Talk:Battle axe

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Where on earth did that funky picture come from? Can't someone find a photo of the real things?

"No historical examples of North European double headed axes exist (in the eastern Mediterrean the Labrys was known), though they are ubiquitous to fantasy and fiction writings and movies."

but also

"Battle axes sometimes had two heads (one on each side) or a spike on the top and the opposite side of the blade."

can anyone clarify?

The double headed axe is mainly a product of modern fantasy mythology. They would have been much too heavy and unwieldy to be practical, and certainly could not be thrown as well as a Frankish axe. The Labrys appears to be more of a religious item than a military weapon. The association of the Labrys with Lesbians is unfortunate, mainly because was largely a religious ceremonial item. But then, perhaps a Homer expert knows better.Scott Adler 13:02, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

This article seems to be settling down, but was originally subject to some radical changes, and was never written in a cohesive way, rather several authors added a line or two, often contraticing from one line to the next. Several highly questionable statements (axes weighing 30+ lbs, et al)were removed a bit at a time. Some popped back up and were redacted. This article needs an in depth overhaul by one qualified author.

[edit] Why no mention of the Franks?

The Franks were the only nation to specialize specifically in the battle axe rather than the sword and spear combination. Why are they omitted?Scott Adler 13:02, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Movie Photo

Don't get me wrong, I think the lovely lady with the axe is very pretty, I just don't like seeing movie ads on pages which are not related. Can someone bust out the tuxpaint and make a battle axe picture?

[edit] Mjollnir?

Stone axes have been in use since at least the 3rd millennium BC, see Battle-axe people (see also Mjollnir).

I am deleting the link to Mjollnir, as it is unrelated to this article (Mjollnir was a hammer, not an axe, and you can see so yourself on the article: Mjollnir)

--Loki Laufeyson 02:32, 7 May 2006 (UTC)