What material was the ancient "gun" pole made of?

What material is it made of?

Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and people familiar with history are no strangers to war. There are countless battles, big and small, and weapons are indispensable in war. In ancient China, iron and bronze were called cold weapons, so they were called "eighteen weapons".

The "eighteen" mentioned here does not mean that there are only eighteen kinds of ancient weapons, but there are many kinds of ancient weapons, not just eighteen kinds. Eighteen here refers to the most common and mainstream weapons: knives, guns, swords, halberds, axes, cymbals, hooks, forks, party sticks, plastics, sticks, whips, mallets, hammers, grabs and crutches.

Let's talk about the second artillery in the eighteen weapons first. Speaking of ancient guns, some people's first impression is: "Isn't that an iron bar?"

People who have this idea are not unreasonable, because iron is hard and lethal, but we must know that the output of ancient iron is very small, only a few hundred kilograms at most a year. In addition, "gun" is the mainstream weapon in ancient times, and it is impossible to have iron supply. Besides, it is too heavy to be held for a long time, let alone used against the enemy.

Therefore, the "gun" pole is not all made of iron bars, and even the most popular materials are not affordable for ordinary people.

To understand what materials the ancient gun shafts were made of, we should first understand the materials of some of the top ten famous guns in ancient times, and then look at what the popular gun shafts were made of.

The production materials of some of the top ten firearms

The ten most famous guns in ancient times, from the first to the tenth, are: overlord gun, gentian bright silver gun, plum blossom gun, dragon gun, Liquan gun, Tiger's head golden war gun, Shenweilie water gun, Five Tiger Soul-killing gun, Qingshen gun and Luye gun. The holders of these top ten guns are even used by famous families handed down from generation to generation.

They made great achievements with spears in their hands. Many people are curious about how such a good gun is made. Are they all made of the same material?

First of all, let's take a look at the number one overlord gun used by Xiang Yu. This gun history book records that when Xiang Yu went to war, a meteorite fell from the sky on the road. Xiang Yu thought the stone was hard and strange, which was very different from ordinary stones, so he asked his men to take it back to his father Xiang Liang.

Later, Xiang Liang heard that a local master was very good at casting weapons, so he took this meteorite and asked the master to extract fine steel from this stone. Nine days later, Kuya finally forged a giant chisel Hu Jintou gun.

This kind of gun shaft is made of fine steel gold, and it weighs almost 100 Jin. Its glittering appearance is very domineering, and people with no skills can't use this gun.

Look at the fourth pike "Dragon Gun" used by Su Hu, the father of Su Daji. The dragon gun is about ten feet square. The whole body is ironmaking copper, and the spear head is dragon tongue, which looks like a flame. Because the spear head looks like a dragon, it is named dragon gun. The gun shaft is made of century-old mahogany, which is very hard.

After the gun shaft was made, it was soaked in cooked oil for 15 years. After fully absorbing the cooking oil for a hundred years, the mahogany weighed 54 kilograms, and it was carefully carved by famous teachers and craftsmen for more than a month. The tip of the gun was made of cold iron, which was extremely rare at that time. Ordinary guns were like ants and Mount Tai.

Gao Chong, who was once hailed as the first valiant soldier by Ma Chao and Yue Fei, and Chang Yuchun in Ming Ying Lie used the sixth golden tiger gun. The gun body is ten feet long, and the gun shaft is made of mixed iron fine steel. The whole gun is heavy. The spear head is in the shape of a gold-plated tiger's head, and the tiger's mouth is very tough, made of platinum and very sharp.

The handle of Qi Jiguang's valiant gun is made of pure crude steel mixed with gold, and it is also very sharp.

Look at the weapon green heavy gun used by Dong Ping, a famous Shu player. This gun was named Green Sink Gun because the material used was green Sink Bamboo, the gun cover was decorated with green Sink, the spear head was made of fine iron, and the Sui Wendi named it Green Sink Gun.

