Vale Gaff

A Vale gaff (also known as a trimmer's gaff) is an agricultural tool and polearm of Vale Verdial origin.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

A Vale gaff is essentially a six foot long burnished hardwood pole with tool heads at either end.
One end of the polearm is a blunt hook with the 'bowl' of the hook opening towards the adjacent end. In agricultural roles, this hook is used to support branches while other gaff users saw at stems and branches from the other side.
The other end of the polearm resembles a short farmer's scythe pointing perpendicularly outwards from the haft. Unlike most scythes, the blade is straight save for a fifteen degree bend at the tip and is sharpened at both edges. The part of the anterior blade edge nearest the pole curves up to form a point which is aligned parallel to the blade, giving the whole blade the appearance of an integral symbol. This blade and end spike are used to manipulate and trim away at high branches or protrusions from a tall food-bearing plant or fungus.

Significance

Like a mattock or djet, a Vale gaff can be used one-handed by wielders wearing auto-armor.
In combat, the bladed end of a Vale gaff is used to reach around shields and pick or rake at opponents. The angle of the blade makes it effective at pulling shields away from opponents or pulling armored opponents from high places. The threat of the anterior edge and point, on the other hand, can be used to keep an opponent away from the wielder; thrusts made with a Vale gaff are somewhat hard to predict, as the cutting edge may be offset from the angle of the pole's approach.
While a Vale gaff is much less frequently seen on the battlefield than either of those items, the Vale gaff's utility as an agricultural tool makes it commonly found in the possession of HC-1 "Meantwig" Hazardous Condition Auto-Armor pilots conducting bush-clearing or specimen gathering operations in places like the Distal Tesseract. The weapon is often used to fend off meantwigs and floating briars, as these opponents - being mostly open space - are difficult to damage with firearms or blunt instruments.

Item type

Tool

Rarity

Vale gaffs are fairly common in Petalcap Vale and adjacent territories, but is somewhat less common elsewhere.

Weight

10 lbs

Dimensions

6ft long

Base Price

500 NGC