Maces and War Hammers: The Answer to Armour

A sword edge does very little to a well-made plate harness. It skates. A mace does not need to cut — it delivers all of its force into a small area and transmits the shock through the steel into the man inside it. Broken bones under intact armour were common.

This is why maces appear everywhere armour improved, not because they were primitive. They are a technical answer to a technical problem.

Flanged mace — vertical steel fins around the head. The fins concentrate force and bite rather than skid. The dominant European pattern from the 14th century onward.

Knobbed or bar mace — a plain or ribbed cylindrical head. Simple, brutally effective, and common across Eastern Europe and the Near East.

War hammer — a hammer face on one side and a curved beak or spike on the other. The face stuns; the beak punches through plate and finds the gaps.

Horseman's pick — a long beak on a short haft, made to be swung down from the saddle.

A one-handed mace runs 2 to 4 pounds and 24 to 30 inches. That is enough. A five-pound head on a short haft is a fantasy prop and will wreck your wrist.

Two-handed war hammers reach four to five feet and were battlefield weapons for armoured foot combat.

The head must be pinned or riveted through the haft, not press-fitted. A head that flies off mid-swing is a serious injury waiting for a witness.

Steel haft or steel-langeted wood for anything you will actually swing. Bare wood under a heavy head splinters.

Cast zinc alloy heads exist and are display only. Ask what the head is made of before buying, and if the answer is vague, assume zinc.