The 10th reed-leaf gun used by Yang, a aristocratic family in the Northern Song Dynasty, has a slender spear head shaped like a reed leaf. It is made of pure steel and pure silver. It is very hard and sharp, and its armor can be pierced.

The above are the materials used by the top ten famous guns, which can be regarded as very high-end materials. They are carefully polished by famous artists. Ordinary children can't own such guns. So, what materials are common and popular gun sticks made of?

Common gun rod materials

As can be seen from the top ten famous guns, the ancient gun-making materials are actually varied and not made of a fixed material. Then, what materials were the shafts of common pike made of at that time?

Wooden pike grips, usually iron spears and wooden spears, are mainly used by ordinary soldiers and have moderate weight. They also have the advantage of length, because when the two armies are at war, the weapons that are too short are too close to the enemy, and the weapons in their hands are short. If the other side is long, it is easy to suffer, and if you are not careful, you will be stabbed by the other side's long weapon.

Therefore, as a long weapon, pike is not only very popular with commanders, but also has great advantages in allocating troops.

But we know that the wooden grips are light in weight, but they have advantages in waving. However, it is easy to break, and the ancients took a fancy to the fact that wooden poles are easy to take materials and it is not easy to supply troops stationed outside. As long as the gun head is there, it is easier to find the material of the gun shaft.

However, if ordinary wood has poor toughness and is fragile, it is more suitable for street performers. If you really want to go to war, you will use special trees, such as mahogany, eucalyptus and other tough wood. For example, the handle of the fourth dragon gun was polished with century-old mahogany soaked in oil 15 years.

Although the ordinary wooden gun handle is not soaked in cooked oil, it is also made of some precious wood, such as mahogany and ash, which is convenient to hold and not easy to break. Even this kind of wood can't be bought by ordinary families.

Iron hilt: The iron hilt weighs at least 100 kilograms. Even if you can afford it, you can't wave it at will, let alone hold it against the enemy for a long time.

Moreover, there is another shortcoming of the iron gun staff, that is, ancient soldiers generally wore armor to fight the enemy. If they pierce each other's armor and then draw their guns, they will easily get stuck and get rid of their weapons. A slight carelessness may cause the user's arm to break.

Of course, it's just that ordinary people can't use it. There are many famous soldiers with amazing arm strength and infinite strength.

For example, Luo Shixin, the first valiant soldier in Sui and Tang Dynasties, was known as a wrought iron sharpshooter. He once fought Li Yuanba, a silver hammer weighing hundreds of pounds. Both sides are brave and fearless, and you come and go, never falling in the wind. He is a legend of divine power.

Just like Yue Fei's 100-Jin Liquan magic gun, only Yue Fei's natural divine power, coupled with the world-famous Yue family marksmanship at that time, can make Yue Fei brave and invincible.

Zhao Zilong is a great weapon, and he also has strong arm strength. He cut off countless enemy generals with heavy iron guns.

He was holding a half-year-old Liu Chan on the rampage among Cao Cao's 100,000 troops, and no one could stop him.

Xiang Yu is also fine steel Jinzhu's nearly 100 Jin magic gun. He is domineering, standing sideways, and extremely brave, which often scares the enemies who fight alongside him and dares not face each other.

However, only a few people can afford weapons weighing nearly 100 kilograms and fight against the enemy for a long time. Ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, two slaps can count. Therefore, the iron gun shaft can not be mass-produced, and can only be specially made for some extremely brave individuals with amazing arm strength.

Other soldiers generally use guns made of special wood or composite materials with good toughness.

Composite gun shaft: This kind of gun shaft is relatively common and widely used and manufactured. It also has another name, that is, bamboo and wood secrets.

Although this kind of gun rod is widely spread and used by many people. In fact, compared with the first two processes, the structure of this gun rod is very complicated.

The material of the stick core is the wood of special trees, which is cut into smooth sticks of a certain size bit by bit with a knife; Then, cut the hard and tough bamboo, slice it and stick it on the cut stick, and then tie it with silk thread, belt or rattan skin that is not easy to wear off.

