Were AXES used as weapons in the 'Age of Sail' by Pirates & Sailors?

Boarding axes are featured fairly often in movies and TV set during the Age of Sail, by pirates and sailors. But were these axes really used very often as weapons?

[DragonTigerBoss]

I already knew this. Assassin's Creed has taught me that pirates dual wielded rapiers, primarily as cutting weapons.

[Robert]

When you said “guess the most important weapon for sailors” I thought cannon.

[dreadnought]

One of my sparring partners knows me as a bit of a sword buff. So he`s often asking questions and my number one answer: Context. Because you know, a complex scenario can not be explained so simply. Thanks Matt for enabling me to do that with your videos, if they didn`t exist I could not have accuired this knowledge.

[TheWampam]

Poor axes :(
Concerning the missing poularity of boarding pikes, I think you should do a video about using spears in sieges next.

[deekim]

The usage of boarding pikes are one of the things I like about the movie, Master and Commander. During one of the boarding scenes, they show the crews fighting each other with pikes on the deck of the French ship.

[dreammfyre]

The answer is always something long with a pointy tip on it.

[jcorbett]

8:40 "I'm sure if we look hard enough" Shows picture with sailor using a boarding axe as a weapon. I see what you did there, Matt :-)

[emmrmstrong]

@scholagladiatoria We actually have a engraving of a boarding action against the Triton by the corsair Ambroise Louis Garneray. This shows at least two definite axes being used in the melee, another two that I can't identify may be axes as well. Also included are a number of pikes (more than confirmed axes) and one person seemingly holding a pistol for melee. In the " The Album of the Marqués de la Victoria" (1750) we see drawings of two different axes. One is listed as a marine infantry weapon, the other a boarding axe. The marine infantry axe appears to have a hammer instead of a spike.

[testtester]

The business end of a boarding axe is identical to a fireman’s axe for a reason. When your home is made of wood, covered in tar, and full of gunpowder then it is important to be able to get rid of anything that can ignite it.

[albinandersson]

To comment on Harpers volleygun. Sharpe got it from his short time in the navy (I think he even used it at Trafalgar) and then he gives it to Harper as a christmas gift.
Though this is only in the books, the tv series differs a bit.

[thefreshestslice]

9/10, if he asks which weapon was more important, just guess spear, folks.

[victorwaddell]

I'm a navy veteran of the 20th Century, so I don't have any first hand knowledge or experiences with cutlasses or boarding pikes. But I was a member of the Security Alert Teams on two US Navy warships and a Military Policeman on a navy base . What I would say is it's all about context . A salty sailor who has been trained for some time by the Master At Arms Force may be comfortable with a dedicated weapon like a cutlass , boarding pike, or firearm . But new sailors, or those whose main job isn't close quarters combat, might be more acquainted with a basic tool like an axe . In previous times most houses were heated by firewood, thus many young naval recruits had experience chopping and spitting wood since their childhod . There is a learning curve to overcome with a weapon that is new to any young sailor . When a young sailor found himself in combat he may have reverted to what he felt comfortable with using . Why would he throw away his trusty old axe to grab a cutlass that he had limited training with ? Of course the old salts with years of training by the MAA force would recognize the advantages of a cutlass in a fight on deck . Just my thoughts as a navy vet . Cheers !

[zerentheunskilled]

My guess is that they were most often used when it was just something that happened to be nearby in the moment. Maybe if you couldn't get to another weapon for some reason or had lost the one you had been using, an axe, mallet, or any other somewhat sturdy object you might find on a ship would be good enough.

[adomalyon]

Throwing the pistol. 18th Century version of Ending Rightly.

[balaurbondoc]

I've seen a number of references to boarding axes being carried in addition to a brace of pistols and cutlass or a half pike. This leads me to think that they were definitely carried in boarding actions, but as a tool for climbing and smashing things and as a backup weapon-the cutlass wouldn't work in that niche since they didn't have scabbards but most of the axes did have belt hooks. John Nichols described a boarding party he was part of as each having a half-pike for defending the ship and a cutlass, brace of pistols and tomahawk for boarding enemy ships. When James Spratt single-handedly boarded a French ship by swimming, he had a tomahawk through his belt and a cutlass between his teeth, but did all his fighting with the cutlass. Page 153 of Volume 40 of the European Magazine, or London Review, described French sailors defending their ship as each carrying a half-pike, tomahawk and brace of pistols. There's also the frigate Indefatigable's organization of it's boarding party in 1812. The first boarding party was all cutlasses, the second half cutlasses and half boarding pikes, the third half boarding pikes and half tomahawks, and the fourth half tomahawks and half marines. The first and second waves had the highest proportion of experienced men, so I wouldn't be surprised if the axemen in the third and fourth parties were intended for follow-up waves where they might need to clear barricades, or to act as damage control when defending their own ship rather than being the main fighters in a boarding action.

[tylerchristensen]

One very common feature on boarding axes is a spike opposite the blade which makes me wonder if the primary purpose of the boarding axe was not so much as a weapon for naval warfare, but a tool. Literally an axe for boarding. Deck heights of ships varied significantly, and boarding could have also been done from small boats such as in cutting out attacks. Having a tool much like a climbers pick could have been near essential to get onboard the enemy ship quickly. Now, having a limited capacity for what you can carry, and if you are coming over the side of the ship with your axe in hand I would argue that perhaps it may have been a more important weapon in these cases and maybe even chosen over something like a cutlass. After all a weapon in hand is worth two on the belt.

[Radagast]

THANK YOU! Finally somebody who addressed the issue of the "boarding axe." They were actually a simple tool that was only used as a weapon when somebody needed to grab the nearest dangerous thing at hand. Mostly boarding was done with pistol and knife or pistol and cutlass. If they were bringing along a boarding axe it was just one or two so they could quickly cut rigging. Boarding pikes were used in practice for anti-boarding more than boarding because it's rather difficult to make the jump or climb onto an enemy deck while carrying one compared to pistol and cutlass. But they were damned good for holding off boarders as they tried to make the transition from their deck to yours.

[okin_rezresua]

When your enemy doesn't wear armor and has no shield there is no reason to pick an axe over a sabre or cutlass. Less reach, requires more skill, shaft can potentially be cut, offers no hand protection and it's more difficult to parry enemy blows, which is especially bad without a shield or armor.

[holyknightthatpwns]

Best opening to any of your videos, mate. Thanks for the insight as always!

[ChristianThePagan]

Boarding axes were a thing in Baltic navies where boarding was a much more favoured tactic than the Royal Navy emphasis on firepower, including pistol/axe combos:


These were very much fighting axes and they came both in short and long hafted versions including gun/axe combos of both. The Swedish name for them is ‘Änterbila’ which literally means boarding axe. So, just because something wasn’t a thing in the Royal Navy doesn’t mean it wasn’t a thing elsewhere :-)