Police found an "armoury of weapons" including an axe and a crowbar in a crashed car.
The occupants of the vehicle had fled the scene on foot but officers found them after conducting a search of the area.
Swansea Crown Court heard the driver of the car, Anthony Williams, has a history of carrying weapons including knives and, on one occasion, a 17in-long bayonet.
Ashanti-Jade Walton, prosecuting, said shortly before 2.30am on March 22 this year police responded to reports of a crash on Pentregethin Road in the Cwmbwrla area of Swansea.
At the scene they found a Ford Fiesta had collided with a parked Citroen car, and witness reported seeing two men running away from the smash towards Elgin Street.
The court heard officers conducted an area search and found 37-year-old Williams and another man around a mile away in Carmarthen Road. Williams told officers the car was his and he had been driving it that night.
Meanwhile a search of the crashed Fiesta found an axe, a kitchen knife, a Stanley knife, a crowbar, and a screwdriver.
The prosecutor said the Citroen that Williams had collided with had suffered damage but because of the current lockdown restrictions the owner had been unable to get a quote for repair.
Williams, of Brynymor Road, Swansea, admitted five counts of possession of offensive weapons and bladed articles, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, failing to stop after an accident, and failing to report an accident.
The court heard he has 39 previous convictions for 171 offences including numerous cases of possession of weapons.
His first weapon-related offence dates from 2002 when, high on LSD, he armed himself with two glass bottles and began waving them around. He also has convictions for possession of knives and for possession of a bayonet.
The court heard he also has convictions for inflicting grievous bodily harm, aggravated vehicle-taking, and robbery.
Cora Sorensen, for Williams, said prior to the commission of the offences in question the defendant had been engaging well with probation, taking the help that was on offer, and had been drug-free for 11 months. But she said matters had deteriorated after her client's prescription for methadone – a heroin replacement medication – had been reduced.
Judge Keith Thomas descried the items found in Williams' car as an "armoury of weapons" – though he said it was not clear what the defendant had intended to do with them.
At this stage Williams spoke up and told the judge he had the axe in vehicle because he had been chopping down a tree at his girlfriend's home.
For the weapons offences the judge sentenced the defendant to a total of 16 months in prison. He will serve half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
No separate penalties were imposed for the motoring matters but Williams was further disqualified from driving for 20 months with the ban extended by eight months to take account of the length of time he will be behind bars.
