Berserker Blade  SBA-BESERKER   $84  Expedited Shipping Available! E-mail service@strongblade.com or call 866-7SWORDS Out of Stock    The German zweihander was a monstrous sword used by shock troops to hew past irksome spears or polearms that were blocking an advance. The term "zweihander" actually means "Two-hander," which is the only way these massive swords could be wielded. The sword was an intimidating weapon to behold and even more terrifying to face in combat. Zweihanders could be as large as six feet in length, with blades of four or five feet. Swordsmen could swing with their hands low on the hilt to maximize crushing power and momentum, or could move their "upper" hand to the broad (and unsharpened) ricasso to give themselves more leverage and a faster swing. Also called Bihänder, these weapons developed over the years to feature a longer and broader ricasso. Eventually, when everyone finally came to the realization that this was basically a sword with two hilts (a lower hilt, and an "upper hilt" formed by the ricasso), an additional crossguard was added just past the ricasso to protect the hand when it was in the "leverage" position. Probably the best known wielder of similar swords is, of course, Conan The Barbarian, the fictional, well-muscled and surly barbarian penned by Robert E. Howard and immortalized by the Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fitting that the Austrian Schwarzenegger should wield a sword based on a German Sweihander. Conan's sword is usually displayed as a modified form of the zweihander, more compact, and without the additional crossguard.