So what else do I do with my Pugio

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Agree with Crispus(me too from persomal experience). Its a bad idea to try and shave with a blade.
I am to inclines to agree that it might be more usefull for "souvenir gathering"
arklore70 has a point. Many Renesance-Napoleonic paintings show folk having their swords attached with straps to theit wrist.
I see no reason for the legionerries not utilizeing something similar.
Kind regards
Stefanos

Maybe because these are slashing swords? and meant to be used on the back of a horse.

[hoplite14gr]

Maybe because these are slashing swords? and meant to be used on the back of a horse.

Well possibly, but on the other hand if you could have some reasssurance -
I mean using the straps-would you refuse it?
Kind regards
Stefanos

[Crispvs]

"Here is a photo of a pugio recovered from Vindonissa in Switzerland. It looks like a small pugio blade with a gladius style grip, and a guardplate. One thing I noticed was how small all of the pugios from this site were. The almost reminded me of toys, even the couple of gladius blades. Are we as re-enactors making our items larger than their historical counterparts?"

Primvs,

Thanks for the picture. I do have a line drawing of this dagger already but I had not seen a photo of it before. I had always been led to believe that that dagger was simply one of the many which had rod-tangs and had consequently lost their handles, being replaced in this case and another example from London with sword grips and large replacement guards. The blade, although small, is a fairly normal type 'B' blade and I suspect that we are looking at a pugio brought back into service after being rendered useless rather than one made from an old sword.
The detail about the small size of the blade is interesting and I had not noted it before. However, many surviving daggers, including most of those from Vindonissa, are very narrow and so some might apear to be slightly smaller than they actually are. Some blades, particularly of type'A' can be very large, reaching nearly a foot in length, although there is no standard size for a pugio and surviving examples vary considerably.

Crispvs

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Cripvs,

I will be going back in March to Vindonissa. I wil see if its possible to get some measurements of these pugios. I have probably 6 or 7 more photos of pugios from there if you are interested.

Pavlvs

[Crispvs]

Thanks Primvs,

Yes, I would definitely be interested!

Crispvs

[Carlton Bach]

I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how a spider is used for shaving. Do they supposedly eat the hairs on your face?

OK, I think I'm getting a definite reputation as the 'Icky Guy', but...

My guess is it's spiderwebs, actually. Folk medicine uses cobwebs for treating minor wounds, the kind you could get while shaving. They staunch bleeding, hold the edges together and have antibacterial properties. OIl would serve a similar purpose, and reduce inflammation and skin irritation (as if Romans would need an excuse to add oil to anything)

As to shaving practice, I guess the advantage of depilation over scraping mioght have been that for quite some time afterwards, only a downy fuzz would regrow. That could simply bew burned away (as is recorded for Nero). Shaved hairs, on the other hand, would grow in their regular thickness and quickly get scratchy. And since Romans most likely did not shaver daily, the difference would be noticeable.

[hoplite14gr]

Thanks Volker
Good one. I can only add olive oil from kernel has antibacterial properties. Also there is a chance that they used the red oil of gladioulus (Greek: spathochorto=swordshrub). This oil reduces imflamation , is antibacterial and helps the wound heal nicely.
But I insist I prefer to fight a barbarian warband alone than mess with spiders or their products :evil: :!: :!:
Kind regards
Stefanos

[TFLAVIUSAMBIORIX]

well, look at it this way.
are bayonets still really that useful in combat other than in rare times?

no.

do troops today still carry them?

yes.

what are they there for?

usually as a reassurance, or for show.

[john m roberts]

In the American West there were those who favored the Colt and those who favored the Bowie knife. The knife guys used to say, "A six-shooter is useless unless you want to kill somebody. With a knife you can always whittle." If all else fails, you can always take out your pugio and whittle.

[hoplite14gr]

well, look at it this way.
are bayonets still really that useful in combat other than in rare times?

no.

do troops today still carry them?

yes.

what are they there for?

usually as a reassurance, or for show.

Not all troops in all countries are issued with specialized combat knifes.
Most bayonets with the exception of Chinese and Belgian FN 7.62 rifles come in knife form and the ex-soviet could double as a wire cutter.
So in the 1% of cases where you stuggle for your life is good to have one!
Useful to dispach sentries in the night. And to keep it Roman:
Exploratores, Preventores and spies or scouts come into mind.
An "unoficial" use which could get the trooper in trouble is the tavern browl
So there is another use for the puggio.
Would I carry one if I was a Roman? Damn right I would!
Kind regards
Stefanos

[Ebusitanus]

This Spanish Ebay auction claims this to be a depilation device

[hoplite14gr]

Thanks Daniel and I was wondering what was it looked like.
Kind regards
Stefanos

[Crispvs]

"An "unoficial" use which could get the trooper in trouble is the tavern browl
So there is another use for the puggio."

True, but I rather doubt that they were issued to soldiers for this reason. Rifles are not issued to modern soldiers for the purpose of opening beer bottles but for decades and perhaps centuries soldiers have used them for this purpose. The practice has been so common that many modern rifles incorporate parts specially designed as bottle openers in order to prevent damage to the muzzle or other parts through this use. The fact that something can be employed in a certain way does not indicate it was issued for this purpose. Roman soldiers also had cudgels (fusti [?spelling]), which could also be employed in brawls.

"Would I carry one if I was a Roman? Damn right I would! "

So, probably, would I, but not all soldiers of the first century seem to have done. If the imperfectly preserved sculptural record is to be relied on, most but not all infantrymen (and some cavalrymen) may have carried them. The fact that they are so commonly depicted on the Rhineland stelae suggests that they were recognisable military items but the fact that not all men are depicted with them suggests that they were not compulsary for all soldiers.

Crispvs

[hoplite14gr]

Crispus,
Do you speculate that the puggio was a privetly purchased item simply allowed by regulation?
It is an intersting thought.
Kind regards
Stefanos

[Marius_Ursus]

Yeah, that is interesting, like the "Marine" K-bar.