Another Project: A 15th Century Flail

I've kind of wanted a flail for awhile. There are a few on the market, some of which by Arms & Armor and Lutel being of very good quality. But I wanted something a bit different. Many years ago Museum Replicas carried a couple of flails made in their workshop which featured heads made from "recycled" sword pommels, documented in Wagner's Medieval Weapons and Costume book. I had a left over Del Tin pommel from a rehilt project and figured, "Why not?"

The haft was obtained from a Rocklers woodworking store, and I just used a drawknife, belt sander, rasps, and files to shape it. The idea for the shape came from a roughly contemporary "fist pick" now in a French (?) museum, and I think originally Burgundian.

I hand forged the 1/8" thick  mounting bracket on the end of the haft, along with the loop attached to the pommel and the large ring that connects the chain to the bracket. The chain itself is modern, but similar in appearance and function to some originals from the period (of course, the original chain would have featured forge welded rings, rather than the modern spot weld. Sue me.) The end result is pretty good, I think.

Certainly this would have been a devastating weapon in use, but it requires some practice to avoid being as dangerous to its wielder as to one's foemen.