Lochaber Axe - Specifics of The Weapon

Specifics of The Weapon

The Lochaber axe took many incarnations, although all of them had a few elements in common. It was a heavy weapon, used by infantry for a defence against cavalry and as a pike against infantry. Like most other polearms of the time, it consisted of two parts: shaft and blade. The shaft was usually some five or six feet (1.5 or 1.8 m) long, and mounted with a blade of about 18 inches (45 cm) in length which usually resembled a bardiche or voulge in design. The blade might be attached in two places and often had a sharp point coming off the top. In addition a hook (or cleek) was attached to the back of the blade. A butt spike was included as a counterweight to the heavy axe head. Langlets were incorporated down each side of the shaft to prevent the head from being cut off.

Another idea is that the Lochaber is just the Scottish name for the weapon known as a bardiche; these also occasionally had a backspike or hook too.