Short End Of The Spear

Having a spear is a very good option for primitive hunting.

I have a spearhead I made myself from a bit of stainless pipe and an old bayonet blade. But after making this I bought a Cold Steel Bushman and it makes a terriffic spear.

Instead of using a nail through the hole in the handle to hold the knife in place on the shaft, I use a strong bit of synthetic cord. For a start I made a prusik loop around the handle which was tied to a cord fastened to the spear shaft. Eventually I drilled a hole nearer the front of the handle and I have a permanent bit of strong cord tied through this... and when I want to fix the knife to the pole I have everything ready to do the job quickly.

I had to use a specially sharpened carbide tipped drill to bore a hole through the hard steel handle... a normal HSS drill couldn't handle it.

My full-size Bushman was a bit big for me, so I cut a bit off the handle and a bit off the blade and reshaped it. It now sits right down inside the factory sheath and I am much less likely to lose it compared to when it was full-size.

If I were to buy another Bushman, I would most likely get the shorter Mini Bushman.

Using my Bushman spear, I killed a boar which I caught in a primitive rope snare. Heres a picture.... unfortunately the pig didn't have its head on when this picture was taken. I cut it off before I carried the rest of the animal down the hill.
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/coote/pig and spear.jpg

I will be away from the computer for a couple of weeks.... but I will be interested to see what else you guys have written when I get back.

From my experiences so far, I can recommend the Bushman.

Best wishes.... Stephen Coote, Nelson, New Zealand.
 
Coote,

That's a seriously cool photo. So, was the wife happy you got a boar or torqued that she had to wash your jacket? I guess when you're all done you could use that jacket for possum bait.

Here in Brazil they used to hunt Capibara with spears. The capibara is the worlds largest rodent, like a giant, water-dwelling groundhog. Their defense is to dive into the rivers and swim underwater. They say the spear is better than shooting them as once their lungs are punctured they can't dive and stay under. They pop back up because they can't hold their breath. Hunting is banned here, but temptation... Mac
 
I wish I lived in an area where you where able to hunt using primitive skills.

I'd be in heaven
 
This thread has produced some very valid opinions on the use of spears and even the construction.

Not forgetting that there are other ways to hunt including traps, snares and other intelligent methods.

My first track is on the use of a spear with a blade. You may find yourself questioning why spearheads and arrowheads were ever used? My quick and easy answer is ... efficiency.

Simply compare the use of an arrows broadhead with a sharpened stick?

When we are in a survival situation and require the use of a spear then its a given that we need to kill something (unless your cutting something down). When killing for survival we need to be able to do that as quickly and efficiently as possible ie. "kill shot first time."

My understanding is that a blade will cut muscle and vital blood flow in th most efficient way ... that is untill i finish my infernal light sabre ;)

My point is, a pointy stick requires great skill to be used efficiently.

With all this being said I am back to keeping one of my most valuable survival tools, wheather $5 or $500, at my side and not something elses.

Cliff, your comment on flatening one side of the stick and notching the other side to help prevent the bindings from sliding, is probably one of the most helpful so far.

Whether a knife is stuck in dinner or in a crack where it cannot be retreived after being dropped, we try and retain our blade.

Can someone help with the correct name for a long blade short spear?
 
ZoneOne said:
I wish I lived in an area where you where able to hunt using primitive skills.

I'd be in heaven
Click to expand...

You are able, just don't get caught.:D
 
When I was in the Boy Scouts, I learned to make spears and arrows Or at least they tried to teach us. I couldn't make an arrow worth anything. Spears, on the other hand are a different thing. In a survival situation, you're probably most in need of a fishing spear. No need for a knife blade there. In fact, a forked branch can be used to make a really fine fishing spear. For large game, you're going to want to throw your spear. And to do that, you're going to need lots of practice. Better start practicing now if that's what you've got in mind. I don't think most knives would hold up too well to being thrown at deer, for example. Maybe I'm wrong. I think I'd just stick to fishing.
 
I need to go find that drawing I did of my idea of a survival walking stick. The concept had para cord wrappings in different places that held in small packets of things like hooks, flys, even a small blade. On the lower end there was a taper and a set of sharpened metal rods with turned in tips to hold them into the wood. These fit into two grooves along the stick. The idea was the prongs were reversed and held in the grooves by more para cord until needed. Then you unwrapped, flipped the prongs and extended the barbed tips past the end of the stick relashing it all. Somewhere on the stick was another little prong that was removed and pressed into the center of the tip. This gave you a nice fish/frog/small game gig. On the other end of course would be a compass and a firesteel inserted.

