The Ladle

[Hickory]

Knives, claymores, broadswords. Each man and/or beast to his weapon. Particulary, moles to ladles.

With the exception of Egbert, most moles, when in combat, hefted a ladle. Right now, I'm focusing on Grumm, as he is the most developed ladle-weilding mole. With the exception of Dinny, who used a dagger.

Grumm used a ladle ever since his first mention. It was employed to sling pebbles in the form of a catapult, by placing a stone into the bowl, then putting it over one's shoulder and throwing it forward. Lacrosse people, you may understand. THis is just like shooting towarad the goal.

On the other hand, let's look at the close range usage. The most suitable way is to use it as a club, but since it is blunt and, no matter the force used to swing, it will never cause death, unless you use a gigantic lead ladle. 

Most of our members have played a first person shooter, right? And most come with a special "engineer" type character. And, correct me if I'm wrong, the engineers always have special weapons. However, they are less harmful weapons, which do not cause instant death.

Do you see a connection with the ladle?

Questions? Comments? Post below!

[The Skarzs]

But. . . ladles! D:
Yeah, in reality ladles would be very useless unless they were like this:
I would like to mention that Axtel Sturnclaw (the inarguably most awesome mole ever) used a warhammer in his fights.

[Gonff the Mousethief]

Well Moles are usually the more down to earth characters (See what I did there?), so using a weapon like a Ladle would be more suited for them, as it is not a shooting weapon or sharp, kinda like a mole. They really are associated with the ground, and that is not high up like a tree that is a key location for Bows, hence squirrels mostly using bows. Mice and walking creatures who usually are associated with a place like Redwall, would do good with a sling or sword. So for moles, something more simple and easy to hold that could be used to throw with and a good knocking weapon would be the best. Kinda like Dwarves, they are also associated with the ground, so they use the typical axe, which a more hard-core heavy set weapon. Can y'all see my point here? I guess they feel more comfortable with it, plus it may just be their nature.

[Banya]

I absolutely love this post, Sage, and the thought you put into it.  Ladles are my new favourite tools/weapons.  They'd require a hook at the end that wraps around a claw or finger, just like the hooks at the end of some ladles that wrap over the edge of the pot.  As far and close combat goes, the thin, flat handle would be the major weak point, unless fortified with metal, but ladle lacrosse as a form of stone slinging is ingenious.

I get you, Gonff.  I've noticed those patterns as well.  Animals who are more likely to find themselves in close combat will use weapons suited for close combat: mice with swords, hares with fists, badgers with maces, spears, and other personalized weapons.  Animals with greater mobility have weapons that can cover distance: squirrels with arrows in trees, otters with javelins and shrews with slings in the water.  The characteristics of the weapon also line up wtih the characteristics of the wielder.  Someone stronger and more forceful, like a dwarf, is likely to choose a blunt force object like an axe or hammer.  The lithe and elegant elf will choose a weapon that matches: a bow.  Anyway, you're understood.

[SoranMBane]

I think the ladle-wielders we've seen are mostly just a case of non-warriors being thrust into an extreme situation and thus forced to improvise with what they happen to have at paw. This sort of peculiar ingenuity is certainly not unique to moles and ladles; after all, how many times do we see the Redwallers arming themselves with window poles and other assorted non-weapons?

But the few times we see proper warrior moles, they do seem to favour blunt weapons. In addition to Axtel Sturnclaw and his warhammer, we also see a bunch of moles in The Bellmaker wielding mace-and-chains and wooden mallets. Moles are the down-to-earth workmen of the Redwall world (and also this setting's closest equivalent to dwarves), so that seems perfectly fitting.

[Wylder Treejumper]

But. . . ladles! D:
Yeah, in reality ladles would be very useless unless they were like this:
I would like to mention that Axtel Sturnclaw (the inarguably most awesome mole ever) used a warhammer in his fights.

Er, yeah. You know, I was trying to figure out how to sling a stone with a ladle, and it would be impossibly inconvenient. The main problem is that a ladle's cup projects from the handle at a 90 degree angle, compared to a lacrosse net being in line with the stick. This would make it impossible to sling stones by a "catapult" action. Rather, you would be forced to hold the ladle parallel to the ground and push it forward to project the stone, which would not allow you to introduce any force to its flight. You would be better of just throwing it.

Just my random physics comment for the day.

[Captain Tammo]

^ Some ladles are not at 90 degrees^
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What sort of profession do you think of when you think of a mole? a craftsbeast. Adding on to the comment about how creatures will choose weapons for the situations that they are most commonly in (i.e. squirrels at a distance in the trees --> bows; mice are light and at the front of the battle or behind the walls --> swords or slings...), I think that moles don't usually go for conventional weaponry because they want a weapon that will suit their environment: a workshop. This is why we see moles most commonly using a multi-tool sort of weapon that isn't really a weapon at all in some cases. Grumm's ladle was good for loads of things: digging, cooking, slinging stones, use as a club, use as a lever, etc. Even Axtel Sturnclaw had a hammer, which could aid with digging and smashing rocks while tunneling.