Coon4492
Registered: 06/15/09
Posts: 37
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Reply with quote | #1 |
I've made some makeshift survival spears for practice purposes like one I made out of an old kitchen knife and electric tape. Looked terrible but worked really well. I want to make a good primitive spear but I have one problem I haven't perfected my flintknapping skills just yet. I can't flintknapp a spear head so what other options do I have? I figured I could carve the tip into a spear head and keep it pointed and as sharp as wood will get. But if I do that will I need to harden the tip of it in a fire or anything like that? Could seashell be an option as a spearhead?
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prariewolf
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Registered: 11/28/06
Posts: 105
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Reply with quote | #2 |
Wood alone will sharpen well enough for decent penetration. First off it is good to use a heavy, dense wood as this will be stronger than softer ones and the extra weight will also add energy to your thrust if hand held.
The point can be as simple as sharpening the end. Assuming that the spear itself is one long length of wood with the pointed end having one growth ring circling the outside (stay with me here), the inner portion of the wood may well be softer or even pithy. Sharpen towards one side of the round so that the point itself will be solid wood, not the pithy/softer center.
Heat treat? Well, the moisture content in wood makes it harder/softer. Green wood is at its softest. Well dried wood might be at, lets say for this discussion, maybe 9-12% moisture. Once the point is 90% or so carved, carefully place near a fire source, kinda like cooking a hot dog or marshmallow. Heat it, don't burn it. This will drive out some of the remaining moisture making it more, well, hard.
It would also work to make the point out of one piece of vary hard wood and attach this separately to the softer lance shaft. This works well also if you have a hollow shaft such as river cane or bamboo.
A piece of solid bone can also be ground down using sandstone (or concrete) to a function-able shape. I Have done this often with arrows and it would work well with a spear.
Main problem I see with these alternatives is that the edges just cannot be sharpened anywhere near as sharp as stone/flint. You can poke the hole about as easily but will not slice the muscle/tissue as well.
I have little experience with sea shell and none at all with the larger ones available at the oceans. Most of what I've worked with were brittle - but so is many forms of flint.
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Coon4492
Registered: 06/15/09
Posts: 37
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Reply with quote | #3 |
I think I've got it planned out now. I was thinking about using dead wood as the shaft. I found a dead sapling thats nice and straight and it's not rotted out or anything. As for the spear head itself I did find deer bones in one of my packs I collected. I'll see if I can work that into a spear head if not I'll just carve it. I might make a trident like fishing spear too.
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"Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out."
- Benjamin Franklin |
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