Tsar Cannon

The Tsar Cannon (Russian: Царь-пушка, Tsar'-pushka) is a large, 5.94 metres (19.5 ft) long cannon on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. It was cast in 1586 in Moscow, by the Russian master bronze caster Andrey Chokhov. Mostly of symbolic impact, it was never used in a war. However the cannon bears traces of at least one firing[1]. Per the Guinness Book of Records it is the largest bombard by caliber in the world,[2] and it is a major tourist attraction in the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin.

The very low ratio between its calibre and the length of its barrel makes it technically not a cannon, but a stylized mortar. The Tsar Cannon is made of bronze and weighs 39.312 tonnes[3] and has a length of 5.34 m (17.5 ft).[4] Its bronze-cast barrel has a diameter of 890 mm (35.0 in),[4] and an external diameter of 1,200 mm (47.2 in).[4] The barrel has eight cast rectangular brackets for use in transporting the gun, which is mounted on a stylized cast iron gun carriage with two wheels. The barrel is decorated with relief images, including an equestrian image of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich.

The spherical cast-iron projectiles located in front of the cannon - each of which weighs approximately 1 ton, were produced in 1834 as a decoration. They are too large to have been used in the Tsar Cannon, which would have fired 800 kg stone grapeshot rather than cannonballs. [5] According to legend, the cannonballs were manufactured in St. Petersburg, and were intended to be a humorous addition and a symbol of the friendly rivalry between Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Roman Ballista

Ballistas were similar to giant crossbows and were designed to work through torsion. The ammunition used were basically giant arrows or darts made from wood with an iron tip. These arrows were then shot “along a flat trajectory” at a target. Ballistas are notable for their high degree of accuracy, but also their lack of firepower compared to that of a Mangonel or Trebuchet. Because of their immobility, most Ballistas were constructed on site following a siege assessment by the commanding military officer.

Developed from earlier Greek weapons, it relied upon different mechanics, using two levers with torsion springs instead of a prod, the springs consisting of several loops of twisted skeins. Early versions ejected heavy darts or spherical stone projectiles of various sizes for siege warfare. It developed into a smaller sniper weapon, the Scorpio, and possibly the polybolos.

After the time of Julius Caesar, the ballista was a permanent fixture in the Roman Army and, over time, modifications and improvements were made by successive engineers. This included replacing the remaining wooden parts of the machine with metal, creating a much smaller and lighter machine, capable of even more power than the wooden version, since the metal was not liable to snap like the wood, and which required less maintenance (though the vital torsion springs were still vulnerable to the strain).

Polish Multiple Gun From 16th - 17th Century

A volley gun is a gun with several barrels for firing a number of shots, either simultaneously or in sequence. They differ from modern machine guns in that they lack automatic loading and automatic fire and are limited by the number of barrels bundled together. In practice the large ones were not particularly more useful than a cannon firing canister shot or grapeshot. Since they were still mounted on a carriage, they could be as hard to aim and move around as a cannon, and the many barrels took as long or longer to reload. They also tended to be relatively expensive since they were more complex than a cannon, due to all the barrels and ignition fuses, and each barrel had to be individually maintained and cleaned.

Polish 20 barrel artillery piece. The barrels are designed to enable the shot to spread out and cause maximum damage.

Captain Sword

Captains Sword 

The Captain's Sword is to be used by elite soldiers. A nimble quick striking weapon, not designed to be draw often or over used, but only when needed. The outcroppings around the handle would ideally protect it's wielders hand and forearm from being struck.

Hira-Shuriken

Hira-Shuriken also commonly called 'Ninja Star' Shuriken being the name for all throwing stars and Hira is the type of Shuriken. 

Hira-shuriken are constructed from thin, flat plates of metal derived from a variety of sources including hishi-gane (coins), kugi-nuki (carpentry tools), spools, and senban (nail removers), and generally resemble popular conceptions of shuriken in movies and television.

