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Thread: old weapons from wood

  1. #1
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    Default old weapons from wood

    i think this has been covered but anyone know of any good wood to make bows out of in ny and if possible post some pics or links to them

    also anyone have any ideas to make a good spear point i have had no luck so far in making a decent one
    Last edited by WildGoth; 04-22-2007 at 06:30 PM.


  2. #2

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    Well, I know for a bow you'll want a semi-soft wood, but a good bow is really hard to make. For a spear you'll want a hard wood otherwise it'll never hold an edge.

  3. #3

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    Spear heads, first what area are you in? Materials that i would use in one place are compleatly different then in another. What do you want to use the spear for? If it's for fishing your probably going to want a barbed spear tip. If you live in FL horseshoe crab tails make good spear points, also shells can make good ones if you can chip em right. If your someplace else, consider using bones of dead critters you find. Of course you could always use some hard wood, if you can't find any see what putting in the fire for a min or 2 does to it, just make sure it doesn't catch on fire.
    I prefer to keep it simple though so i generally carve a spearpoint out of the end of my spear, so it's one unit, the tip may break after it goes into the critter but it's all good.

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    i live in new york near minwaska and the use is a hunting spear for small game

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    I have always liked making little psears, whtehr its jsut for funa nd not to use, or to use on small game if I'm sleeping out for a few days. I find the best tip is jsut a very sharp wooden tip from hardwood, advantages are that it is one piece, easily sharpened, and requires less material. Disadvantages are that if you miss, it the tip is easily dulled, not quite as sharp as a piece of metal or barbed point. I found hte best wood for a spear is most hardwoods, but also some soft woods, they jsut need sharpened more, but if you can find a piece of wood that is wider at the tip then the bottom, or has a bump or anything to weight down the front more, this way the point flies first and the spear wont wobble as much or flip over. I throw jav in track so I have very good accuracy and strentgh, and I can throw it real far and actaully hit something, so I find that is the best tactic to get good, so go throw a jav for practice, also if you want, throw hte discus, that way if you see a rabbit or something and dont have time to whittle apoint from a stick, jsut pick up a rock and toss it.

  6. #6
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    yew makes a good bow

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    Up thar in NY you have hickory, elm, oak white and red, black locust, just to name a few.

    You can trade or buy osage on the net at a variety of sites.

    Good book to pick up is the trad. bowyers bible I. It will get you started on making bows.

    Spearpoints, if you go prim. get a deer antler or some rock. Hardwood whittled to a point then stuck in a fire, not long then rubbed with a rock will make a nice point.

    Don't overlook bamboo or old bones for spearpoints. Cherokees down here in Ga. use to make knives out of cane and bamboo. Surprisingly, bamboo gets sharp and stays that way.

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    Senior Member marberry's Avatar
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    with wood i usually make traps rather then weapons , im just to lazy to run after a prairie chicken for an hour lol,

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    I need to improve my trapping skills. May just dig that book out.

  10. #10

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    Trapping is the easiest way to go when it comes to survival. no way on earth would i chase down a rabbit with a pionted stick, i take that back i did try it but only once, didn't go over very well. for bows Yew is your best bet and arrows i would us willow branchs nice and strait. string can be a wide range of things string, vines, intestines, sinew, maye some strong bark

  11. #11
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    Yew is good in the Pacific Northwest but down here in Georgia hickory, oak, and elm would be the wood.

    Bow wood is dependent on where you are. For arrows, again in Georgia dried cane or bamboo is awsome. Natures carbon.

  12. #12

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    for bows you probably should use a good sized willow branch.
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    (yew and bamboo work good too) and for spear tips you should try flint knapping, if you do it rite, they make great heads for arrows and spears.
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  13. #13
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    wow thxs for the tip i tried the flint knapping hard but good

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    Have never used willow for a bow. Many years ago I made a bamboo shoot bow. Collected a whole mess of dried bamboo and tied them together in stacks of 5. Then I used the longest for the base of the bow and started tying the stacks to the base.

    Ended up with a 35lb bow. I still have it down in the basement, string it and pull it every now and then. Would be good for rabbits if you can get close. The cast is not all that great.

    If you are starting flintknapping, try to get some novaculite or black butter. It is awsome to work with. It does what you want it to do. Obsidian is also good and don't forget that you can make arrowheads, spearheads, and knives out of the thicker pane glass, a broken up smoked coffee table glass, thick beer bottles and the like.

    Frank

  15. #15
    Senior Member Strider's Avatar
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    For a spear, I would find a hard wood tree and the using a fire (or focused propane) go slowly along it all the way till it is smoothed down a bit. This makes the air pockets collapse, making the wood sturdier. As for a bow, it takes a lot of skill to make a good one. I have never really made a good one that lasts a long time. All I do is make a simple one and use it till it breaks. For wood, I dunno whats really the best.
    Strider
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