The 5 worst hand-held weapons of all time

Warner Bros.

In "The World's Worst Weapons," Martin Dougherty details the long history of overambitious, underachieving weapons that failed to hit their mark.

We've already described the eight worst guns of all time, now take a look at the five worst hand-held melee weapons ever produced.

Extendable batons

The extendable baton can fit on an officers belt and spyglass out to an impressive length when needed for combat, but the collapsing mechanism in the baton proved both a gift and a curse.

For one, the violent flicking action needed to deploy the baton often hurt the user or an ally. After heavy use, the batons become unpredictable, either not deploying fully or collapsing prematurely.

Country: United States

Year introduced: 1990

Range: Close combat

Length: 15-25 inches

Weight: 1-1.5 pounds

Users: Police, security

Source: "The World's Worst Weapons"

Sabre-briquet

If you've never heard of the sabre-briquet, that's probably because it wasn't very good.

Made during the awkward stage when militaries transitioned from traditional melee weapons to muskets, the sabre-briquet was already obsolete by the time of it's adoption by Napoleon's men.

"Fighting at close quarters, soldiers found they were better off with their bayonets or fighting with clubbed (reversed) muskets," Doughrety writes. 

The french officially abandoned the outmoded sabre in 1807, finding it useful for little more than chopping firewood.

Country: France

Year introduced: 1780

Length: Three feet

Weight: Two pounds

Ease of use: High

Users: Napoleonic infantry

Source: "The World's Worst Weapons"

Flintlock sword pistols

Flintlock sword pistols represented a gallant attempt to combine the best parts of swords with newly emerging flintlock pistols.

Already flintlock pistols had issues with misfires, and were difficult to use. The addition of a  sword to the pistol made it even more unwieldy, and swinging around the pistol in close combat endangered the delicate cap-and-ball charge.

In the even that you successfully struck an opponent with the sword component of the pistol you'd run the risk of a misfire in a gun that is notoriously slow to reload.

Country: France

Year introduced: 1800s

Range: Close

Length: 3 feet

Weight: 2-3 pounds

Users: Militaries, private

Source: "The World's Worst Weapons"