Hewing/Cutting Spear

A little more context, I'm considering things like these links. Any feedback or direction is helpful.

Threaded construction: www.etsy.com/listing/1554831225/viking-forge-trio-15-spear-knife-machete

Full tang construction: www.etsy.com/listing/1540666852/viking-trio-155-spear-knife-machete-hand

Mounted head construction:https://www.kultofathena.com/product/long-bladed-hewing-spear-head/

I would love something like the Lonely Wolf Forge's Gungnir, or the LK Chen Han Sha, or Hanwei Yari given more budget. I understand that's a hard constraint.

Ah....what about a bill hook?

For a cutting and thrusting pole arm, maybe also consider a naginata.
I have no experience or training with them, but I always thought they were an interesting concept.

Also, welcome to the forum

The LK Chen Twin Peaks Liao Dao would make an awesome glaive if hafted to a longer pole. Long beefy tang to support use as a pole arm. Might end up on the heavier side of things though.

If you are interested in using this weapon for cutting I would stay away from the items you linked. The stuff from Etsy looks like for-display-only level of quality, and any polearm you intend to cut with should never have a haft that can be screwed together (the connection points will inevitably fail and then you might have a helicopter-of-death situation).

FYI, the Hanwei yari does have sharpened edges, but the cross-section of its blade is not conducive for cutting in a capacity other than push and/or draw cuts. Also, the haft it comes with is pretty, but not sturdy enough for hard use. I remounted mine on an ash haft. 

All of the LK Chen polearms are of high quality, and the Han Ji (which comes in two different blade lengths) can be purchased and shipped without a haft (and you can pick up a quality polearm haft from Kult of Athena, or Purpleheart Armoury cheaply in the US) for around $300 USD including shipping. 

I do not recommend a poll arm for skunk killing. Especially “Ideally the length would be 5-8 feet” as you stated. Assuming it’s a spear at 8’ and used as a thrust to achieve the maximum reach you can expect is 10’, based on my 8’ reach with a 6’ spear. Now reduce that by ≈½’ for penetration that would leave you 9½’ feet. With a cut you will need to be even closer. No estimation there as the spear head has not been determined. Judging from my CS Assegai that will add about 7” OAL to my 6’ spear over the present configuration making it ≈ 6½’. Remember, you lose some length due to penetration. Now, take the same spear with the CS Assegai head installed to cut; you’ll probably have to stand about a foot closer to get the leverage needed for the cut plus another ≈8” more for the sweet spot. A SKUNK SQUIRTS 10’.

As for other poll weapons, I’d say the ones for a thrust, including a hewing spear, would be questionable except for a thrust as the animal will run before you complete your chop. And if you connect with anything the chances of the skunk squirting is excellent  as it well may not be an instant kill. A firearm is the only way I’d go after one. My dad would drop one every time with a shot from his High Standard .22. The last one I killed was back in ’74. And that was with a .30-06 loaded with a 130 gr. HP. That was my ground hog load and it screamed. I’ve forgotten the velocity but was on the other side of 3,000 f/s, seems like 3,200. It was dead before hitting the ground.

Getting back to your questions. I would not use either of the spear you pictured. They’re overpriced and have a jointed haft. The people who bought weren’t overly impressed giving 3 stars.

Windlass makes a hewing spearhead that finds favour. For your intended use I’d recommend a Cold Steel Assegai spear head on a long haft. It’s not the best looking one but you won’t find one that will penetrate nor cut better. The CS Boar Spear is something to consider, but you’ll find the Assegai easier to handle, cheaper, and will get the job done. I can slice plastic bottles all day with mine and the point is wicked. You might consider a yari. It’ll cost more but give better pride of ownership.

Sir Thorfinn’s suggestion of calling an exterminator is the best going. To try to kill a skunk with a pole weapon… Oh you might be able to trap or corner him, then try, but you’ll be sorry.

I have the Windlass ‘Viking’ large spear. I imagine it’s the same as the one Andi has. I mounted it on a six foot shaft that brings the total length to well over 7 feet. I don’t find it at all cumbersome or unwieldy but your mileage may vary.

I don’t know about killing stuff but it’ll cut pool noodles very well and it looks cool.

Didn’t The Levin Lance use one of these to make a super cool cutting spear for his ‘Lodge’ project?

I own the long hewing spearhead and the smaller viking spearhead.
They are short swords mounted on ash shafts.
Not unwieldy but also not much fun to handle.
I think one must be stronger than me (I'm no strongman but I can handle a Windlass Atlantean) or have a good technique with spear using (some things I've seen in Chinese sword movies make sense now).
I'm thinking about shorting the 6 ft. shafts to get Zulu short spears, like long handled swords, that could be a good idea.

Cast and unhardened spear heads aren't necessarily anachronistic or problematic, though a spear-like polearm with edges intended for cutting would certainly benefit from hardening.
 
Many, if not all, of the spear(head)s used in the Arms & Armor spears are cast and unhardened (though they may have recently started offering edge hardening for spears, like they did with their axes), and their quality has generally been regarded as quite high.  

You can't reliably make generalizations concerning all of Hanwei's spear offerings. For instance, the yari I purchased from them very clearly has a genuine hamon where it was put through a hardening process (though as I previously stated, it's cross-section makes it unsuitable for cutting motions outside of the push/pull variety).

Have you considered picking up a Windlass hewing spear when they are on sale (it comes dull unless you pay for a sharpening service), mounting it yourself to a decent wooden haft (Kult of Athena sells ash poles of varying size), and "playing" around with it to get a better idea of what you would even want in a more expensive purchase? 

I don't know how much, if any, experience you have cutting with a polearm, but you should be able to put together a hewing spear on the cheap (especially since Windlass spearheads go on sale pretty regularly at Museum Replicas and/or Kult of Athena). Once you have an inexpensive hewing spear in hand, you'll be able to figure out whether a more expensive cutting polearm is still something you want. It's the sort of thing I did, and doing so convinced me that I absolutely loved polearms of just about every stripe, and since then I've purchased several higher end polearms, commissioned custom ones, and even made a few of my own.