I loved the "gun-axe" with the dagger, because the idea was at least potentially practical - if your weapon has been swung into something it won't easily pry out of, the backup weapon is already in your hand, and presumably a twist away.

I also found myself wanting to end the presentation of combo weapons with a scene from original Macgyver - "Hey man, that's an uzi!" "Now it's a wrench."

Reaction to this post.

Indian axes and picks often had extra features of one kind or another, though a dagger screwed into the haft seems so common that I sometimes wonder if it could be considered as "secret".

Oddly enough the only Indian weapons without this kind of screw-in dagger - at least I've never seen pictures of any - are the various styles of mace, and I have no idea why.

This axe also has a built-in gun...

...although since the axe-head is mounted alongside the barrel, it's more a gun with a built-in axe.

Obviously the screw-in dagger trick won't work with a sword, since its tang is in the way, but there are other methods; for instance here's a khanda broadsword with a katar punch-dagger that clips to one side, and a single-shot gun built into the other.

That katar could have had more features itself: a couple more pistols...

...or a hand-guard and a couple more blades...

...or a hand-guard and a LOT more blades...

...though now we're into hard-to-wear territory, also Just Showing Off.

Even a plain-seeming katar might not be as plain as all that, with a scissors mechanism turning one blade into three...

...or into two blades and a gun.

I've mentioned more than once that anyone creating a fantasy weapon should check out what Indian weaponsmiths did for real - and this post hasn't even touched on how they put sword-hilts on things that weren't swords, or made blades in weird shapes Because They Could.

I've blogged about both in the past, so take a look... :->