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Issue 8: Weapons:Maces

 
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10/3/2007 23:46:05   
mastin2
Member

Correct me if I'm wrong, but no one seems to have posted this yet:



quote:


Weapons Behind the Magic: Maces!
By Ronin of Dreams


Whether it be a stout piece of firewood or the broken remains of a table leg, men everywhere have seen the ability of a solid extension to the arm in a fight. It is not something easily ignored by even the most expert of swordsmen and has seen its own evolution as a combat armament. Today I bring you some of the truths and secrets behind that evolution, as I reveal to you the Forge Arts behind Maces.

Before I continue, however, let me preface myself with an admission. Maces have many manners of construction, some of which are more complex given available tools. As I, Arcadius Corosco, have kept myself to merely the most basic of forge tools, my method will be only one among the many possible. With that in mind, the Mace starts much like a polearm would start: with the haft.

Maces tend to be a workhorse of close combat so while a nice stout length of a hardwood like oak would do, a rolled and beaten length of metal tends to find preference by both smiths and fighters. Breaking or being hacked away is a risk carried with a wooden haft; however, it can speed the production of the mace itself to use wood rather than take the time with metalwork. A mace head can be molded directly onto the haft itself, usually incorporating extra bands of metal welded by heat and hammer as striking points, yet such 'crowned' maces tend to be of poorer quality than I prefer to provide to my customers.

Instead, I prefer to forge the mace head, particularly if I intend to use a flanged or spiked mace design. It also simplifies things just enough without adding more tricky timing. Rather than a pure sphere of metal, the base mace head is slowly formed into a more pear-like shape before bringing the next step in. Using a blunt, typically square ended punch, a smith then hammers in indentations called notches where the spikes or flanges shall attach to the mace head itself. A cylindrical punch is used for where the mace head will attach to the haft as well, provided the haft was rounded out when originally formed.

The flanges and spikes themselves are forged separately in whatever lethal design that the smith prefers to use, or as the customer asks for. Each flange or spike will have a short square peg, or two if the flanges are wide or tall enough, which correspond to a notch made within the base of the mace head. This may make interesting work with the tongs to keep from accidentally impaling oneself at times, let me tell you! Once all parts are finished, the assembly can begin.

Now this isn't quite so easy as fitting each peg into the hole, nor is it entirely without some trial and error. Even the best of us sometimes struggle to get each peg sized just right, typically a hair or two wider when cool than the notch. When ready, both the peg and notch of both pieces are heated before fitted together with liberal application of pressure from a wooden mallet and then cooled when flush together. As it cools, the metal retracts, and a peg naturally lengthens by design under heat... which means the notch and peg fuse themselves together. Not always perfectly, and sometimes it requires each section to be heated differently, but it works. The actual science-- physics, I believe Falerin calls it-- is beyond my desire to explain. We smiths merely know it works and works well as an aid to fuse a mace together!

From that point, merely attach each piece together and then the tricky business of attaching the mace head to the haft itself is left. Now, rather than leave oneself wide open to accidents, most smiths use custom brackets and guides along with a vice to hold the haft when fusing these two segments together. Sometimes even on assembling the mace head as well, depending on design. When it is all said and done, however, a strong and sturdy mace is ready to be used to break bones and bash armor by whichever fighter buys it.



< Message edited by mastin2 -- 10/3/2007 23:48:53 >
Post #: 1
10/4/2007 0:46:38   
Genoclysm
Legendary AdventureGuide!


Apparently not.

I always like Ronin's articles. I'm curious though, how are spikes hammered in without messing up the spike or stabbing something by accident?
Post #: 2
10/4/2007 7:26:04   
Ronin Of Dreams
Still Watching...


In regards to Genoclysm's curiosity, in two parts:

Part A:
quote:


When ready, both the peg and notch of both pieces are heated before fitted together with liberal application of pressure from a wooden mallet and then cooled when flush together.


Hammering on the cooled metal with a much softer medium, that of wood, preserves the mostly finished metalwork from warping. And you are typically applying pressure more directly on the *base* of the spike, not the tip.

Part B:
quote:


Now, rather than leave oneself wide open to accidents, most smiths use custom brackets and guides along with a vice to hold the haft when fusing these two segments together. Sometimes even on assembling the mace head as well, depending on design.


Such brackets turn the applied pressure from part A into a more general and evenly applied force on the spike, of the full mace head, depending on the point in the project. They don't always last terribly long, but they are easily to replace and don't nearly need to be entirely accurate molds. Of course, *speaking* of molds...obviously a casting project can make the same end result as a one piece function, but where's the fun in that?

In addition to the above, which came straight out of the article, there is always the possibility of clever vice/tong work by the smiths themselves as they develop their own striking patterns and style. Traditional rhythm blows get customized, more or less strength applied to each uniform blow, etc. Besides, those who aren't careful typically wind up burned and scarred very early in their apprenticeships long before they would handle more tricky work such as a spiked mace solo, and its a fair bet that most smiths tend to specialize away from maces entirely, or focus more on the warhammer, crowned, or flanged mace designs.
AQ  Post #: 3
10/7/2007 9:13:44   
Glint
Member

Yes, finally maces get the attention and praise they so desperately need!

I've always wondered how my favorite weapons were made...
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 4
10/10/2007 23:19:19   
Vaseline28
Member

Yet another excellent work of RoD's! Before I go on, I'd like to mentin that I can't wait for your next piece...

I like the mix of science and pretend, at the same time as mixing in description. I would be intrigued to know what Falerin does call it...

quote:

The actual science-- physics, I believe Falerin calls it-- is beyond my desire to explain. We smiths merely know it works and works well as an aid to fuse a mace together!
AQ DF MQ  Post #: 5
10/11/2007 16:23:08   
Ronin Of Dreams
Still Watching...


Muwhahaha....well...the next issue isn't exactly what you probably would expect.

And that is all I'll say on that.
AQ  Post #: 6
10/17/2007 12:39:02   
xaxtoo
Member

Medieval running shoes? Yea yea.
AQ  Post #: 7
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