Got a Real-World Weapon or Armor Question? Mk. VI

[Dervag]

I agree with Edmund, force = mass * speed.

Your choice of terminology makes a physicist weep somewhere (here), but that doesn't mean the idea you wish to convey is fundamentally wrong.

Center of balance on a weapon is certainly something else to consider, and extending length will most certainly affect that. Still, lets keep in mind that the swiss routinely used 18-20 foot pikes to excellent effect, and those will certainly have enough length, inertia, etc to provide some challenges.

True, but they did so by fighting in a very specialized style. An individual pikeman would have been meat on the table for an equally trained and armored opponent with a shorter, handier weapon. For most purposes, taking your spear (an eminently practical weapon) and doubling it to the length of a short pike will put a major dent in your combat effectiveness.