Horseman's pick

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The horseman's pick was a weapon used by cavalry units during the middle ages in Europe. This was a type of war hammer that had a very long spike on the reverse of the hammer head. Usually this spike was slightly curved downwards, much like a miner's pickaxe. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with war hammer.

The horseman's pick was often used as a means to penetrate thick armor or chainmail which the standard sword could not. However, because it was relatively light, unarmored opponents did not really have much of an advantage over their armored counterparts, as it was quite unavoidable. The disadvantages to the horseman's pick were few: the small injury caused by the weapon was rarely fatal, and if swung too hard the weapon was often imbedded in the victim, and difficult to retrieve from the armour that it penetrated, much to the disadvantage of the user.