spears/pikes against axes

[Calvo]

The spear was the main weapon of the Greek hoplite, and for the Macedonian infantryman during Alexander, it was the much longer sarissa.
However, both spears and pikes have wooden shafts, and if an enemy was armed with an axe or a sharp-cutting sword or knife, ¿what would prevent them from this hacking at the spear shafts and breaking them as thus rendering the phalanx useless?

[Antonius Insulae]

What would prevent axemen from hacking down sarissas you ask.
Maybe the several pikes thrusting at him at the same time. Can he hack off five spearheads before they hit him?
I wouldn't like to try it myself.
Anyway, a phalanx was a slow formation and lost in battle against a more flexible Roman manipulus, with legionaries throwing pila at the pikemen. If you hold your pike with two hands, and the small round shield is tied to your left arm, it is not easy to block javelins thrown at you, especially when the thin bladeshaft of a pilum penetrates the shield and goes through the armour and body inside it as well.
And the axemen would probably have to use both hands to get good force for the axe, so they couldn't use a shield, and blocking the several pikes thrusted at him all at once would be quite impossible.
With a large and convex shield like Roman scutum it could be possible to go between the pikes and when you are there, they can no longer hit you, so you can just advance to kill the pikemen with a gladius. Phalangites also had short swords, but they'd have to drop their pike in order to get it. And their shield was much smaller than a scutum, giving the advantage to the Roman legionary.
That's why Romans moved from using a phalanx to a manipular system.

[Macedon]

Assuming you get close enough and do not get skewered, have you ever tried to hack a spear shaft as it is being freely held in the air? Without firm resistance it will be more like pushed than cut.

[Dan D'Silva]

And against multiple spears, also from a very shallow angle, and not being able to cut in the other direction. You might be able to eventually do it, but I'd be amazed to see it done quick enough to be of tactical use.

[Carlton Bach]

Supposedly, the two-handed battleswords used by landsknecht troops in the sixteenth century were used for this purpose, and I suspect they would be more useful fopr that end than axes (you need to brace a piece of wood against something to chop it, after all). But it should be remembered that those called upon to use them to break gaps into the enemy pike front were effectively considered dead men walking. Using an axe (or really any weapon) to create a gap in the wall of spear points probably was a viable tactic, but you wouldn't live to tell the tale.

[FarDarter]

Next time you are holding a spear or pike, try and snap it in half. You will find that it is impossible by hand. Greek spears were made of ash or cornel, both very dense hardwoods - the latter being one of the only woods dense enough to sink in water - and indeed many hoplites would forgo any type of backup, because they just weren't needed. The spear was strong enough to be used through the entire battle. Herodotus, I think, relates how at the Battle of Marathon, the Persians' lighter and shorter spears shivered after a while, but the Athenians were able to keep thrusting and thrusting.

You might get away with flexing a pike so it bends, but as others have said, I doubt you could spend the time to hack through a pike when you are right in front of a phalanx.

[PMBardunias]

If I recall, Thracians were recoded breaking off sarissa heads with clubs. Another tactic uses by Cleonymus the Spartan was simply to grab the shafts of opposing sarissa.

[FarDarter]

I occasionally head this as one of the reasons that spears/pikes/lances are poorer weapons, but these ideas are entirely unfounded. In the ancient world, most spears and pikes were made of ash or cornel - cornel being one of the only woods so dense that it sinks in water, and ash being also extremely dense. It would take more than a few strokes to shiver a Greek dory; indeed, they were of such quality that it was the only weapon of many hoplites, and even though you could snap the shaft if given time, the hoplite isn't just going to stand there and let you hack at his spear.

It is recorded that at the Battle if Pydna the Romans attempted to cut off the pike heads of the Macedonians but they were unsuccessful; Herodotus tells us how at Marathon the Median spears snapped after only a few thrusts, but the Athenian hoplites were able to keep on thrusting. The spear and pike are extremely good weapons, being simple to make and more than adequate to turn your foe into a foe-kabob. Certainly, no good infantry spears or pikes would be able to be cut through without much effort.