Hawaiin Sling- aluminum shaft

[lmalterna]

Ok, after having searched and read all I could find, my question remains.

Has anyone tried using sections aluminum tent poles or, more likely, arrow shafts to fashion the spear? Reason is flexibility- if I use aluminum arrows with threaded inserts glued into each end, I get a smooth joint seam by using small sections of threaded rod. The section broken down take up little room as far as length, the finished length of each "pole" can be adjusted and the sections are useful alone or in combination for other purposes. Shelter poles, siphoning tubes, roasting grates or spit, etc. Could be used for probing snow or water depth... Various screw in tips are available for practice, fishing or razors, a single 18" section with broadhead could easily be lashed to a "breakaway" spear.

Using a hollow handle as was mentioned elsewhere could serve as a low tech bow. Something I intend to try if even just for curiosity sake. Just looking for any previous experience.
Thanks,
Bill

 

[Erlkonig]

I just use bamboo for shaft

 

[0nelove]

First- Hawaiian slings are for underwater use. If you're talking about a spear, that's a completely different thing. If you are talking about spearfishing (ie, you're in the water with a mask)...

The problem in doing that is twofold: 1) mass 2) fragility

A Hawaiian sling/polespear relies heavily on having a fairly large amount of mass to keep them moving through the water and into fish. The velocities achieved by the sling are not going to be as great as in archery, and obviously the water is much more dense. Mass is what enables the spear to be effective.

The second problem is fragility. A tent pole or arrow shaft is likely going to be bent to hell after one or two uses (with or without landing a fish). I've had medium sized halibut bend solid steel shafts and spear tips that are about 100 times more durable than an arrow shaft. Same thing for shooting into rocks, which is very common no matter how good you are.

So, it could work if in a pinch, but definitely not something to purpose-build.

 

[lmalterna]

Thanks guys. I have done a bit of frog and fish "gigging" & have a bamboo hiking stick with with a single prong gig barb fashioned. I am just looking to expand on the multi function of sectioned arrows being connected for the purpose of a preloaded spear. I realize the range would be 18-24" from tip to fish(already having the tip under water).
Since this is for in a pinch situations durability will not be a killer. I am trying to scrounge up old arrows now to experiment with.

It is fairly easy to sneak the tip close to the fish but closing that last 2 feat or so is a deal breaker. My main attempt will be long lines- used those plenty.... just trying to diversify.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[ivan51]

Who made that knife Erlkonig? thanks

 

[K Williams]

I just use bamboo for shaft

Who makes that gig/spearhead?

 

[wintermute]

I just use bamboo for shaft

An seinem Speer, das Fisch war tot. (sorry, a little German poetry humor )

+1 on what spear head that is.

I wonder how well I can gig flounders from a kayak. hmmmmmm

 

[Erlkonig]

I made the gig from 5 SS rod bend them and use chisel to punch out the barbed. hold them with tape and wrap with safe wire to hold the prongs in place them inserted in to bamboo shaft.

Another way to make the barbed is to flatten the tip with hammer then use file to file out the barbed

The idea is from Formosa mountain tribe people, they use this 5 prongs gig in pond, and stream and 3 prongs in sea.


The knife is Japanese style stream(fishingman) knife but it is not made in japan but by a Taiwan rural countryside blacksmith who learns the heat treatment skill from a Japanese blade simth back to WWI.

 

[762 shooter]

A hawaiin sling and a pole spear are two different things, FWIW.
A pole spear is a spear with a rubber band on the end.
A Hawaiian sling is a spear that goes into a cylinder. The cylinder has a rubber band on the end of it to propel the spear.
Yours in killing fish...