Real Steel: War Club

Real Steel: War Club

war clubThe war club, in the form of a stick, was probably the first or second weapon ever used by human beingsā€”a rock also being on that early list. Although a stout hardwood branch can get the job done, many cultures have improved both the function and appearance of the humble bludgeon. Native Americans have given us a number of designs, ranging from all wood with a large heavy knob, to a rawhide wrapped stone on a wooden handle. The Celts gave us the burda, and the Zulu the knobkierrie.

This is Real Steel, after Allā€¦

The version of the war club featured here has a steel head, mostly because this is Real Steel, not Genuine Wood. There was no smithing involved in making this oneā€”and just a little simple machining. It doesnā€™t technically meet the specs for any historical war club Iā€™m aware of, but itā€™s close to a burdaā€¦

war clubGet Your Head Wrapped Around It

The head of the club is simply a 4ā€ long piece of 1ā€ inside diameter mild steel pipe with 3/16ā€ walls. The pipe was cut to size using a metal cutting band saw. I used an acrylic paint to create a mask, and then soaked the head in ferric chloride for about 2 hours to etch a deep pattern. A chemical stripper was then applied to remove the paint, and then I used a scotchbrite belt on one of my 2×72ā€ belt grinders to create a uniform satin finish. I use the chemical stripper instead of the grinder to remove the paint because the woven scotchbrite belts are especially subject to clogging if misused, and paint is very gummy.

As Alex Putnam Once Said, ā€œThe Haft of Itā€

The handle is an 18ā€ long piece of 1.25ā€ diameter white oak dowel. I used a coarse belt on the aforementioned belt grinder to first thin the end where the head will slide over the handle, then to shape the repeating conical pattern, stepping down the grit to begin smoothing, finally finishing the sanding by hand with 220 grit. The wood was then scorched on the high points with a propane torch and finally sealed with two coats of teak oil. Oak is very hard and strong, but splinters are a problem, so it must be carefully finished. Torch hardened oak splinters are no joke.

Some Assembly Required

The head is affixed to the haft three ways. First is pressure: I left enough meat on the handle so the head had to be forced on.Ā  Second, I use the same two-part epoxy that I use to affix knife handles. Last, I drill completely through the assembled and epoxied head section and epoxy in a copper pin, the pin is then peened on both sides so it is thicker on the ends than it is in the middle. Peening also somewhat thickens the pin in the middle so it expands to fit tightly in the hole. The top of the handle was then ground off so itā€™s flush with the top of the head.

Evolution

The modest club is the direct ancestor of the mace, morning star, and flail. Weā€™ll be covering the mace and morning star in the near future. I probably wonā€™t make a flail because they are exceedingly dangerous and difficult to handle safelyā€”but weā€™ll seeā€¦

Letā€™s Talk About It

Iā€™m really having fun making these for a couple of reasons. Theyā€™re quick to make and donā€™t require expensive materials or consume expensive resources. As a result of this, they allow me to offer them relatively inexpensively. In the near future, we can look forward to a contest featuring a steel shod war clubā€”warm up your keyboards.

My favorite part of writing Real Steel is the discussion that follows. Iā€™d like to see some links to various types of war clubs. There are lots of examples out thereā€”letā€™s show and tell.

9 thoughts on “Real Steel: War Club”

  1. OK Discussion time:

    1) Did you test it on a melon?

    2) My first impression was that it needed spikes, but on some reflection the actual question is how hard it is to be accurate with the club. A 4 inch metal section doesn’t allow all that much room for error – wood would probably not have the same amount of impact as the metal part in case of a miss.

    3) I think my favorite club was the one carried by the chief in the movie: last of the mohicans, thing looked nasty.

  2. @Darkjoy –

    1) Not yet, but there will be some smashing video soon.

    :)

    2) If it had spikes it would be a morning star. It’s fairly light and accurate, but you’re right, the sweet spot is small – but you can make up for it with fast multiple attacks.

    3) I like that one also – a gunstock spontoon ‘hawk. Nasty weapon indeed.

    @Sean Holland – It only weighs about 1.25 Lbs. Pretty light – compares well with a short sword. Compared to some of the Polynesian tropical wood clubs I’ve seen this one is a baby.

  3. Pretty.

    It like a trunceon, with a backbone. Not my first choice of weapon as a hardened adventurer. But it won’t bet me run through by the Watch when I carry it around town, either.

  4. Can I ask you something? Did you see the war club used by Crazy Horse in the latest episode of “Deadliest Warrior” and what do you think about it? Was Crazy Horse ripped-off, somehow?

  5. @Dmitri – I watched it last night. That’s a true stone age war club – it made for an interesting mix of technology that Crazy Horse used. The thin wood/rawhide shaft provides a nice whip effect, but the point of impact is the size of a dime – overall I think it’s not very effective.

    Season one and two I felt like someone got ripped off pretty often, but less so in season three. The bottom line, though, is that although software makes the call, people input the data, so there’s always a subjective element. As long as that’s the case, there is the potential to cry foul.

    There’s a dilemma whenever Native Americans participate: these were stone age cultures, and if made to stick with that technology, they would almost certainly lose every time. HOWEVER, they were tactical geniuses, able to adapt, learn, and take their enemy’s technology and turn it against them. Finding a balanced, realistic way to make this work is understandably problematic, but I think the producers have done a good job of doing that.

    I think we need to just keep in mind that the show is supposed to be fun. So just enjoy it.

    :)

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