BigDan | 30 Nov 2012 10:55 p.m. PST |
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Justin Penwith | 01 Dec 2012 12:14 a.m. PST |
@BigDan If you want to be even closer to the zeds in melee
Can I have your stuff when they get you? :) |
goragrad | 01 Dec 2012 11:26 a.m. PST |
Ready made – double-bitted timber cruiser axe. 30-inch handle gives some reach. 3-lb head is not too heavy for sustained use. Can always thrust with it in close to regain distance for a swing. If worried about spatter, hit with the flats. This is of course the back up to firearms. |
Toshach | 01 Dec 2012 7:31 p.m. PST |
I'm thinking one of these would be pretty good. It is designed to put a hole in ice with a single stroke, which is a lot harder than a zombie's skull.
kreoseus2 | 02 Dec 2012 5:36 a.m. PST |
too sort, and would get stuck too easily. |
Adam name not long enough | 02 Dec 2012 6:29 a.m. PST |
Designed to put a hole in ice and then lodge there securely so you can climb! What makes us think that we can out invent our violent ancestors? They had far more practice with violent hand to hand – with or without crowds – and came up with a range of options that will suit an individual's style, stature or role. Importantly, they had spikes blades and blunt bits, but virtually none of them had extra spikes, blades or serrations. Why? because they get caught, if not in your foe or clothes, then in yourself. Possibly embarassing, if not fatal. |
geekygamer | 02 Dec 2012 11:06 a.m. PST |
I am confident that the average adult could cause severe life-treatening injury to a living person with the swing of an aluminum bat, but I'm not so sure about the force needed to smash a skull and destroy a zombie brain. I think a short stabbing spear like those used by the Zulu in the late 1800 might work nicely. One can more effectively poke thsn swing in close quarters and I would think that it would be easier to get at the brain via the eye & nasal cavities rather than from the top or side as most bat swings would accomplish. |
Cdude93 | 02 Dec 2012 2:34 p.m. PST |
The episode of "Deadliest Warrior" season 1 which was "Mafia vs. Yakuza" had a pretty definitive test of baseball bat vs. head. The bat won, in one swing. If I remember correctly, it was wooden though, and a 2h swing. As for aluminum vs. wood, that's pretty obvious but I found this kinda entertaining. :) YouTube link |
geekygamer | 02 Dec 2012 2:36 p.m. PST |
Thinking more about it, perhaps a rapier & dagger combo 3 Musketeers style would be good: super-fast with good puncturing ability and an off-hand back up as needed. Michonne was noted in an earlier post. I wonder, was she supposed to have been trained in katana use prior to the outbreak? |
Ark3nubis | 02 Dec 2012 3:11 p.m. PST |
Yeah I remember that episode of the deadliest warrior. And yup the bat did some bad damage! So a metal one would do more. Hey Justin, you mentioned the bat sliding out of the hand when covered in sweat and blood, wouldn't that a). apply to any weapon? and b). wouldn't the bat have a grip in the form of cloth interwoven and adhered to the bat's handle? I think my weapon selection was a bit too 'real world', ie, what could you get your hands on if you left your house at this moment. I don't have many Warhammers lying around here, although yeah, they would do the job! As for making a boar spear, I would likely not make it well enough to last, so wouldn't fancy trying to save my life with one. A proper one would probs do the trick, although in a tight space with possible enemies at any side, I would need to know how to use it like a quarter staff to protect myself but without slicing myself off at the ankles first! As for Michonne, I am not a Walking Dead expert, but to handle a weapon like that (as shown on the programme) would need training and skill, mixed with a cool head and nerve. I at best could hope for the nerve, but not the rest. I also saw the deadliest warrior episode with the dude cutting rice bales with a Katana, and then compared the cut to the grand master fella he was with. Skill played such a part in getting a good result as the master fella whooped his beehind and vut all the way through. Hence why I think the Katana would bethe WORST weapon for nearly everyone. The Musketeer suggestion above might be good too! Ark |
Panzergruppe | 02 Dec 2012 3:35 p.m. PST |
A sharpened entrenching tool. Easy to weild, easy to carry and it works well in hand to hand combat in every single Sven Hassel book! |
Cdude93 | 02 Dec 2012 5:25 p.m. PST |
Also don't forget that the quality of forging when it comes to swords, especially katanas plays a huge part. the $50 USD chinatown specials are not going to last long at all compared to actual forged ones, even the mass produced WWII ones. |
Johny Boy | 02 Dec 2012 5:32 p.m. PST |
I'd want a personal assistant to deal with these matters
;-) |
Cdude93 | 02 Dec 2012 5:55 p.m. PST |
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Fabe Mrk 2 | 02 Dec 2012 6:00 p.m. PST |
The Zombie survival guild calls the trench spike "the best compact anti-zombie weapon on earth". Brass knuckle style handle with a 7 inch blade designed to stab downward into a enemy helmet. |
Justin Penwith | 02 Dec 2012 6:46 p.m. PST |
@Ark3nubis, Most of the short handled weapons will quickly become slick with blood, unless fending off just a couple of zeds.
