12 Wild Weapons Too Bizarre For Battle

What are the prime characteristics of a decent, battle-ready weapon? It should inflict damage on your enemy with minimal effort from you. They should be light-weight, easy to use, practical and utilitarian in every way. But as these 12 weapons show, not all weapons are created equally. Some are better suited to win beauty contests rather than battles — and others are simply too strange for words!

Do you know of any rare, weird-looking weapons? Post some pics in the COMMENTS!

1. A 450-year-old prototype for the Swiss Army Knife?

This universal tool was used between 1560 to 1570.

2. A pleasant-looking antique trinket? Think again.

This is actually a 700-year-old hand grenade from the 12th-century crusades that would have been filled with a flammable liquid and used like a Molotov cocktail.

3. Some pistols just look too pretty to fire.

This fancy three-chamber box lock pistol once belonged to Napoleon.

4. And now for something a little different...

This helmet was given to King Henry VIII by Emperor Maximilian I in 1514. It was likely intended for pageantry rather than battle.

5. Something tells me this guy can only dream about swinging that beast of a sword.

Known as the zweihänder sword, it apparently once belonged to a pirate and warlord.

6. Just three more things too fancy to stab someone with.

These steel and copper arrowheads are purely ceremonial. They are also monogrammed with the initials of King Albert who ruled Bohemia and Hungary from 1437 to 1439.

7. Okay — this thing is pretty cool.

This antique Chinese axe from the Late Shang dynasty is over 700 years old and is made from wood and bronze with a jade blade.

8. You're kidding, right? This thing actually fires??

This bad boy is called an Enouy Revolver, made by Joseph Enouy who patented it in 1855. It features 8 cylinders that rotate on a magazine wheel, with 6 shots in each, for a total of 48 shots. Good luck finding a holster to fit.

9. At last — a weapon that looks like it actually saw some action!

And it cleans up real nice. This, as you might expect, is an axe from the Viking era.

10. Gold and shiny — just the way the Egyptians liked it.

This gold dagger and sheath was buried within the mummy wrappings of the famous pharaoh Tutankhamun, aka King Tut.

11. If you could just pack that up for me, I think it will look great on my wall.

This rapier and its ornate hilt are Italian designed and dated to 1560.

12. Everything about this says master craftsmanship.

The Museum of Artifacts lists this as an Italian Prod made from wood and ivory and dates it to 1573. But we can just call it what it is — a sweet-looking crossbow!

Do you know of a rare, awesome looking weapon? Post a pic in the COMMENTS!