2nd attempt

[runningboar]

Here is my latest, I made it out of an Old Hickory paring knife. I am still not totally happy with it and am going to keep going till I get something I am satisfied with. I am trying for a gig/gaf/spear that can also be used as a cutting tool and is small enough to fit in my EDC PSK. The TOPS harpoon really got me to thinking, I am just too cheap to spend the money and don't totally like the design. Chris

 

[Fonly]

The only thing I see, is if the guthook is sharpend(if it is i cant really see it), isnt that not going to work for a gig or spear? like wouldnt you want it to go into something and not come out?

just wondering, other than that its lookin' good

 

[SkunkWerX]

Chris, it looks good. a little clean-up and filing and you have it!

Nice job.

 

[runningboar]

The hook is not sharpened and I want it to not come out. I want the barb/hook to hold the animal that has been speared. That is what I don't like about this one, the angle of the hook, more of a gut hook not a barb. Size wise and blade material it is about right but I want the barb to curve more and I didn't leave enough metal to change the shape on this one. I sure am lucky you can pick up old butcher and paring knives dirt cheap. Chris

 

[Fonly]

ok, that clears it up perfectly. in that case, mabye angleing the top of the barb, but not sharping it would help penetration, but not make it eaiser coming out.

 

[1whitefoot]

Interesting project.

 

[Rupestris]

Chris, Check out the Cold Steel Bird and trout.

I've seen 'em as low as $18. With a little elbow grease you could put a barb on the back of the blade like the TOPS Harpoon.

Man, now you got me thinking. I need to get out to the garage and start comming up with some projects of my own.

 

[Rupestris]

Heres another.

This one is made by Rapid River. I don't have the specs on it as I just found out about it. I need to contact them to see if its still available.

Chris

 

[1whitefoot]

I have the Cold Steel Bird and trout.
Really sharp and pointy but feels kinda delicate and hard to find a comfortable grip

 

[GibsonFan]

runningboar, I believe I understand what you're going for, and I like it a lot. Since you want a barb, not a gut hook, I'm thinking it would be best to keep that channel or gap fairly narrow. The top profile of the drop point, and the top of the barb, looks about perfect to me. Same for the blade edge. If there was more "meat" left in the blade, I bet it would be a lot stiffer and the barb would be very effective. It looks almost like you ground that out? A hacksaw or band saw... on thin stock like that, maybe even a cut-off wheel on a Dremel... would let you get it a lot closer, then you could use triangle or flat files to clean it up nice and smooth. Maybe a couple smaller barbs, leading back towards the spine? (Damn, this would be a lot easier if you could see the notebook I'm sketchin' in ) In any case, your design fits right in with other great ideas on this forum lately, for brazenly functional tools, with a strong emphasis on economy of design and materials, making the most of less. I like it!

I gotta say, you could not have chosen a better starting point than a good-old-fashioned, plain carbon steel, kitchen utensil. The kind of knives that won the West... and before that, the East. Looks like the original holes in the tang have served you well... if I may say so, that's a fine bit of Yankee ingenuity

 

[Coldwood]

What Gibson said...I also was thinking maybe one of those 1/8"x7" circular metal cutoff blades for cutting the barb.