Lochaber axe
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The Lochaber axe (Gaelic: tuagh-chatha) is a type of poleaxe that was used almost exclusively in Scotland. It was usually mounted on a staff about five feet long.<ref>Logan p. 312</ref>
DesignEdit
The Lochaber axe is first recorded in 1501, as an "old Scottish batale ax of Lochaber fasoun".<ref name="W1-195197">Waldman (2005) pp. 195–197.</ref>
The weapon is very similar to the Jedburgh axe, although the crescent blade of the former is larger and heavier than that of the latter.<ref name="W1-195197"/> The Lochaber axe took many incarnations, all of them having a few elements in common. It was a heavy weapon, used by infantry for a defense against cavalry and as a pike against infantry.
Like most other polearms of the time, it consisted of two parts: shaft and blade. The shaft was usually some Template:Convert long. The blade was about Template:Convert in length which usually resembled a bardiche or voulge in form. The blade might be attached in two places and often had a sharp point coming off the top. In addition a hook (or cleek) was attached to the back of the blade. A butt spike was included as a counterweight to the heavy axe head. Langets were incorporated down each side of the shaft to prevent the head from being cut off.Template:Citation needed
The Lochaber axe had the virtue of being a cheap weapon that could be easily made by a blacksmith. They could be used to arm men who lacked a broadsword or a firearm. Hundreds were hastily made to equip the Earl of Mar's levie troops during the Jacobite rising of 1715.<ref name="Reid=2006">Template:Cite book</ref> A few were carried by Jacobite troops during the early part of the Jacobite rising of 1745.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Although by the end of the rising, almost all Jacobites were armed with muskets and bayonets.<ref name="Reid=2006" />
UseEdit
In hand-to-hand combat, the axe, in common with other polearms such as the halberd, has a spike on the end, to be used on close combat in a thrusting motion. The axe on the side, coupled with the long pole, delivered a powerful blow to infantry or dismounted cavalry. The example in the Edinburgh Great Hall Museum shows a substantial rear-facing hook, for catching/pulling.
For Lochaber axes used by the city guards of Edinburgh, the hook is almost level with the top of the staff, making them useless as a means to catch a moving object. These hooks, however, may have been used to hang the weapons in the guard room.<ref name="W1-195197"/>