as the axe-counterpart
to the flamberge. It is large, very heavy, and easily
slices through armour, shields and body parts. The
head is larger than the shaft, more than one ped long. The giant blade is
square, and is similar to a cleaver. When wielding this weapon, you only
have one chance to hit at each
attack as the Axe is very heavy and hard to
swing, and it is almost impossible to get another strike on your
enemy if you haven't finished the previous blow. There
is a smaller version of the Bilier, which
has a much lighter blade, and is possible to
be used one-handed. The
Bilier is a two-handed weapon, but
the small-Bilier is a one-handed one.
The Battle-Axe
The Battle-Axe is a neat
moderately heavy Axe made up by two large curved
blades. The head is not large, consisting only
of a piece of metal a hand
broad. The blades tough are about two fores and a half broad, and nearly half a
fore long. The slash of a battle-axe makes nasty gashes in any armour.
Battle-Axes are used two-handed.
The Throwing Axe
The Throwing axe is quite similar to the
Lumberjack Axe, with a
rectangular head, and a faint curve at the blade. The only difference is the
short shaft. This is a common throwing weapon, thrown with
one hand.
Usage. The
axe is used either as a weapon, or as a tool to
cut down trees, and chop the tree down
to suitable pieces about the size fitting a fireplace. To master an axe is not
simple. It is not hard to learn the basics, but
in order to become an expert, it
requires more than that.
Fighting Style.
Chop and cut. The fighters wielding an Axe
can usually be found in the center of the battle action,
either mounted or on foot. The axe is
swung up, and then swung down on the enemy.
Origin/History. There
have always been Axes in the
memories of men. But as the knowledge of making them out of metal improved and
the smiths got more experience, the Axes
became more elegant and smooth.
Information provided by
The Akorn
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