- Hey, gang.
I'm David Baker.
And these are some of my favorite axes
featured on "Forged in Fire".
[music playing]
[booming impacts]
Stone axes were developed by humans hundreds of thousands
of years ago as tools for chopping
but were soon developed into weapons of war.
And they have been around from Ancient Rome to colonial India.
This is the horseman's axe.
Now, from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance,
the horseman's axe was found throughout the ranks
of European cavalry.
And as armor became stronger and the swords
that knights on the battlefield were using became
less effective, they started to look for a weapon more
suited for the battlefield.
A lighter, more agile version of the old battle axe,
the horseman's axe featured a curved blade
on one side and a hammer or a spike on the other.
Often, they had a hook, allowing it to be hung from the belt
or from the saddle.
In the late 1600s, some versions of this weapon
featured a gun barrel mounted down
the center of the handle with a wheel lock
to add a little bit of firepower.
[booming impacts]
This unique ax is a Nzappa zap.
Now, the Nzappa zap is the traditional short handled
axe of the Zappo people of the upper Congo.
[booming impacts]
Now, the Zappo people were known for their thriving iron
and copper industry, and this weapon truly exemplifies that.
The blade is made of iron, and the head of the shaft
was often plated or encased in copper.
By encasing the head of the shaft, you put a lot of weight
towards it the head of this, which
creates a lot of momentum, whether you're swinging it--
[booming impact]
--or throwing it.
This elegant but intimidating weapon is the tabar.
Recognized by its signature crescent shaped blades,
the tabar was a weapon used by soldiers in the Middle East
during the Crusades.
It later became a standard weapon of the Mughal armies
during the 17th and 18th century in India,
as Islamic influence spread through the region.
The tabar was either made entirely of metal
or sometimes with a wooden shelf,
with one or two crescent blades attached to the top.
[clanging]
The length could be anywhere from three to seven feet long.
And the tabar was used by both foot soldiers or cavalry
when charging at an enemy.
[booming impacts]
Now, this double-ended weapon is the tabar-shishpar.
Now, the tabar-shishbar is a variation
on the standard tabar.
Weaponsmiths in India would attach the crescent shape tabar
head to one end of the shaft and the shishbar to the other,
making it a deadly duo.
[boom]
Now, the shishbar is a flanged mace,
and that allowed this end of the weapon to crush
deeply into an enemy's armor.
[booming impacts]
And made entirely of steel, the tabar-shishbar
came to India during the Delhi Sultanate in the Middle Ages.
It was used all the way through the 1700s.
And some of them came with a little secret.
[booming impacts]
Now, this beast of a weapon is the Viking battle axe.
For centuries, the battle axe was the weapon
of choice for Viking warriors.
Now, axes were a staple of Viking society.
Even the poorest could afford an axe for chopping wood.
The battle axe, however, had a longer shaft
and this curved head that allowed
the axe to bite deeply into a shield wall or their armor.
[booming impacts]
These axes were so important to Viking culture
that warriors were often buried with their battle axes,
arming themselves for that final journey to Valhalla.
[booming impacts]
There you have it, some of my favorite axes
featured on "Forged in Fire".
Now, if you have any questions or thoughts,
leave them in the comments, and I'll try to get
to them in future videos.