Cloth around the handle is a temporary solution and not a great one. Unless very tight, which is tough to do with aluminum for a any extended use, the user soon develops blisters unless wearing a lightweight glove. Longer handled weapons, will be less affected by blood if the weapon is held at the base of the haft or handle. A dagger punch, stiletto, or even the rapier would not be great either. The first two require you to get within arms reach of the zed and the latter gets its force from a lunge (requiring extension and balance on the part of the wielder). A quick thrust with a rapier, using only upper arm strength would not, for the typical person, strike with enough force to penetrate the skull, unless through an eye socket. Yet, a deep strike through an eye socket may well lose the swordsman his weapon. And a missed strike, or glance off the skull = dinner for the zeds. A more effective weapon has to: 1) not require the survivor to enter within the zed's reach in order to be effective. 2) not soon tire out the wielder. 3) not be too long as to be a hindrance in close terrain or buildings. 4) be well secured to the user's grip, but not so much so that the use cannot willfully let it go; the zed grabbing a weapon too securely attached has found a meal. 5) not be prone to or even moderately susceptible to becoming stuck in its victim. To me, this rules out stabby weapons, hook weapons, heavy bludgeoning weapons, weapons shorter than 18-24 inches (I'd personally want it at least 24" and not less and no more than 36"), a weapon with spikes, fancy crossbars at the business end, a weapon that is already slippery in the hands (before sweat and blood are on it), and a weapon that requires my hand or arm to be tied, belted, or chained to it. Speaking of chains, also no weapons that can become wrapped around the victim or inconvenient terrain features (light poles). This is my opinion, of course, but I will be open altering it once a tried and true zombie hunter makes himself know to us and declares otherwise. |
Dragon Gunner | 02 Dec 2012 7:53 p.m. PST |
Edged weapons are designed to make a victim bleed to death and lopping of heads is not as easy as Hollywood makes it look. Piercing weapons do internal damage and cause the victim to bleed to death. You cannot make a zombie bleed to death. My vote is still for warhammer or mace. |
Ark3nubis | 03 Dec 2012 3:33 a.m. PST |
"I'd want a personal assistant to deal with these matters
" I second what Johhny boy said
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Mithmee | 10 Dec 2012 7:27 p.m. PST |
This
link YouTube link Because only a fool who would soon be dead goes toe to toe with Zeds. |
Ark3nubis | 10 Dec 2012 9:00 p.m. PST |
Auto Assault-12 ammo drum = 32 shells Zombie horde = infinite Zombie no. 33+ = dinner time
Although finding one of these weapons I wouldn't say no to at all, awesome piece of kit, just can't rely on it past zed no 33 other than as a club (ok so you might have extra drums to reload too.) and then there's the temptation to use it 'cos it's there with the subsequent noise/zed attraction factor too
You wouldn't always have the choice to not be in hand to hand with them too, I imagine mostly when you are foraging or raiding a building for supplies. I'd likely say a single handed warhammer would be the best weapon then. Blunt enough against the living, could deliver a point load on a skull to kill a zed but not get stuck, it's designed for war, handy against multiple opponents in any terrain, easily stowed/carried when not needed. |
Cdude93 | 10 Dec 2012 9:09 p.m. PST |
This one occurred to me over the weekend. Muahaha link |
vojvoda | 11 Dec 2012 2:32 p.m. PST |
I can not believe no one has listed Ash's prosthetic chainsaw
or Car-15/203 leg!
Here are some other ideas: link Johnny Boy gets honorable mention for the personal Assistant
and a PNG that I can not get to upload! link
VR James Mattes |
Ark3nubis | 11 Dec 2012 3:04 p.m. PST |
Discussion closed. She's my choice of weapon, apocalypse or not. Just one question remains, would I be her's?
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Lampyridae | 30 Jan 2013 7:12 a.m. PST |
@Panzergruppe
A sharpened entrenching tool. Easy to weild, easy to carry and it works well in hand to hand combat in every single Sven Hassel book! Not to mention the deadly karate chops. Edged weapons are designed to make a victim bleed to death and lopping of heads is not as easy as Hollywood makes it look. Piercing weapons do internal damage and cause the victim to bleed to death. You cannot make a zombie bleed to death.
