Guandao (big flippin' pole arm)

kevin (theprofessor)

kevin (theprofessor)

Joined
Dec 12, 2009
Messages
168
Hello Everyone,
This one took about 6 months of my life. I don't post much because I am so slow. This is pweld, with sanmai arrangement. High layer for the cheeks, and low layer for the core. The spike on the end is mortise and tenon construction, and it is also pattern welded. 1075 from Aldo and 15N20, the core of the big blade is W2 and 15N20, the cheeks are the same 1075 and 15N20 as the spike.
Blued mild steel ferrules and guard with an upset lip.

Hickory with oil-based poly stain for the pole.
77" oal. 22.5" blade.
thanks for looking.

kevin with guandao 2.jpg
kevin with guandao.jpg

guandao blade pic low res coop.jpg
guandao low res coop.jpg
 
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Outstanding! A real beauty. Is there a specific purpose for the spike on the end? Or is it just another means of poking your enemy?
 
Wicked cool..... That will definitely subdue some restless natives.. Handy during this current state of affairs.
 
seanj said:
Outstanding! A real beauty. Is there a specific purpose for the spike on the end? Or is it just another means of poking your enemy?
Click to expand...
The spike isn't really pointy, it is a good weapon, but not as sharp as a spear. It is sort of like a combination mace/spear. You can bash the living hell out of something with it, and also use it to anchor the polearm to the ground should you be afraid of a charge. It is traditional, but I wanted to make it more of a spear than tradition allowed. I went with tradition, because I made it for a practitioner who uses these things in taijiquan training.
 
Incredible work….that’s A LOT of some very fine Damascus :)
 
'Substantial' in every regard. A gratifying project.... AFTER it was done. YIKES! o_O 👍

Great stuff Kevin! Keep it up.
 
thanks Matt. It took forever to get this thing clean and polished. I actually really like the contrast between the blued mild steel and the pattern welded blade and spike. The pattern welded material that forms the tenons is especially cool, when you look closely at the tenons, you can see the layers flare out. The same thing happened on the pin for the nagel when I made a grosse messer. The next few pieces will just be regular-sized swords. The idea of a dao or jian seems easy in comparison. But, there wasn't any non-ferrous work on this one.
 
Nice! It is refreshing to see someone thinking out of the box and making something that is undeniably unique.

n2s
 
Sled said:
Beautiful piece! " Meet my Little Friend!"
Click to expand...
Sled - before the big blade was on the pole, I was carrying it past a woodpile I keep near the shop (I heat the shop with a camp stove). There was a 2x4 that was horizontal, and fixed at each end. I brought the blade down on the middle of the douglas fir 2x4. It actually broke the relatively new board in half. It cut into it, but it also just broke it. Now that it is mounted on the pole, little things like armor wouldn't really help. It is a powerful blade (22.5" long, and heavier than a full-sized 30" dao would be).
 
Great story. With a blade that substantial Hickory was a nice choice for the pole .... as Clint said... " Nothing like a nice piece of Hickory"
 
Fantastic!! I don’t go on forums too much anymore, just don’t have the time, but I’m glad I checked it out today. Always like seeing your work and this is one of my favorites.
 
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