Repurposed Spontoon?

Jim McDougall · 19th January 2026, 09:47 PM

As Mark has well noted, the lion head was an affectation not only used by England, but by the Dutch. Often I wonder if the Dutch influenced the British in these hilt features, there was a great deal of such diffusion.

Whatever the case this ersatz weapon does seem to be the kind of assembly which seems to have occurred in remote or colonial circumstances, and the use of various hafted weapon blades would no be unusual. Actually Im always amazed by the numbers of such weapons which seem to come up from time to time, and are typically of course avoided by most collectors.

Time to hit the books and find comparisons for this lion head form and the spontoon.....I must excavate my copy of Neumann!

19th January 2026, 09:47 PM	#4
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,825	As Mark has well noted, the lion head was an affectation not only used by England, but by the Dutch. Often I wonder if the Dutch influenced the British in these hilt features, there was a great deal of such diffusion. Whatever the case this ersatz weapon does seem to be the kind of assembly which seems to have occurred in remote or colonial circumstances, and the use of various hafted weapon blades would no be unusual. Actually Im always amazed by the numbers of such weapons which seem to come up from time to time, and are typically of course avoided by most collectors. Time to hit the books and find comparisons for this lion head form and the spontoon.....I must excavate my copy of Neumann!