Am I just crazy or do weapons need handles?

[Amaranth]

A member of my realm made Javelins that were way too flexible so he cut them done into simple straight forward class 3 weapons that are each about 27 inches long. Being the marshal in my realm he brought them to me to have them checked. At first glance the weapons looked like mini javelins as they were still padded along the entire handle like a javelin. So after a little hmming and haing and consulting the rules I determined the weapons ok for use as the handles were just under two thirds of the over all length of the weapons.

The problem I'm having is while I was checking these weapons some other people who were watching came to the conclusion that because the entire length was padded the weapons had no handles but were entirely half-padding hence having no maximum length. They backed up their conclusion but pointing out that since only maximum handle length is defined in the Book of War, and minimum handle length is never mentioned, weapons didn't need handles.

So I disagree with this conclusion but apparently being the marshal in my realm doesn't count for anything so I'm looking for a second opinion. So I guess my question is, and I can't believe I'm actually needing to ask this but, do class 1, 2, and 3 weapons need handles or does padding all non striking surfaces negate the need for one?

The original javelins bent almost 180, but other than that weren't a problem. The problem I'm having is with the 27" daggers they became. Though the more I think this over the more irrelevant it becomes in my mind. There is no possible advantage I can think of that come from padding the handles of any weapon short of giving your hands a bit of cushioning when punch blocking. to try and take advantage of maximum handle lengths in this fashion would simply make a weapon ridicules. So in short thanks for the input I think I figured it out.

[Davit]

You are right weapons do not need handles, javelins typically have a head, a bunch of haft padding and a pommel. Now here is the reason for having a handle versus not. The foam wears out much more quickly when handled a lot by hands gripping it and will cause the weapon to fail at a much faster rate.

A question about the jav's, were they flexing more than 90 degrees? If not then they are well within the rules, and I have seen 3/8th's fiberglass pass that rule.

I hope this answered your question, if not please edit your original post to reflect that.

[Derian]

Yep, you're right about there not being any advantage to it.

The only time I've ever seen a no-handled weapon was where someone made a 12" overall blue/green weapon. To keep it at the 12" length, he had to basically just make the pommel the handle. It was more of a novelty weapon than anything else.