View source for Haft

[[Category:Fighting Terms]]

The '''Haft''' of a weapon is the non-striking surface length along the [[core]] between the [[Striking Surface|striking surface]] and the [[pommel]].  It is a somewhat ambiguous term, sometimes refering to a non-[[handle]], non-striking surface area covered in [[Incidental Padding|incidental padding]], and sometimes referring to that area and the handle combined.  The former usage is more common in reference to weapon construction (where a glaive might be referred to as having three feet of handle, three feet of haft, and three feet of striking surface) while the latter usage is more common referring to fighting.  For example, a spearman might be described as blocking strikes with the haft, regardless of whether they strike handle or incidental padding.

"Haft!" is also a common call used to inform someone that a [[Javelin]] did not strike on point but instead hit them with the haft.  In this case the term is not ambiguous, since javelins do not have a handle.

Incidental padding is frequently called '''haft padding''', since this is the area that it typically covers.