HI Spear Head/Knife Interest Thread

Pardon me if some of these comments seem late, but this thread moved FAST, and I'm only subscribed on daily updates. I also happen to be a terrible smart-Alec.

A) Between the iklwa and the Smatchet, we seem to keep coming back around to the leaf-shaped spearhead.

B) The wisdom of tying or fastening a knife to a pole, as a spearhead, has been questioned by some survival experts: better to simply sharpen a stick with your knife, and use that, than tie on your knife and risk losing it. I'm all for permanent spearheads, myself.

C) A spearhead that's slmot a sword? It seems we're getting some what nagamaki-ish.

D) I can never hear someone mention a "glaive" without thinking about that agic throwing star from the original "Krull." ;)

E) Models are good. Back when i was an actor, I used to know a lot of models. Sending any of them to Nepal would probably brighten their day. Just kidding. :D

F) Getting off the subject, being able to make wooden models of HI goods is a good thing, in general; if one were to practice MA/combat technique for the kukri, for example, it would be nice to have a waster. This should get its own thread.
 
I have made many models for MA training, including khukuri. I use nylon cutting boards. Trace out your design, cut with jigsaw, smooth the ends by rubbing on a piece of carpet.
(it melts, smooths the edges)
 
I think a full size halberd would be nice.

This creative process is starting to diverge though. Perhaps we should split it into two projects, a knife/spear and a dedicated polearm.
 
Hi Ian,

I think we've got a question of utility here.

I happen to have one of Cold Steel's long-bladed assegais, and it's a *fun* spear. The blade is 14" and it cuts just fine too. That's mostly what people seem to be calling a glaive around here, or the long, leaf bladed spear, or whatever.

Or, we could do a shorter-bladed spear that's more designed more for thrusting.

Basically, if the spearhead is longer than about 1 foot, it can cut quite well too, privded it has edges. These were called oxtongues, glaives, iklwa, oyari, and similar.

The question is, is this what we want the kamis to make?

F
 
It seems that just about everyone is looking for a different item...
A spear/knife combo which is basically a cheap throw away weapon lets face it thats why the bushman sells.
A pole-arm basically anything from a glaive to a halberd
A short bladed spear
A long bladed spear
I just don't see how there is going to be any way to put all that together in one weapon seems like you have a whole line of weapons for the Kamis to make..
 
Well part of what we have to sort of figure out is the realistic chances of the kamis making what we are looking for. I have no doubt that they have the skill to fashion pretty much anything. However, we might want to keep it simple and less alien to them lest we become disappointed with what shows up several months from now.

IMHO, it's like this: I'm in the swimming pool construction industry. My family has been doing it for over 55 years. We can build anything. However, hypothetically, let's say that a potential customer comes to me and says, "I'm one of the world's foremost experts on all things King Tut. It has been my dream to have a pool that is to the exact spec as his ritual bathing pool. Here is a picture of what I want exactly."

Now, I can build something very similar to that picture. The angles should be right, and it'll hold water. However, I am NOT an expert on all things Tut. The devil's in the details, so guess who's going to be disappointed when the thing is done.

To make one thing clear, I did not send the Bushman to be copied. The Bushman is actually a fantastic knife for what it is and what it costs. A heavy 18" $100 HI Bushman is not what we are after. However, the ROLLING of the steel onto itself to make a very, very strong blade/handle junction that is also cost effective may inspire the kamis to make a cool spear head, or a knife that can hold gear in the handle, or a spear head that can be used as a knife. We might be able to get something that is 85-93% what we want it to be by sending the kamis an exact model. However we need to understand that with a Bushman and few pages of drawings we might get something totally different that we were imaging...That's part of the fun of creative projects like this:D:thumbup:

Do a little search in the archives and you will come to know the frustration that Uncle Bill had with getting the kamis to make exactly what he was trying to get them to make. Look up the Stubby AK Bowie for an example;)

I'm thinking simple is better here. A proof of concept first, then we can tack on the bells and whistles to the next run. I'm thinking a smatchet or manjushree type blade shape with an edge length around 10-12", trisul type lugs (or not), and a rolled socket handle maybe 6" (?) in length that is robust enough to be mounted as a boar spear but has a circumference small enough to be used as a large knife (although the balance would suffer probably). I think 2 holes drilled top and bottom would give it a way to be mounted to a shaft permanently or temporarily AND (like Krull said) would give it a place to wrap with paracord.
 
i see these ifugao (tribal phillipenes) spear/knives on ebay occasionally. socketed handles, wood scabbards. look close to what kamis might be able to do.

