The Complete Handbook of Spears

Chapter 1: Understanding Spears

A spear is not a single object. It is a system: a defined length of a rigid material, called the shaft, and a sharpened or pointed implement, called the head, affixed to one end for the purpose of delivering a penetrating or cutting force at a distance greater than that of the user's arm. That distance is the core of its existence. Before firearms, the reach a weapon gives you is the difference between engaging a threat and being gored by a charge. This book treats the spear as the engineering solution it represents, not a backdrop for myth. Understanding the spear requires understanding that function has driven every design choice for tens of thousands of years, and that the trade-offs made in that time are as relevant to a collector, a reenactor, or a modern martial artist as they were to a soldier on a march.

For most of human history, the spear was the primary weapon of warfare and hunting on every inhabited continent. This dominance was not an accident of tradition. It is the result of a set of mechanical and economic advantages that no other weapon could match for a general-purpose military or hunting force. You can win a battle with a spear-armed levy of farmers; you cannot win one with an untrained swordsman. The reason is the leverage the weapon provides. The simple physics of a lever apply here: the point of force application is moved a very long way from