Dark Luther
11-05-2006, 01:30 AM
At Kaffee's request - a thread on a very archaic and rare weapon.
The ono was a massive Japanese war axe - generally towards mythical proportions much like the zanbato was to a sword.
The blades usually stood out one foot each, while the axe itself was around four feet long. Weighing around from 11 to 13 kilos ( or an average of 25 lb ) the axe was even larger than the great axe from fiction - though they share a similar appearance in some cases.
In truth the axe shifted in appearance depending on the very few examples seen today - mostly depending on where it was taken from.
What use could someone have for this axe -
or better yet, Who could wield this bloody thing.
Well, much like the zanbato - it's almost comical to say it was in fact simply small warrior monks from Japan - called the sohei.
As the Sohei would use the zanbato to chop horses in half -
they would use this axe in very specific situations -
to chop a door in half.
The amazing thing about this weapon is that it was rarely used against people - it was used to break down locked doors during the storming of a castle or domain. It also served as a good way to clear barracades and gates - and was extremly intimidating to anyone charging the storming formation.
I know, I know - it would have been so much cooler to hear about a 5 foot tall meek monk being used as a bezerker with this massive axe almost his size. Charging into formations and cleaving soldiers in half...
But in truth - as physics still exists..., it couldn't be swung in more than a simply - raise and let crash down.
A good axe men would be simply able to raise it up and allow it to fall with a small rotation forward and be able to cut at a between 25 and 15 degree angle...
Still, I do know men who could do a little more,
in fact my friend ( who is of course not Japanese ) is 6' 4'' and could possible wield the axe with more precision...
still though, a smaller axe would be more conventional...,
but with big people like that - they rarely look for the conventional...lol
Anyway - there are cases of this axe being used and a very few surviving samples - mostly due to the rare use of the axe.
For further info...your out of luck, cause I don't think there's much out there online...
But they do have info in wikipedia if you search oni axe,
but i don't think there's more than a paragraph...
Well, for this week, I am Luther and glad to have brought you another installment of exotic weapons of EF.
See you next week
The ono was a massive Japanese war axe - generally towards mythical proportions much like the zanbato was to a sword.
The blades usually stood out one foot each, while the axe itself was around four feet long. Weighing around from 11 to 13 kilos ( or an average of 25 lb ) the axe was even larger than the great axe from fiction - though they share a similar appearance in some cases.
In truth the axe shifted in appearance depending on the very few examples seen today - mostly depending on where it was taken from.
What use could someone have for this axe -
or better yet, Who could wield this bloody thing.
Well, much like the zanbato - it's almost comical to say it was in fact simply small warrior monks from Japan - called the sohei.
As the Sohei would use the zanbato to chop horses in half -
they would use this axe in very specific situations -
to chop a door in half.
The amazing thing about this weapon is that it was rarely used against people - it was used to break down locked doors during the storming of a castle or domain. It also served as a good way to clear barracades and gates - and was extremly intimidating to anyone charging the storming formation.
I know, I know - it would have been so much cooler to hear about a 5 foot tall meek monk being used as a bezerker with this massive axe almost his size. Charging into formations and cleaving soldiers in half...
But in truth - as physics still exists..., it couldn't be swung in more than a simply - raise and let crash down.
A good axe men would be simply able to raise it up and allow it to fall with a small rotation forward and be able to cut at a between 25 and 15 degree angle...
Still, I do know men who could do a little more,
in fact my friend ( who is of course not Japanese ) is 6' 4'' and could possible wield the axe with more precision...
still though, a smaller axe would be more conventional...,
but with big people like that - they rarely look for the conventional...lol
Anyway - there are cases of this axe being used and a very few surviving samples - mostly due to the rare use of the axe.
For further info...your out of luck, cause I don't think there's much out there online...
But they do have info in wikipedia if you search oni axe,
but i don't think there's more than a paragraph...
Well, for this week, I am Luther and glad to have brought you another installment of exotic weapons of EF.
See you next week