DSC04039.JPG

5" blade

thru

DSC02529.JPG

14.5" blade

blade shapes vary, some single sided.

DSC03088.JPG



the ifugao can be quite decorative:

67462_200804040016543.thumb.jpg


note the tribal ghetto blaster :D
 
Last edited:
Man I love that beaver tail design :eek::thumbup:

Thanks for the pics, those do look like something I was envisioning. However, what else are the rest of you guys looking for?
 
The one I call the combat shovel is based off the ifugao,it seems a straight foreward enough design to be easy to do.
 
I would be interested in something more authentic to the region. A period spearhead in the Tibetan style or Ming/Ching (Qing) Chinese periods. I have an antique Ming and Qing spearhead. Here's a link to one that's more Tibetan style (triangular):

http://www.chinesearms.com/chinesearms/001/other/jspear/jspear.htm

I actually own a HI Tibetan sword and an antique Tibetan knife--both of the triangular style. They are remarkably similar except a few hundred years separate them. I think that this type of triangular blade would be a natural for the kamis and could possibly pave the way for variations of spearheads.
 
RipNTear said:
I would be interested in something more authentic to the region.
Click to expand...

I would agree on with the idea of keeping it authentic and regional.

RipNTear said:
I actually own a HI Tibetan sword and an antique Tibetan knife--both of the triangular style. They are remarkably similar except a few hundred years separate them.
Click to expand...

OT here ...I am thinking about getting the shorter Tibetan sword: do you think both the long and short versions keep the same degree of authenticity as does your HI Tibetan sword?

OOT: same question on authenticity regarding the Bhutan sword?
 
I'm thinking that if its HI, something like a large glaive, pike, or bill would be awesome, something that can cut. Thats if we used a dedicated pole arm of course. As far as a knife/spear goes, I like those triangle designs, perhaps not the most practical against man or beast though, remember that we are not ever likely to face armored opponents using melee weapons. The Philippine design looks good too. Barring future input from yangdu or the kamis. I think that it would be good for us to compile a list of concepts, then see if we can narrow it down or knock anything off, that way we know our variants, or can vote on what to choose.
Whatever the case may be.
 
perhaps you should work on three designs instead of one, since most here seem to fall into one of three catagories.
Knife/spear combo
traditional spear
cutting slashing pole-arm
 
b.c.molin said:
I would agree on with the idea of keeping it authentic and regional.



OT here ...I am thinking about getting the shorter Tibetan sword: do you think both the long and short versions keep the same degree of authenticity as does your HI Tibetan sword?

OOT: same question on authenticity regarding the Bhutan sword?
Click to expand...

I have what I suppose is the longer HI Tibetan sword. It's quite true to original, even in terms of blade balance. The scabbard/finish are different as the antique is polished to show the grain of the metal, has some fancier furniture (it clearly had a jewel on the hilt at one point) and has a full wooden scabbard. But from a blade perspective--dimensions, taper, balance, etc--the HI one is right on. I was surprised.

I don't have the Bhutan sword, so I can't comment. I primarily own a series of Chinese antique blades including jian, dao, smaller knives, kwan dao (blade/furniture), spear heads (3 in total). So that's about all I can comment on.
 
BTW, I'd like to see some Chinese-styled HI blades. Much of the original designs came from some of the Tibetan and Nepalese regions originally, so it seems like it would be a really nice fit. Most of those weapons don't get the respect of, say, classical Japanese blades, but the fact is that the Japanese learned their techniques from the mainland...
 
Broad double edge blade ,blade length at least 12 inches. Socket should be large enough for substantial shaft.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top