Cliff Stamp
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- Joined
- Oct 5, 1998
- Messages
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The weekend, using a few knives, (Rucksack [SAK],Black Jack Small, Model 10, Camp Tramp, Wildlife hatchet), a variety of primitive weapons were made and experimented with. This was mainly to get a feel for the knives over the range of work needed and to see just how user friendly the weapons would be, how much skill and experience did they take to use well.
Stone knife :
These were made just by gathering some rocks and hitting them off of larger rocks. A number of sharp edges were formed easily able to slice light vegetation and man made ropes. Some attempts were made to form an axe hit by knapping, but none of the rocks were easily worked.
Weighted Club
This is just a stick with a rock attached to the top, it can be an axe if you can shape or find a suitable rock. The wood was split, the rock inserted, and rope was used to keep the wood from splitting further and to secure the rock. You want a rock that is thinner on one side than the other to help keep it secure. If a "Y" shaped stick can be found very little cutting needs to be done to make this tool, outside of some notching for the cordage. If the rock is easily shaped, notched can be cut into it as well to aid in security.
Several sticks were cut to make these, and split so some knives were much more efficient than others. The Wildlife hatchet and Camp Tramp excelled at the chopping, the hatchet was a bit to vigorous of a splitter and care needed to be taken not to split the sticks too much. Using the Camp Tramp with a baton was more efficient, and the thick point also served well prying the split open to get the rock securely in. The Model 10 didn't have the tip geometry for this, the SAK is too slim and the Black jack too short, though more useful than the previous two.
Once made the club was simple to use as a hammer, no surprise. It also threw very easily, no difficulty in knocking down some targets from 10 to 15 feet. I had done a lot of knife throwing like this however (no revolutions), so it was very familiar, however the movements are very simple, and the club will hit very hard when thrown with decent force.
Sling or Rope Club
This uses a piece of rope to tie the rock to a stick making a mace giving more reach and power. The length of rope used should not be greater than the stick as otherwise rebounds can hit the user. The rebound due to the rope also makes it a lot easier on the wrist than the simple weighted club. There is however a large downside compared to the simple club in that it does not throw nearly as well unless you can induce a kind of bolo action. Not a lot of knife use to make this one, just some notching for the rope.
Bolo :
Three pieces of rope were secured to rocks (the best shape is that of a dumbbell or hourglass) and then tied together to make a bolo. The longer the ropes used the easier it is to score a hit on a throw and the harder the rocks will hit and the more likely they are to tangle. A few sticks were used as targets. However when the ropes become too long it becomes very difficult to thrown them well and avoid clouting yourself in the head.
This required a decent amount of time to get it to work well. The cord used was separated multi-braid, not a great idea as it tended to want to twist back together. Regardless, it was much more difficult to get the bolo to fly in the desired direction than the weighted club due to the much more complicated throw. As well the rocks also needed to splay out properly to insure an actual bolo action other wise you might as well be throwing a rock on a rope.
Two rocks were also used, the downside here is that the area covered in flight is vastly reduced as essentially it is just a straight line. This is vastly less efficient than a bolo and requires much more skill to entangle. A single rock was also used, this gave much more power than just throwing the rock in hand, but was vastly harder to control and throw with precision.
Rabbit sticks :
These are v-shaped sticks used to hunt small game. A few sizes were made, from a few inches to a few feet in arm size, the larger ones were made more for entertainment. The small ones were very easy to throw accurately and with great force using a snap of the wrist. Compared to a straight stick, the rabbit sticks are easier to throw due to the balance point being closer to the hand, and yet can still benefit from a snap and will rotate very quickly when thrown. The larger ones were easily thrown 60-80 feet and delivered high impacts when hit. They however were slow due to their size and could be readily heard in flight, they also tended to have some lift.
