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Hypercon
Making a Spanish Pike
The Pike was a cavalry weapon used with great effect initially by the Spaniards and subsequently by both the Mexican cavalry and the Tejano flying companies on the plains of Texas in the early to mid-nineteenth century. The weapon consisted of a flared steel point with a straddle reinforcement at the connection between the head and the staff. The head was attached by pinning the straddles to the sides of the staff and were sometimes reinforced with strips of leather. The staff measured between 7 and 9 feet in length and was made of a straight grained wood approximately 1.5 inches in diameter. At the base of the staff a steel pommel was attached in a similar manner as the pike head. In the hands of a fine horseman, the pike could inflict a mortal wound against a combatant, either mounted or infantry, while keeping the aggressor out of range of sabers, bayonets and the similar edged weapons.
The head of the pike is constructed from an iron square rod of 3/4 or 1 inch thick as shown in figure "a". The lower half of the rod is spread and then split up the center as shown in figures "b" and "c". The tines are then flattened and slightly curved inward to accept the handle as shown in figure "d". The upper section of the bar is flanged and then brought to a point as shown in figure "e". Holes are then drilled or punched in the tines of the saddle (not shown).
The pommel is created in the exact same fashion as the head but on a shorter basis and without the point. Instead, the end opposite the saddle is upended and rounded as shown in figure "j".
A full size shop drawing may be downloaded for educational or personal use.