I guess I still have the drawing around. Just remember, if any of you enterprising folks decide to produce something like that, give me some credit and maybe a dozen or so of the sticks ;)
 
When I set the min-bushman up as a spear I use a screw-eye to attach it. I shape the shaft and then mark the hole with dirt or something. Shove the point in to start the hole. The screw eye can be turned in with any short stick for leverage. It also makes a nice attachmant point for the sheath. When in camp I put the sheath over the blade as it is a dangerous thing to have standing around. A simple bow-knot tie to keep it on makes it far safer to have around.

One other safety tip. Make the shaft plenty long so that point is always above you. You tend to use the spear like a walking stik at times and you don't want that point lower than your body, especially going downhill. One slip could be fatal.

If I was really intent on attaching a knife to a stick as a spear then I would carry a bayonet of some sort. Mac
 
Does anybody make any spearheads with a wood screw at the base, so you can screw it into the end of a stick as opposed to having to lash it?
 
That wouldn't be too hard, this is a picture of the first two spears I made at the forge
spear.jpg


My son's wanted spears they could throw at boxes and practice, so I made these up with their help and attached them to a shaft with a pine resin/wood ash mixture.

Anyway, something like this with a small hole or two would be easy to do.

--Carl
 
Burncycle said:
Does anybody make any spearheads with a wood screw at the base, so you can screw it into the end of a stick as opposed to having to lash it?
Click to expand...

A socket with a hole (for a screw to go through the wall of the socket and into the pole) is a more common arrangement, and one that works quite well -- if you remember the wood screw and have something to turn it in.
 
It's nice to see the ad posted (typos and all). The sheaths will be in this week so we are just about ready to hit the market. A few notes. The Harpoon is meant to be used as a gig or small knife. Like any knife, if you attach it to a spaer and start throwing it at things (trees, rocks, etc.) you will bend or break it. But then, you can always buy another. It will have a neck sheath and a fire starter included with the package. Hope you guys like it and if you have any questions, just email me.
hh1.jpg
 
Terrill, please dont take this the wrong way but I'm thinking that the picture doesn't do the device a lot of credit due to appearing it will fold on use and looking like it will slide off the end of the stick. How do you suggest it be lashed to the stick? Half hitches all the way?
 
Thomas, dartanyon, The upper rear edge of the spine can be sharpened to use as a groove cutter and ferro rod striker. But after a lot of testing, I thought it better to take it out of the groove. If it is lashed tight as shown, it will fold and slide. But only if it impacts into something hard such as a tree. This will act somewhat to save your tip should you miss your mark and hit something you really don't want to. I would also recommend that you run a line from the lanyard hole back up the shaft and to your wrist. This will prevent loss should you hook that whale and it pulls off of the shaft. Once the first few came off the production line, I got to play and see how much one would take. I went out and did exactly what we don't suggest, there isn't a tree around the studio that has not felt the pain of being "harpooned".
Lashed as shown, the point would only slide when stiff resistance was met.
 
Carl.... I just had to post my appreciation for those fine spear heads that you made. They look just fantastic. You have obviously mastered the technique of making a ferrule type handle. You could scale down the process and make some really good, strong socketed broadheads for arrows.

I reckon that those spear blades, if sharp, would be one of the best types to use for primitive spear hunting.
 
Thanks coote, these are modeled after the roman/greek style. Not exact replicas, but I think they would be happy to have had them. I think I have about 1.5 hrs in both of those total, since it was a good way to spend some time with my boys while mom was at the store. Forged to shape, normalized, quenched and then cleaned up.

The small one is the first time I ever tried a socket. I am looking at making a set of broadheads for elk this year, and I wish I was in a state that allowed me to try to use a spear for hunting, I think that would be a blast.

--Carl
 
Who ever set the type in the TOPS ad should be drawn and quartered.
That aside, how about removing half of the shaft for the length of the knife handle? This way the butt of the blade would have something to push against.
If the O's were the shaft and the _'s were the knife attachment point it would look like this...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_____

I must say that throwing a spear at a large deer sized animal is folly at best.
And that if you ever stick a critter with one, don't expect it to lay down and die.
You will be in for a fight and the spearing will just be the beginning of it.
The hunting spears of old had a crossbar on them to prevent the critter from running up the spear and getting the hunter.
:eek:
 
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