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Post by MEversbergII on Dec 30, 2014 16:05:08 GMT
Question about the shaft - does it come pre-tapered for the socket, or is it just a straight rod?
M.
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Razor
Senior Forumite
Posts: 1,883 
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Post by Razor on Dec 31, 2014 2:10:16 GMT
Question about the shaft - does it come pre-tapered for the socket, or is it just a straight rod? M. It comes pre-tapered and fits nicely in the socket. |
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Post by MEversbergII on Dec 31, 2014 2:17:28 GMT
Question about the shaft - does it come pre-tapered for the socket, or is it just a straight rod? M. It comes pre-tapered and fits nicely in the socket. Oh excellent! Thanks! M. |
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Post by screwtape on Jan 3, 2015 11:39:23 GMT
I bought one of these the day I saw them in stock on amazon, I was really looking forward to it (I have an interest in billhooks but didn't yet own one). Mine also has no holes drilled in the socket, even though there is a set of assembly instructions which reference the "pre-drilled holes in the head," leading me to believe that this is some error by the manufacturer. No reply yet from cold steel customer service about it. Sadly I have neither the skills nor tools to drill a hole through the steel. Has anyone checked to see if the two halberds and winged spear have the same problem? Hi, I just bought three of the MAA series (well, about a month ago) - a Classic Leaf-Shape Spear, a Sergeant's Halberd and the English Bill - from Warriors and Wonders here in Canada. First, ALL THREE came both with "mounting instructions" that described what size drill bit to use to pre-drill the screw holes in the wooden shaft to line up with the prepared holes in the heads before screwing the included mounting screws home AND with a pair of mounting screws. However, while the Leaf Spear and the Sergeant's Halberd both had holes in the metal heads for the screws, the English Bill did not. I contacted Warriors and Wonders about it, and they checked the other English Bills in their warehouse, and they didn't have mounting holes either. In their opinion, this was a manufacturing defect, and they are contacting Cold Steel about it. (Haven't heard back yet about a response.) So as far as I can tell, I agree with you that the lack of holes in the English Bill is a manufacturing defect. Based on the two other models I have seen, the OTHER polearms in the MAA series DO come with the holes drilled through the steel. Hope that helps. Oh yes, for anybody who is interested, the Sergeant's Halberd in my opinion is "nifty". CS seems to have two thicknesses of shaft it uses on its polearms - a thicker one like the one it uses on its original Boar Spear (about 1 3/8" diameter), and a slightly thinner one like the one it uses on its Assegai (about 1 1/8"diameter). The English Bill, the MAA European Boar Spear and probably the new Swiss Halberd use the thicker shaft; the other MAA spears and the Sergeant's Halberd use the thinner one. This means the Sergeant's Halberd still has a strong, sharp, wicked cutting and stabbing head while being lighter and faster handling than the English Bill (well, faster than my old Boar Spear anyway; I don't have the English Bill fully mounted yet...) |
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Post by randomnobody on Jan 5, 2015 1:31:44 GMT
Hmm, interesting.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 5, 2015 2:25:41 GMT
Good to hear, Screwtype; the Sergeant's Halberd caught my eye as soon as I first saw it early last year, as did the Winged Spear.
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Razor
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Post by Razor on Mar 16, 2015 1:12:35 GMT
I sharpened and peened the head on the staff and then shaped, sanded the brown crap off, and linseed oiled it. Sanding the brown crap took the longest, it was a pain in the $emprini.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Mar 16, 2015 2:02:42 GMT
Is it just a trick of the light or is the shaft in that second image slightly rectangular, Ray?
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Razor
Senior Forumite
Posts: 1,883
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Post by Razor on Mar 16, 2015 4:19:06 GMT
Is it just a trick of the light or is the shaft in that second image slightly rectangular, Ray? Yes. I shaped it. I comes with the Boar spear staff, which is round. |
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Mar 16, 2015 5:14:48 GMT
Nice job; it looks as though it came that way.