Since zombies don't bleed (they are dead) then bloodspray is less of an issue. Zombies also rely on muscles and tendons. Severing those with an edged weapon can be a lot easier, safer and less tiring than pure bludgeoning. Plus, shambling zombies are a great trip hazard for other zombies. Having said that, my weapon of choice at the outset would probably be my bokuto because I am familiar with it. There's a strike area on the inside forearm that causes an unctrollable buckling of the legs. Perfect for positioning a zombie for an overhead killing blow. The faster the Zed movies, the easier it is to trip it up. Since they typically run face forward (the biter to bite sweet manflesh), a simple parrying motion combined with their rotted sense of balance should be enough to plant them into the dirt ready for dispatch. Surprisingly no-one has brought up nets or bolas. Killing the Zed is irrelevant, you should simply be neutralising it so you can buy time to kill it or run away. A net can immobilise several zombies with a quick throw. Even better, the ensnared zombies can block off several more in tight confines. It's light and doesn't require great strength. Perfect for weakened, wounded or just plain weak survivors. Bolas and lassoos require a lot more skill but can be easily made. But the best melee weapons of all your own two feet. :) |
Wolfprophet | 30 Jan 2013 12:54 p.m. PST |
The only right n' proper way to do this would be teamwork with a combination of melee attackers, some hopefully with makeshift shields or riot shields, to help screen ranged attackers, preventing the ranged attackers from being eaten while they reload and simultaneously picking off stragglers or cleaning some of the front row that the ranged missed. Bands of 10-20 individuals attacking a horde from different locations to string it out ought to help too but you'll always want to keep a rear guard for each group to prevent being encircled and swarmed. But I could just be ambitious
. I'd want to retake parts of the town/city and attempt to set up a viable compound or a strongpoint. Ideally centered on a park, or on an outskirt of town so that there can still be raids into the town to track down supplies, even things like wood furniture which can be used to create barricades while keeping enough ground to use as the beginning of some minor farmland. Occasionally, some raids would need to be directed at "Thinning the herd." or luring swarms away from the compound(s) to keep the survivors safer. Overall, logistics would only really become a problem once there is X-number of people
so long as you can teach everyone to do a few tasks, like setting up water collection, planting and caring for seeds (Hell, raid a book store and that problem's solved if you can't find a gardner.) and building up barricades from scrap. I do suspect for actual melee weapons though
metal and blunt are the way to go. They're readily available in the form of pipes, bats, tire irons and crowbars. Firearms? Anything should really do. Surely a .22 won't be too effective, but shotguns should be readily available as they're ideal home defense weapons and so, are stocked anywhere that sells guns and 12 gauge shells are even more readily available. One of those fully automatic shotguns would be excellent for diversionary tactics against a horde. |
Lampyridae | 01 Feb 2013 3:41 a.m. PST |
If you actually wanted to depopulate a townful of Zeds, I think just getting them to gather in one spot and blowing them up with whatever explosives you have would do the trick. If not, wolf prophet's idea of a proper riot line is a good one – provided you have the trained personnel to do it. One or two panicking fighters and the zombies start pouring through. Unlike human warriors, they are immune to pain, pain and only severe damage will stop them. Plus there'll be the half-Zeds going for the ankles. |
Ethanjt21 | 06 Feb 2013 5:14 p.m. PST |
I agree with everyone who says melee is stupid. You will NEVER outlast a zed horde no matter your weapon or training in melee. They do not tire, get discouraged, or bleed to death. Your average human could dispatch maybe 4 to 5 with a bat or hammer before tiring. Tiring = slow, slow = dead. Your only option would be and should always be stealth. Do everything you can to not get into a melee fight. You can be the ultimate bad ass in the world with your bat, but the one shambler who sneaks up behind you just got your neck or leg. Just avoid and escape. Also, to the people saying cut tendons and stuff. In the heat of a life or death adrenaline rush, your lack of training or combat experience, a zed horde bearing down on you, good ing luck slicing a tendon accurately or well, and doing this consistently enough to win. Regardless of what anyone says, melee = dead. Run, hide, scavenge. Shoot when necessary, if you are literally forced into a melee fight, if there's more than 4-5, you're ed. if you're indoors and forced into a fight with more than 3-4, you're ed. To sum up, the best weapon is evasion, but if I HAD TO dispatch a zed in melee for whatever reason, I would use a metal bat with a nice rubber grip. Again, you will NEVER fight down a horde or even a largish group in melee. Stop deluding yourself. |
Slappy | 21 Feb 2013 11:14 p.m. PST |
Lobo ala world war Z style. |