War hammer

A war hammer is a late medieval weapon of war intended for close combat action, whose design resembles the hammer. Its appearance is similar to that of an ice axe.

Design

The war hammer consists of a handle and a head. The length of the handle may vary, the longest being roughly equivalent to that of the halberd, and the shortest about the same as that of a mace. Long war hammers were pole weapons (polearms) meant for use against riders, whereas short ones were used in closer quarters and from horseback.

War hammers were developed as a consequence of the prevalence of surface-hardened steel surfacing of wrought iron armors of the late medieval battlefields during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The surface of the armor was now as hard as the edge of a blade, so a blade tended to ricochet. Swords and battleaxes were likely to only give a glancing blow, losing much of the impact, especially on the high curvature of the helmet. The war hammer could deliver the full force to the target.