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Mar 16, 2015 20:28:32 GMT
Is it just a trick of the light or is the shaft in that second image slightly rectangular, Ray? Yes. I shaped it. I comes with the Boar spear staff, which is round. Has anyone ever told you that you kind of look like Walter Sorrels? |
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Razor
Senior Forumite
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Post by Razor on Mar 16, 2015 20:45:07 GMT
Nope
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Mikeeman
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Post by Mikeeman on Mar 16, 2015 21:26:45 GMT
You kind of look like Walter Sorrels Now you have.  |
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Post by Voltan on Mar 17, 2015 2:10:52 GMT
Well done Razor, looks great! I agree, the handle looks like it was made that way to begin with. Nice work.
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Razor
Senior Forumite
Posts: 1,883
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Post by Razor on Mar 17, 2015 5:26:13 GMT
Thank you Vincent and Voltan.
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Post by randomnobody on Mar 19, 2015 1:03:12 GMT
I missed this update somehow. Looks much better, well done.
I had forgotten about these things entirely...
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Post by howler on Aug 9, 2016 22:57:56 GMT
Cold Steel English Bill By Ray HarringtonI'm 5'7"  IntroductionI always wanted an English Bill, so when Cold Steel, came out with their Man At Arm Collection, I was excited. I waited for KOA to have them in stock but I couldn't wait any more. So I went on Amazon, and found one for $95.17 with free shipping from Red Gear. Full DisclosureI purchased this bill hook for myself and I'm not affiliated with Cold Steel or Red Gear. ShippingWhen UPS delivered my order, they only brought half my order, which was the head and not the shaft. I waited for a couple of days to make sure the shaft would come, because I know Cold Steel ships polearm's head and shaft in separate boxes. After a couple of days and the shaft never showed up, I emailed Red Gear, and after a couple of quick responsive emails from Red Gear, they sent me the shaft. Historical OverviewThe bill-hook or English bill, started out as an agricultural tool and became a fearful weapon on the battle field. The English were known for their longbowmen and billmen and even after in the 16 Century when England switched from their own try and true bow and billmen to pike and shot. The bill did in fact appear to have been in official military use as late as 1681 when it was known to have formed part of the armoury of Britain's Tangier garrison. StatisticsOverall Head length: 24 1/2"Back spike: 2 1/4"Bill blade: 9 1/2"Top spike: 7 7/8Thickness: 2.46mmSteel: 1055 carbonshaft: Ash woodOverall: 7' 6"Weight: 1lb. 13 3/8 ozBill Hook HeadThe head is light, about a pound lighter than Arms & Armor's English Bill. The head looks to be blued instead of that black paint that they use on their other polearms and axes. There is no hole/holes in the socket for mounting the head to the shaft, which is an epic fail from Cold Steel. I will explain more in the test cutting.       ShaftThe shaft is the same crap brown colored shaft that Cold Steel uses for the Boar spear. I wish they used the same shaft that's in their cutting vid.  HandlingI really like the way this bill hook handles. This is a light and fast polearm and I'm going to have fun training with it. Test CuttingThe bill hook comes sharp and I did some cutting before I made the video. Because there isn't a way to secure the head to the shaft, it is unsafe for cutting. After a couple of cuts the head would get loose and I hit my post on my cutting stand and the head would twist. I tried to cut a 2 liter soda bottle and when I struck the bottle the head flew off and went flying away. So for the video I just cut a few milk jugs and you can see me tighten the head, right before I thrust in to the jug. ProsSharp light blued ConsNO HOLE/S IN THE SOCKET TO SAFELY MOUNT IT TO THE SHAFT! Blued: some people might not like the blued finish. The round sempr!ni colored shaft.....Well, for me anyways. ConclusionCold Steel needs to drill some holes in the socket so it can be safely mounted to the shaft, and it would be nice too have the shaft that's in their cutting video instead of the round shaft that it now comes with. I'm going to drill some hole in the socket to peen it to the shaft and shape the shaft to my liking and sand the rest for the brown off and treat it with linseed oil. I like the weight. It make it a light polearm and if