Halberd

A polearm combining an axe blade, spike, and hook on a long shaft, carried by ship’s marines and boarding parties of 16th- and 17th-century navies and privateer vessels. The hook could pull a boarder off balance or catch at rigging, while the axe blade delivered a heavy chopping strike. It required more open space to wield effectively than a cutlass or dirk, limiting its use to a ship’s more open deck areas.