Melee weapon The term melee weapon is a neologism , usually absent from scientific and historical scholarship , and apparently deriving from the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game . It denotes weapons for use in hand - to - hand combat ( such as a sword or club ) , in contrast to ranged weapon s ( such as a bow ) . The term derives from the French term " mêlée " , from Vulgar Latin misculāta " mixed " , from Latin miscēre " to mix " , that ' s meaning “ mixed ” , and referring to groups of warriors interlocked in close combat , when devolving into a chaotic scenario without military formation . The term can refer to a free - for - all competition in knightly combat sports . As such melee weapons do not include statically emplaced weapons , like a boobytrap or burning devices , but are carried . A melee weapon is a type of " cold weapon " . There are two basic divisions — " edged weapons " , of which examples include sword s , spear s , axes and knives and " blunt weapons " , such as clubs , hammers , staffs , and maces . The basic principle of edged weapons is to increase the user ' s pressure by concentrating force applied onto a smaller surface area , such as an edge or point , thus more easily penetrating the opponent ' s body to cause wound s . Because most of the effectiveness of edged weapons depends upon breaking the skin of an opponent , they lose much of their usefulness when pitted against armour . Blunt weapons on the other hand rely mostly on mass and raw impact energy to disable opponents through broken bones , internal trauma or concussion s . Generally they are used in some sort of swinging motion to charge kinetic energy into the weapon ' s mass . Historically , mace s and flail s were developed and used to combat armoured infantry , such as knight s , because of their ability to cause injuries even " through " plate armour , and were also very effective against flexible armour , such as mail . However , blunt weapons are usually heavier than edged weapons , as the extra weight is needed to cause greater damage , especially through armour . This often makes blunt weapons both strenuous to wield and difficult to maneuver . Most melee weapons live within the spectrum from very lightweight blades or spikes to extremely heavy , blunt poles . Heavy cavalry swords are perhaps about midway along the range in both kinetic energy and concentration of pressure , and showcase how any point in the spectrum can sometimes yield an effective weapon . History . People have always had weapons for a variety of reasons , whether it be for hunting , attack or defense . What is considered probably the earliest way to craft weapons was for a hard stone such as flint to be chipped away until it met the desired shape , often a point or cutting edge . At first these weapons were held directly in the hand , until the discovery of the haft or handle which allowed more force to be applied to the weapon . This allowed it to do more harm on both the battlefield or on the hunt . Hand axes were often polished so that the user needn ’ t hurt his hand when hitting something . Although the blade of the axe was often left unpolished as the rougher edge was the more effective . A picture of an ancient hand axe is below . The stone weapons used during the last parts of the stone age and into the bronze age do exhibit a little more artistic craftsmanship . For example they were often finely polished and chipped in a shape that would be considered pleasing to the eye . Another ancient way of crafting weapons was first discovered in southern Africa . Natives found that by heating a certain stone called silcrete they could chip it away and create more sophisticated knives , axes , and other weapons . Scientists speculate that these weapons were not improved by the fire , but were actually more likely to shatter . In fact John Shea , from Stony Brook University , says " Instead the flashy artifacts might have been ways that ' some humans showed off that they had time on their hands . ' " This is very much like the swords worn by kings in Europe . The discovery of the metals copper , tin and zinc completely changed the way weapons were made . These weapons were stronger and more ornate than their predecessors in the Stone age . During the beginning of the Bronze age the metal head of the weapons were still bound to the shafts of the weapons . Later the weapons were fastened more securely with sockets and pins . This age started roughly 3500 B . C . . It showed the beginning of the use of the technology that allowed tin , copper , and zinc alloys to be mixed to produce the metal bronze . This metal was very durable and strong and it got stronger the hotter it was heated . The Iron Age which started around 1200 B . C . marked the beginning of the use of iron for the majority of use for weapons and armor . Forging and Technology . The most common stone used for making weapons was silex ( otherwise known as flint ) . This stone was hard enough to withstand the pressure that was exerted on it , while it was still workable into the shape that the worker wished it to be . The working of stone was a fine art that man did a great job of mastering . When creating a weapon a craftsman would choose a stone that was close to the shape desired by the craftsman . Then a second stone was used to repeatedly strike the stone in a single area causing splinters to chip away from the stone . The difficult part about this skill was that when the splinters flew from the stone they came from the side of the stone opposite to where the blows were struck , not from the place of initial impact . This then complicated the matters a little bit because the workman could not see exactly where he was working and had to rely on feeling . This skill of feeling the shape of the stone and knowing precisely where to strike it was an extraordinary skill . Heating metal and then hammering it into the desired shape , along with rapidly cooling it , was how the metal bronze was forged . These bronze weapons were much better than the stone ones of the same type , although these were more difficult to make and procure . The same basic techniques were used with iron during that age to great reward . Iron proved to be stronger and even more reliable than bronze , making it the metal of choice in later years .