The Complete Handbook of Spears

I've been doing Viking reenactment for about a decade and have never seen the mechanics of the spear explained this clearly. I finally understand why some of my old heads were so terrible to handle--the balance and haft geometry stuff in Chapter 1 is worth the price alone. It actually answered my questions on why one steel holds a better edge for cutting. Great reference, I keep it on my bench now.

This is the book I wish I'd had when I started my collection. The first chapter alone cleared up so much about the differences between a light throwing spear and a heavy thrusting one. It's written plainly, no fluff, just the facts. The chapter summaries are great for quickly looking up answers. A must-have for anyone in the HEMA group, honestly.

It's a solid, comprehensive reference, though it's a bit academic in places which I appreciated. The author does a great job on the history and the mechanical breakdowns, but I felt the chapter on choosing a spear could've spent a bit more time on budget options. The comparison of hafting methods was really useful when I re-shafted my last one. Overall, I'm happy with it and have it next to my other references.

The book has excellent technical detail, and I appreciate that it doesn't romanticize the weapon. As a museum professional, the maintenance and conservation parts are very useful. I was hoping for a little more on modern manufacturers in Chapter 6, maybe some direct comparisons of upcoming known brands, but the general framework for evaluating suppliers is sound. A bit dry in spots, but a very good resource.

Picked this up for the business chapter. I've been buying and selling antique heads for years and this gave me a new framework for valuing them based on the geometry, not just instinct. Chapters 1 and 5 are solid. The only reason it's not a 5 is that I wish the print quality on the graphs was a little better, they're a bit small. Otherwise, a well-written and thorough handbook.

Fantastic breakdown. The sections on how the cross-section impacts thrusting vs. cutting is incredible. I'm a maker, and the metallurgy information in the first chapter led me to try a new heat-treat process that gave me better results than I've had in years. It's thorough, practical, and the business chapter made me think about this as a real market. Highly recommend it to other craftsmen.

Good book overall. It's very practical and has a lot of useful information about maintenance that I've not found anywhere else. It felt a little bit heavy on the long-term care and troubleshooting than I needed, but I'm a casual collector, so I guess the pros will love that. The chapter on the future is interesting, especially the parts about new alloys, although it makes me wonder what we'll be seeing in 20 years.

As a history teacher planning a unit on medieval warfare, I wanted something accurate for lesson prep. This delivered. The first chapter clarifies the fundamental physics of the spear, which is exactly what my students need. I'm docking a star because I think the audience is definitely more on the hobbyist end, and it's probably too technical for casual readers, but for serious enthusiasts it's irreplaceable.