it was heavier I would cut the overall length to about 5' to 6'. Bottom LineI really like it but, I would only recommend this to people that can drill holes in the socket and peen or bolt it to the shaft. This would also be good for people who like DIY products. Hey Razor (or if you are Ray), nice post, and I think it is worth an update regarding the Cold Steel MAA English Bill. I just received mine today from Optics Planet (under $90 with free shipping...and you can get a better deal with Jet.com...with 15% off-1st time). So, it came in one large box, with both head and shaft in separate boxes within. Little screws were stuck in box (so be careful to not throw away)...though I have heard you should replace with longer, better screws...is this true (what do you think)? Shaft was straight, though round (Boar spear handle)...and not the "better" one shown in some earlier examples. Now to the "meat and potatoes" (so to speak)...the head. It was straight and sharpened, though I will want to touch it up a bit more. There appeared to be a little rust inside the handle, so I'll give it a wipe of oil. There WERE two holes drilled into the socket (so it appears they fixed that issue). Assembly instructions and CS proof certificate were included in the head box. The whole thing was VERY WELL packaged, with plastic attachments at the end of the three "pokey" points on the Bill hook. I'm suddenly the owner of a small collection of polearms, with this joining my MAA Sergeant's Halberd...light and fast, and Boar spear...a FANTASTIC long blade/hewing head. My MAA Lance point and Assegai (short) are spears...though I would ask you (and anyone on the forum) what is the difference between a polearm and a spear? Bottom line, I like polearms, and this is a worthy addition (factoring price point, quality, competition). Btw, Razor, how's yours holding up, and do you have it displayed somewhere (man cave, hallway/entry wall, living room wall, garage wall next to car, etc...)? |
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Aug 9, 2016 23:21:02 GMT
what is the difference between a polearm and a spear? A non-thrown spear is a type of polearm (except perhaps for very short ones, like the iklwa; short-hafted axes aren't usually considered to be polearms, so the same should apply to very short spears). There's no hard boundary between spears and other polearms. Partisans, sword-staffs, etc. are types of spears. Spears often have smaller heads than other polearms, but there are non-spear polearms with small heads (e.g., the naigama, a Japanese long-hafted sickle) and spears with very large heads (2-3'). Spears with wings, hooks, side spikes etc. Single-edged spears. |
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Post by howler on Aug 10, 2016 1:28:20 GMT
what is the difference between a polearm and a spear? A non-thrown spear is a type of polearm (except perhaps for very short ones, like the iklwa; short-hafted axes aren't usually considered to be polearms, so the same should apply to very short spears). There's no hard boundary between spears and other polearms. Partisans, sword-staffs, etc. are types of spears. Spears often have smaller heads than other polearms, but there are non-spear polearms with small heads (e.g., the naigama, a Japanese long-hafted sickle) and spears with very large heads (2-3'). Spears with wings, hooks, side spikes etc. Single-edged spears. I rather suspected the transition between spear and polearm to be non-precise, amorphous, etc...in other words, tied to a specific context of use. I would have to agree with what you said about a spear with smaller head (combined with longer, lighter overall weight), a combination of variables...and of course, use. My Boar spear would definitely be a polearm if used against a human, but against a wild pig, it would be a....well...Boar spear. My MAA lance point spear...that is a spear, as it is light, small head and shaft, and really only pokes. There is a WILD and woolly constellation of polearms that were used in Europe, not to mention the other cultures throughout the world. When you put a weapon on a stick (the right weapon and stick, of course), you get something that is far more than the sum of its parts, it ties into the average physical dimensions of a human for size and reach, leverage and speed, power and balance. NEVER bring a sword to a polearm fight. |
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Post by Timo Nieminen on Aug 10, 2016 2:29:37 GMT
... or rather, always bring a sword to a polearm fight. But bring your polearm too; wear your sword as a backup weapon. (Bring a dagger, too!)
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