This list of traditional armaments tries to include all "traditional" armaments. Essentially anything that is wieldable, excluding "modern" (post American civil war) firearms. It lists everything by typology in easy-to-reference tables for your searching convenience.
This catalog does not however presume to list every dialectal variant for the word spear, sword, etc. It only attempts to provide a broad range of designs or unique characteristics of various arms of historical or regional significance, i.e. items that stand out from the standard norm. This catalog may include some modern examples but it tries to lean towards weapons of the past.
For mythological or fictional arms see:
:Category:Mythological weapons
:Category:Fictional weapons
:Category:Fictional swords
How to read this table
Martial uses
Implement – (main use is a tool/but has been "known" to be used in battle or modified as a poor-mans weapon) War – (battle tested and usually standard issue) Practice – (hardly functional/can still be dangerous) Civilian – (impracticable for warfare/battlefields, similar to martial art category but not as formalized. primarily used as a deterrent; for self-protection or dueling) Improvised – (makeshift or grabbing/but recorded to have been used) Martial art – (dueling and sparring/more likely to see it in a school than on the battlefield) Historic – (not a type but a "named" blade or of historical significance) Ceremony/ornament – (Main purpose is not as a weapon, but it isn't a toy either) Parry – (A parrying knife/ "sword breaker" Typically used off-hand; Paired with a main weapon to shield from incoming blows, counterattack or disarm) Relic – (surviving example of the ancient past, historic and precious )
First column header Prime example for comparison (weapon style/usage notation)
Era
ANCIENT – Dawn of civilization stone/Bronze Age
ANTIQUITY – (Mediterranean) Time of Greek & Roman states. roughly Iron Age
MEDIEVAL – (Europe) Middle Ages 476 AD to 1450 AD
RENAISSANCE – (Europe) 14th–16th centuries Europe
MODERN – came into use fairly recently in the human time line
TRADITIONAL – Modern use with roots in the distant past
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Synonyms
Throwing axes – labeled under tomahawks
Boomerang – labeled as a shuriken
Wooden swords – considered a club or truncheon based on overall shape
Cane sword – under rapier heading due to its blade function. Shikomizue – under long truncheons due to its scabbard form. #top
Pole arms and staff weapons
A pole with a weaponized tip; often used to counter mounted cavalry or to aid in infantry charges. Their benefit is their reach. Their hindrance is they are often hard to wield and transport, and tie up both hands; this usually leads to the need of a backup weapon such as a sword.
Surmounted "spear-like" head
conical(spiked) or triangular (dagger) tipped – used primarily for impaling
Lances/Cavalry
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Pikes/Infantry
:Category:Bayonets—Modern rifle pikes
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Javelins/Throwing/Skirmish
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Spear, Trident/Hunting, War
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Surmounted "sword-like" tip
Sabre shaped
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Cleaver shaped
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Concave edge/Falcate
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Surmounted "axe-style" tip
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Surmounted hammer/mace/Pick
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Battle staves/counterbalanced
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Man catchers/indirect lethality
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Hafted/fitted onto handles
Socketed heads, fitted on a short staff or stick carved into a handle "HELVE"
Used to break armor, shields, and bone by virtue of kinetic impact
wedge-shaped or crescent-edged blade used to cleave
Hafted one-handed
Can be thrown or wielded, hafted weapons consist of a heavy head inset on a short handle and are used to deliver powerful blows
Tomahawks/hammers/picks
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Maces
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Hafted/two hander
Longer helve to accommodate two hands and a heavier tip
Axes/battle axes
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Hammers/Mauls/Pickaxes
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Hafted-like/short pole mounted
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Hilted blades/fitted into handles
Tang fitted into a handle, can often have hand guards
Knives
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Daggers
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Short swords/long knives
The iffy category between dagger and knife and sword. Most chopping backswords are here as well as daggers over 12"