for close quarters fighting as the confined space made it difficult to use a sword. However, few were produced due to the expense and scarcity of raw materials. A rare variant of the World War II Japanese Nambu automatic pistol was a pistol sword. It is possible that this non-regulation weapon was privately purchased by an officer as only one example is known to exist. Civilian use Another notable example of a pistol sword was the Swedish 1865 Cutlass Pistol; 500 were ordered by the government and issued to prison guards. It was a breech-loading 2-shot weapon with a 14in by 2in blade weighing 2.5 lb. A few ended up on the other side of the Atlantic and one became part of Buffalo Bill's gun collection. In the late Victorian era, some French swordsticks had built-in pinfire pepperbox revolvers to increase their lethality; these were carried by civilians for self-defense. However, this idea was far from new; combination swordsticks and wheel lock pistols have been in use since the 16th century. Disadvantages Pistol swords were not widely used and became uncommon relatively quickly, due to their expense and because instead of getting two weapons in one, one got a heavy pistol and a heavy, off-balance sword, as shown by the poor performance of the Elgin pistol. Modern versions occasionally appear on the market, however, as novelties or collectors' items, including the Sierra Madre knife pistol. Similar weapons Edged weapons with built-in pistols were common in Eastern Europe. The flintlock axe pistol (gun axe) was a trademark Polish cavalry weapon from the 16th until the 18th century. Similar guns were made in Hungary and a multi-barreled version was invented in Germany. Axe pistols, invented in 1703 by Admiral Erich Sioblad, were also issued to the Swedish navy from the early 18th century until 1840. Some linstocks of the Renaissance and late medieval period had a matchlock pistol concealed in the blade. Henry VIII's bodyguards were equipped with iron round shields fitted with a pistol. The English also combined pistols with maces. A notable example is Henry VIII's Walking Staff, a 3-barreled pistol and morning star. The king would carry it while walking through the city at night to check up on the constables. Henry's mace pistol is now on display in the Tower of London's Tudor Room. In the late 19th century, members of Parisian street gangs carried Apache revolvers, a