I know this sounds feddy, but bonus if they're improvised, cos that shits awesome.
One of my favourites is the PRIG - an IRA made grenade launcher that used a packet of biscuits to offset and quieten the backblast.
I also made a crossbow that fired nuts and bolts using wood and resistance bands. Not a weapon of war and would never be lethal, but also probably not very legal where I'm from. I just used it to plink cans in the back garden when I was bored. Was actually quite a scarily powerful and accurate device for how crude it was.
Sappers in general, digging under walls to collapse them and shit like that.
Heartbreak.
I seduce the enemy leader's spouse, and break their hearts.
Having shot the AR-15 a couple of times I can see why it was the standard issue for the military. Light easy to use and operate and very accurate.
elephants, because they have long trunks and they love their babies
and sometimes they get so much testosterone it literally leaks out the side of their head glands
and all the other elephants are like ok let this guy lead the pack for a while so he doesn't lose his shit
the horse-bow combo is the most graceful and until firearms most effective loadout. horses with people who really know what they're doing on top are so elegant, and bowmanship was already very pretty on the ground.
a parthian shot from a speeding horse is something to beholdfailing that the halberd is the coolest single weapon in a vacuum
Big fan of bows, and the longer the better. I know it's not a unique choice but what can I say they're a classic for a reason.
Gotta be basic and go with the AK. It is the second most produced weapon in human history, only after the spear. A true people's weapon
- The Basilic Cannon
~3rd largest cannon ever made, Orban the Hungarian ironworker first approached Constantine XI with the plans and was turned down for it looking like an expensive project. So he goes and shows them to Sultan Mehmed II and now it's Istanbul not Constantinople.
- Ironclads
Ironclads are super cool to me because due to the rapid pace of change in technology basically every single one was outdated by the time they actually left the shipyards. It was the confluence of new and separate technologies: metal hulls, steam propulsion, and guns rather than cannons (in the traditional meaning of the word); that when combined wasn't really impactful enough in it's own right to be a dominant military technology, but would be the foundation for the next like 200 years of warship design.
- Khopesh
The Sword/Axe combo still looks fucking sick 4,500 years later
E) honorable mention to the Billhook, and I mean the sidearm hand-axe/machete not the wannabe halberd.
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gotta have some love for the warwolf too then surely
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Ironclads are dope. Although it's probably not true, in True History of The Kelly Gang, Ned Kelly gets his armour inspiration from seeing blueprints to an Ironclad. Dope ass movie.
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yep shits badass Egyptian weapons looked so mythical
The Warwolf (and trebuchets in general) are absolutely dope; but what I love the most about the Basilic cannon is the historical contingency embodied by it. The fate of Eastern Rome was partially decided by sticker shock.
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Nukes
My actual answer is the sabre, whenever I see one in a HEMA video it always looks so fluid.
They seem really cool! I know they're historical and I get how they'd work but I've never actually seen one in action, so I think I'd have to see how reliably they can fuck up a sword to form an opinion
Apparently they're not actually for literally breaking a sword - more 'breaking' in the way you'd break in/tame a horse.
I've seen videos of people using them on YouTube, in HEMA and in guided demonstrations, and the strategy is to let the blade catch in the teeth, and then pull downwards. This locks the blade into the swordbreaker, and allows you to pull it out of the way, and them towards you, allowing you to then counter with your other hand (and weapon).
Another one you might enjoy is the Plumbus. What a goofy gadget.
