The Falx

[Tarbicus]

Sorry mate, I don't see how the fauchard is much different to the falx in both form and function.

A polearm is a blade attached to the end of a stick to increase range and/or angular momentum when slashed with.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

The length of the handle......the effectiveness of the stroke...

[Tarbicus]

Can you fence with a falx? And what of the rhomphaia?

[M. Demetrius]

My guess is the blade speed is increased when the two hands are separated by a distance, allowing for a pivoting motion between them. But the overall power would increase when handled like the fellow in the picture above.

I think the best place to be when one of those babies comes swinging down is a step to one side or the other. Yikes! :!:

(Of course, there are people who say our modern scuta are not as strong as the original construction. And I've read some people's posts who say that original scuta were basically impervious to all kinds of weapons, hand held or missile. I am not so sure of that, but can't prove or disprove statements like that, so I generally just don't try.)

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

I imagine someone proficient in its use could disarm someone, parry blows, but the initial question is still the same, would the falx cleave through a scutum and the person behind it, as the reported story of the saxon/medieval sword was capable of doing to the dead persone wit h the wooden remenants of his shield embedded in his bones...
I wouldn't want to compare it to a katana or scimitar either, just because it is curved, just a simple question of hacking abiltity..........

[Donciorate]

I think that the falx would have the capability to cut a scutum and through flesh if not more. It is the simple idea of a lever, the longer the arm reaches out from the fulcrum which in this case is the hands the more force can be exerted through it. That would seem to be the main purpose of putting the blade on a shaft in the first place.
The falx also has another advantage in its size, when you swing a blade downward you have a limited amount of time to bring the weapon up to speed. With a falx you raise the weapon up another 4 feet and that gives you more time to bring the weapon up to speed further increasing the speed and power of the weapon.
The Celts were known to have used weapons much like tools, raising there swords above their heads and bringing them down like they were cutting wood. This originated in the belief that if you can generate enough force with an instrument coming downward to cut a log, then you can do it with enough force to cut a human. So you take that same principal and add more length and more weight and you get a simple analogy of the person and scutum are the log, and the falx is a very big axe swinging from very high up.
As a soldier I have specialized myself in axe combat, the axe like the falx has its advantages in the fact that all the weight of the weapon is in the head which is far from the body giving it more force in the swing.
I definitely think that the falx is easily one of the more powerful weapons in anti-Roman arsenal.

[Magnus]

I don't think for a moment though that a falx could cleave all the way through a scutum...more a glancing blow that then went on to hit flesh and bone is more likely the cause of the embedded wood in the bones. There's just too much resistance given the breadth of a scutum to go through that and then a target behind. In the picture tarbicus posted, Steve wound up and hit that scutum (authenticaly made in 3 layers of strips btw) and it sank in just under a foot. Steve's a solidly built guy too.

I don't think they're much of a parrying weapon...more of a shock and awe "let's make a hole in the line here" type.

[brennivs - tony drake]

To me I would not waste my Falx in a shield, unless it was used to pull the shield from the Legionary and another move in and remove the arm. It is quite a good piece of kit you can do a good range of manouvers especially
the sword version I made from Birdoswald Altar.
Regards Brennivs

[Magnus]

True, but I don't think anyone purposely goes for the armour, but that darn scutum is so big you don't have much else of a target! :lol:

[Donciorate]

It would seem that a possible use for the falx would be in a pair, one soldier moves in close and draws the scutum towards him. When the scutum is occupied the falx can come in and hit the legionary at the base of the cheek gaurd on the helmet the hinging action would allow a glancing access to the neck and with the force you can put into a falx we all know what happens to the little thing that holds the brain.

[Magnus]

That pairing would have to move really fast...I doubt the legionary is going to sit there and say "aaaahhhhhhhhh" lol. Plus the falxmen now have to worry about the legionary(s) on either side and the one behind him...Interesting idea though!

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

I don't think for a moment though that a falx could cleave all the way through a scutum...more a glancing blow that then went on to hit flesh and bone is more likely the cause of the embedded wood in the bones. There's just too much resistance given the breadth of a scutum to go through that and then a target behind. In the picture tarbicus posted, Steve wound up and hit that scutum (authenticaly made in 3 layers of strips btw) and it sank in just under a foot. Steve's a solidly built guy too.

I don't think they're much of a parrying weapon...more of a shock and awe "let's make a hole in the line here" type.

It was a sword that cut through the gus sheild, and clean through his legs that I was refering too, not the falx.

Guess the opinion is that it was not so terrifying then? And I agree, I wouldn't want to lose my falx in a scutum, but Magnus states the obvious
problem with attacking a Roman ..... :roll:

[Donciorate]

It could also be used in the same effect as a pilum, you hit the shield and if it goes through and gets the guy then your good, but if not they legionary has a big old thing stuck in his shield and its going to be very hard to fight. The curve downward means that the blade will be fery hard to pull out from the front and the handle makes it hard to pull out from the back. You now have a legionary without a shield which weakens the phalanx.

[M. Demetrius]

Donciorate, you might be right. That's a pretty expensive weapon for a throwaway. It's not an easy task to hammer out a curved blade and temper it, while the metal part of a pilum can be made in just a half hour or less. I wonder what the now armorless, falxless soldier was supposed to do to survive the battle once he'd disabled a scutum? (the general consensus around these parts is that the primary purpose of the pilum was to penetrate the shield and pierce the soldier carrying it)

My modified guess would be that if the falx became lodged in the enemy shield, it would not have achieved its primary intent. What makes that hooked blade so very dangerous is that it can reach over and behind the scutum's top edge to puncture, perhaps, the helmet or pierce the neck of the soldier behind the scutum, while still keeping the falxman out of reach of the gladius. A sica has the same ability, though much shorter in reach.

[Donciorate]

That makes sense, it would also seem that certain axe wielding tactics could be applied to the falx. When I fight with an axe that has a significant beard on it one of the things I like to do is to hook the top edge of the shield with the point on the bottom beard. The point punctures the back and holds the shield so that I can pull and twist it away from the enemy. The advantage of a falx doing this is you could hit the top edge with little force and cleave the metal edging slicing in 2-3 inches and then wrench the scutum from the enemies hand. This now leaves you with a 6 foot distance which can be spanned by your weapon but not the short sword of the legionary.