They often have a hole in the center and possess a fairly thin blade sharpened only at the tip. The holes derive from their source in items that had holes – old coins, washers, and nail-removing tools. This proved convenient for the shuriken user, as well, as the weapons could be strung on a string or dowel in the belt for transport, and the hole also had aerodynamic and weighting effects that aided the flight of the blade after it was thrown.

There is a wide variety of forms of hira-shuriken and they are now usually identified by the number of points the blades possess.

Scythe

A Scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper and Death are often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe I think because it is effective at chopping down victims when they try to run.

A scythe consists of a wooden shaft about 170 centimetres (67 in) long called a snaith, snath, snathe or sned. The snaith may be straight, or with an "S" curve, but the more sophisticated versions are curved in three dimensions, allowing the mower to stand more upright. The snaith has either one or two short handles at right angles to it – usually one near the upper end and always another roughly in the middle. A long, curved blade about 60 to 90 centimetres (24 to 35 in)) long is mounted at the lower end, perpendicular to the snaith. Scythes always have the blade projecting from the left side of the snaith when in use, with the edge towards the mower. In principle a left-handed scythe could be made, but it could not be used together with right-handed scythes in a team of mowers, as the left-handed mower would be mowing in the opposite direction.

Finger Knives

You probably know the finger knives from the Freddy Krueger character, because thats where I know them from. Yes the weapon was designed for Freddy.

They are unique, I think in part to do with that it acts as an extension of the wielders own hand. All memorable horror characters have had personalized weapons; Leatherface has a chainsaw, Michel Myers has the Knife and Freddy probably has the most intrinsic tool of terror. The finger blades resemble terrifying teeth closing on its victim.

"One, two, Freddy's coming for you. / Three, four, better lock your door. / Five, six, grab your crucifix. / Seven, eight, gonna stay up late. / Nine, ten, never sleep again."


Favorite Quotes

[Tina is in the alley behind her home when a trashcan lid suddenly comes rolling out and crashes at her feet. She turns around]
Freddy Krueger: Tina...
[laughs mockingly as he appears, extending his arms across the entire width of the alley]
Tina Gray: Please God!
Freddy Krueger: [reveals his glove] This, is God!
[laughs as he takes off after her]
Tina Gray: [screams and runs toward the house]


[Freddy wears Tina mask]
Tina Gray: Nancy, help me, please. Save me from...
[Removes mask]
Fred Krueger: Freddy! 

Bardiche Polearm

This is like something the Grim Reaper's cousin would use to slash things from a distance.

Use of bardiches started in early 15th century Russia. It is a type of glaive polearm known in the 16th and 17th centuries in Eastern Europe and Russia. Ultimately a descendant of the medieval Sparth.

The Bardiche is a long, cleaver type blade. The bardiche blade was attached to the pole either via two sockets (one at the top of the pole and one lower, at the base of the blade) or one socket at the top and one surface mount at the base, effectively mounting the heavy blade to the wooden shaft. This construction is also seen in Scottish polearms, such as the Lochaber axe, and bardiches are known to have been imported into Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries. Depending on the design of the particular weapons in question, at times a bardiche may greatly resemble a voulge. While the blade was often very long for an axe (usually exceeding 2 feet (60 cm)) the shaft was one of the shortest of all polearms; rarely did it exceed 5 feet (1.5 m) in length. It relied more on the weight of its heavy blade to do the damage than a swing from a long pole.

The Katana

Infamous weapon for the Teenaged Ninja Mutant Turtles, Katanas to me seem like simple cut'em up type weapons but are far from it, it is a very complicated tool. The creation process itself takes months and cannot have any mistakes or else the entire process is in jeopardy. Maintaining a Katana even if you never use it is a chore because the metal can rust and become dull from moisture in the air, the wood can rot if not cared for and the blade once tarnished will be irreplaceable. I think the handling is extremely important because they are delicate and can be damaged if used improperly so dont let the kids play with'em. The Ninja's in movies make Katana handling look effortless but there are a number of sword training disciplines that teach the students how to use a wooden sword long before they are given access to a real sword.