Viking Winged Spearhead with Ornate Socket

Description

The Viking thrusting spear was more commonly used than swords, being much less expensive to produce. The wings (also called lugs), of Frankish origin, limited the penetration of the weapon and provided an effective parrying guard. They wings limited the penetration of the spear, for example, into a charging wild boar and thus offered effective protection. The crossbar could also be used in battles to ward off enemy attacks, hook the edge of the shield and do other advanced techniques that could not be done with a normal spear.

Hanwei’s decorated spearheads, designed by Paul Chen, demonstrate the Vikings’ creative mix of art and war, whereby weapons often carried intricate patterns which were created by using the niello process. This involved using an alloy of several metals (notably silver) mixed with sulfur, which was rubbed into an incised pattern and then fired. Where the alloy had been rubbed into the engravings, it would remain black, while the rest of the surface would be polished to a bright finish. The decorating process used at Hanwei involves a little less alchemy but still provides a lustrous, permanent niello-like effect.

• Viking era spearhead
• Niello-like decorations on socket
• Only spearhead supplied (without shaft)
• Overall length: approx. 41.5 cm
• Blade length: approx. 27 cm
• Blade width at the widest part 6.1 cm
• Blade thickness at the base: approx. 18 mm
• Weight: 440 g
• Inner diameter of the socket approx. 2.6 cm so the shaft diameter should be 2.6 cm or thicker
• Sharpness: Unsharpened
• Material: Cast steel
• As this spearhead is cast it doesn’t have same strength as forged spearheads. We don’t recommend this spearhead for historical reenactment combat because it will not last in sports use as well as forged heads.
• Made by Hanwei