What are "Ethnographic Weapons?"

[Andrew]

Years ago on the EEWRS main page, Lee defined "Ethnographic Edged Weapon" as:

For the purposes of this site, an ethnographic edged weapon is a weapon other than the standardized military models of the past few centuries and is likely a product of an individual artisan working according to traditional patterns as opposed to a product of modern mass industrial production. Militaria is thereby excluded by definition. Modern custom knives would qualify as an artifact of our own "culture", but will not be considered here, as they are better represented elsewhere.

That definition has broadened, as has the scope of this forum. Note the forum itself became "Ethnographic Arms and Armour Forum" when we changed to the new format.

While the primary focus here remains consistant with Lee's original statement, discussion of pretty much any weapon short of modern firearms, will be considered on-topic. Logically related topics, such as martial arts and, indeed, spiritual and ritual beliefs associated with the weapons are, likewise, on-topic.