Finally, paint the raw paint evenly layer by layer, and then continue to paint several layers after the paint dries, so as to promote the close combination of the materials into a whole. The final product is very smooth and beautiful, easy to hold in your hand and not easy to fall off.

In fact, this kind of composite gun rod is expensive and time-consuming and laborious to manufacture. It can't be made after many years, which is a great test of people's technology and handwork. Ordinary craftsmen have a high failure rate in making this kind of gun rod.

However, this kind of gun rod has its advantages. It should be soft and tough.

For example, the ancient Mongolians in Mashan used weapons such as bows and arrows, and bamboo and wood secret spears were also very popular.

Hemp gun, hemp gun is more advanced than Mumi in Ji Zhu, and its exquisite production is not comparable to Mumi in Ji Zhu.

The pole is different from the wooden pole commonly used for walking. Its material is not the trunk of fine tough wood. After the trunk of tough wood is recovered, it must go through a series of processing, dry to a certain dryness, cut into strips with uniform size and thickness with special tools, and then glued together with special tools.

Tough wood is the kind of extended wood used to make bows and arrows. If not, you can choose the trunk of Sang Mu, oak or rattan, and the worst is bamboo.

The first step is to soak the bamboo stick in oil and dry it repeatedly until it is not easy to deform and crack.

The first step alone took almost no less than a year. After one year, we can take the stick out of the oil and put it in a place out of the sun for several months.

Then, you can use the best glue to synthesize a gun shaft, and then wrap it with the best hemp rope outside until the hemp rope and stabilizer are dry.

Coat it with raw lacquer and wrap it with kudzu cloth. Paint raw lacquer on kudzu vine cloth, dry it layer by layer, and paint it repeatedly until it is cut with a knife. Only those products that can hear the crisp metal collision without breaking are considered qualified products, otherwise they are unqualified products. It takes three years to make a new one.

After the gun shaft is completed, put on other parts and decorations such as the gun head.

Qualified jockeys and military commanders can easily keep the tip of the knife straight when riding.

It is strong, light and tough, so a military commander can hold it at once, charge with full horsepower, wave freely, and fight the enemy in melee, which is very useful.

It's just, you know, it takes three years to make a stable, and life takes several years. A person can't make a few qualified and stable ones in his life, and the success rate is not high. It is said that the power is only about 40%, so the cost is amazing, and ordinary people can't own such weapons.

Therefore, since the Han and Tang dynasties, those who are good at riding horses are generally senior generals from a family.

A general with a grassroots background may not be able to establish such stability with a few years' salary.

Zhang Fei used this kind of stable pike. His carbine has a spear-shaped tip at the front end, which can be chopped. There is also a complex under the blade to prevent the horse from penetrating the opponent when charging. Even the iron under the blade is forged as a whole, and the iron is wrapped in tough wood.

Then glue the swim bladder glue and shellac pigskin together, and then paint them with big paint, and paint them with raw paint layer by layer, weighing 15 to 20 kilograms. Only brave soldiers can use them. This is also a composite structure of the gun shaft. When fighting, if the horse charges at a high speed and hits the opponent, the strength will be dispersed and will not be broken like the Western European lances.

This kind of gun rod is very flexible. Because it is blocked by the complex, it is easy to pull out after stabbing the armor, unlike the iron core.

When the general uses it, he only needs to hold the middle part, and the two ends are two meters long, so he can protect his own safety on both sides and protect his horse from the threat of the enemy's long weapons.

If you want to stab far, you can slide your hand to the end, so you can stab 4 meters away, which is very convenient for both high-speed charge and low-speed combat.

However, because the war mode changed later, there were relatively few opportunities to charge by horse, and it was too troublesome to make, which required high materials, production skills, time and cost. At the same time, it's not that the valiant soldier can't use it, and the production skills are gradually lost. Therefore, people no longer use long guns with stable gun shafts.