Here the bigger chopping blades came in handy in cutting the sticks, the saw on the Rucksack was very functional as well. The more precise cutting blades were the most useful in trimming down the top and bottom of the sticks to ensure a more powerful and straighter flight. The front and back of the sticks can also be somewhat pointed to insure a harder hit.
-Cliff
Stone knife :
These were made just by gathering some rocks and hitting them off of larger rocks. A number of sharp edges were formed easily able to slice light vegetation and man made ropes. Some attempts were made to form an axe hit by knapping, but none of the rocks were easily worked.
Weighted Club
This is just a stick with a rock attached to the top, it can be an axe if you can shape or find a suitable rock. The wood was split, the rock inserted, and rope was used to keep the wood from splitting further and to secure the rock. You want a rock that is thinner on one side than the other to help keep it secure. If a "Y" shaped stick can be found very little cutting needs to be done to make this tool, outside of some notching for the cordage. If the rock is easily shaped, notched can be cut into it as well to aid in security.
Several sticks were cut to make these, and split so some knives were much more efficient than others. The Wildlife hatchet and Camp Tramp excelled at the chopping, the hatchet was a bit to vigorous of a splitter and care needed to be taken not to split the sticks too much. Using the Camp Tramp with a baton was more efficient, and the thick point also served well prying the split open to get the rock securely in. The Model 10 didn't have the tip geometry for this, the SAK is too slim and the Black jack too short, though more useful than the previous two.
Once made the club was simple to use as a hammer, no surprise. It also threw very easily, no difficulty in knocking down some targets from 10 to 15 feet. I had done a lot of knife throwing like this however (no revolutions), so it was very familiar, however the movements are very simple, and the club will hit very hard when thrown with decent force.
Sling or Rope Club
This uses a piece of rope to tie the rock to a stick making a mace giving more reach and power. The length of rope used should not be greater than the stick as otherwise rebounds can hit the user. The rebound due to the rope also makes it a lot easier on the wrist than the simple weighted club. There is however a large downside compared to the simple club in that it does not throw nearly as well unless you can induce a kind of bolo action. Not a lot of knife use to make this one, just some notching for the rope.
Bolo :
Three pieces of rope were secured to rocks (the best shape is that of a dumbbell or hourglass) and then tied together to make a bolo. The longer the ropes used the easier it is to score a hit on a throw and the harder the rocks will hit and the more likely they are to tangle. A few sticks were used as targets. However when the ropes become too long it becomes very difficult to thrown them well and avoid clouting yourself in the head.
This required a decent amount of time to get it to work well. The cord used was separated multi-braid, not a great idea as it tended to want to twist back together. Regardless, it was much more difficult to get the bolo to fly in the desired direction than the weighted club due to the much more complicated throw. As well the rocks also needed to splay out properly to insure an actual bolo action other wise you might as well be throwing a rock on a rope.
Two rocks were also used, the downside here is that the area covered in flight is vastly reduced as essentially it is just a straight line. This is vastly less efficient than a bolo and requires much more skill to entangle. A single rock was also used, this gave much more power than just throwing the rock in hand, but was vastly harder to control and throw with precision.
Rabbit sticks :
These are v-shaped sticks used to hunt small game. A few sizes were made, from a few inches to a few feet in arm size, the larger ones were made more for entertainment. The small ones were very easy to throw accurately and with great force using a snap of the wrist. Compared to a straight stick, the rabbit sticks are easier to throw due to the balance point being closer to the hand, and yet can still benefit from a snap and will rotate very quickly when thrown. The larger ones were easily thrown 60-80 feet and delivered high impacts when hit. They however were slow due to their size and could be readily heard in flight, they also tended to have some lift.
Here the bigger chopping blades came in handy in cutting the sticks, the saw on the Rucksack was very functional as well. The more precise cutting blades were the most useful in trimming down the top and bottom of the sticks to ensure a more powerful and straighter flight. The front and back of the sticks can also be somewhat pointed to insure a harder hit.
-Cliff
