Survival/SD/hunting spear?

[Ridge Walker]

[QUOTE="Knobgoblin, post: 2945011, member: Upon inspection it's not really terrible.
A small set screw on the socket would theoretically keep it from backing off the broom handle.

And if you wanted to get creative, the plastic handle it shipped with could be used for mopping the garage while laying on your crawler
[/QUOTE]

Yep that's it. I sharpened the back side on mine. It will work in a pinch. It goes with me on overnights in the three day pack.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Have you thrown it ?

I kinda want to throw it at an old garage we have, but I think that tips gonna bend or break

 

[Ridge Walker]

Have you thrown it ?

I kinda want to throw it at an old garage we have, but I think that tips gonna bend or break

Yep, it was after I put the tip on the staff. I used old hay bales. It flew pretty good. I share your concern for the tip too. If I had to throw it I would, but I see it as more of a jabbing weapon, for Bears and Hogs. Lions too I guess, but most folks don't even usually see them until it is to late.

Both times that I was stalked by Lions we had kids with us. We were really looking for them because of the little ones. But if I'm in Lion country I carry more more than a knife and a stick.

We don't have Hogs, and Bears usually don't mess with you unless you get between them and their cubs. I can see it being pretty handy in that situation.

 

[oremike]

Growing up my old man had a fishing spear that consisted of a 6' or so shaft with a 3 prong tip, and a loop of a strong surgical tubing of sorts at the bottom. No throwing needed let the tubing do the work for you.

That's called a Hawaiian sling.

 

[JohnnyMac]

I'm guessing these guys figured spears to be a good survival tool...



When I was in my early teens, a friend of mine and I found a plant that after all the leaves/stems fell off and it dried up during late summer, it looked just like a spear stuck in the ground. If you pulled it out it had a sharp(ish) head on it. We had spear fights and threw these at each other incessantly. Actually got pretty accurate at some fairly substantial distances. That ended when we got BB guns and started shooting each other with those though.... I think about it once in a while and wonder how I would be throwing a spear today. Interesting thread. I like that tool that @Knobgoblin posted earlier. I might look into that.

 

[quneur]

That's called a Hawaiian sling.

Not quite. A Hawaiian 'sling' used a separate single barbed tipped spear. You set it in the tube of the sling and twist the spear and hold the spear and sling in one hand. In my youth, we used to spear fish mostly on the south side of Oahu. My friend's old man was very good in using one because you could hold the spear tip close when checking under rocks.

I used to own one similar to this:

only it had 3 prongs instead of 4. You would wrap the surgical rubber against the web of index finger and thumb while gripping the shaft of the spear. When you release keep a hold of the surgical rubber. As a hand weapon, it would be very effective if you can keep the grip. As a kid, we used fling it around just using the tension of the surgical rubber. Distance if launched as a spear would reach the distance of a wrist rocket.

 

[The Heretic]

From the reviews I have read, the knife spear heads that screw onto the mop handles are not very good; either the mop handle breaks or the knife does. Makes sense to me as mop handles are usually cheap and thin, especially at the point where the handle is threaded.

It is looking to me like there are two different spears I would want; the fishing type with the 3 prong and elastic sling, and the boar/bear type which would be a true hunting spear with a well designed and made spear head, thick and strong, with a good shaft. The fishing type would probably be the most useful for me.

 

[Ridge Walker]

From the reviews I have read, the knife spear heads that screw onto the mop handles are not very good; either the mop handle breaks or the knife does. Makes sense to me as mop handles are usually cheap and thin, especially at the point where the handle is threaded.

It is looking to me like there are two different spears I would want; the fishing type with the 3 prong and elastic sling, and the boar/bear type which would be a true hunting spear with a well designed and made spear head, thick and strong, with a good shaft. The fishing type would probably be the most useful for me.

Yeah, I think you're right. If I were ever to actually deploy the the screw on knife/spear tip it should be strengthened. I will give it some thought on what I could add to the kit that would work. I have some ideas already. I'll get back to this thread with it when I have it figured out.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

A "wrap" around the spear shaft where it meets with the spear head socket , helps to strengthen the shaft and keep it from breaking....

Mine shown here....is made from thick linen cordage.
Andy

 

[Ridge Walker]

A "wrap" around the spear shaft where it meets with the spear head socket , helps to strengthen the shaft and keep it from breaking....
View attachment 880115
Mine shown here....is made from thick linen cordage.
Andy

I planned that at a very minimum. I was going to be using 2" Electric 'Casing Tape. I was thinking too of 4 aluminum strengthening 'ribs' that connect mechanically to the plastic handle and the staff through the aluminum tip securing it to the Bo Staff as well. The aluminum strengthening ribs would extend out onto the shaft of the the staff. 2 would extend out onto the blade much as your pic shows on yours. The other 2 would have a slit to fit on either side of the blade at its terminus at the shaft.

 

[revjen45]

"That makes sense. I have read a lot about the Roman Army,..."

Interesting little factoid: the average Roman legionnaire was about the size of a modern 10 year old boy, so throwing that 6' pilum was quite a feat.

 

[Stomper]

View attachment 875288

View attachment 875294

I have a few spears.
My favorite is shown above.
The spear head is the "European Spear Head" from Windlass Cutlery
And the butt cap is also from them as well.
The spear shaft is ash....stained with nitric acid...and oil finished.

The spear head is carbon steel.
The head is 16 inches long with a 9 inch cutting edge.
It is about 2 1/2 inches at its widest point .
The overall length of this spear is about 76 inches.

I've played around with a lot of different spears....the offerings from CS are nice , if not historically correct , regardless of sale ad copy.
With that said...they are extremely functional for what they are.

My spear here is both historically correct*and functional.
( while one can , and I have thrown mine...it is more of a thrusting / CQB weapon )
Andy
* At least in size , shape , and attachment method....Iron , not steel would be better for historic purposes.

That right thar is a most excellent tool for ye olde "stomp & drag" repulsion of raging hordes, and the spearhead dimensions are optimal for penetrating all manner of personal "armor".

 

[The Heretic]

"That makes sense. I have read a lot about the Roman Army,..."

Interesting little factoid: the average Roman legionnaire was about the size of a modern 10 year old boy, so throwing that 6' pilum was quite a feat.

Height maybe, but musculature? I doubt it.

 

[STONER_63]

Informative article on spear-hunting here, with a few more recommendations to boot. A couple of things jumped out at me:

- Hunting with spears is illegal in most states. This did not surprise me, just had not thought of it. You can use them to harvest carp in WA, however. And in OR, you can use them to take out predators but *not* game.
- Question: what is the ideal weight for a spear? I guess that depends on what you want to do with it, but some are under 1 lb. and others are well over 5. I am no Hercules, but it seems like 3-5 lbs. would be the sweet spot.

So to me, at least it seems like the perfect spear would be 3-5 lbs, somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 ft. long, and preferably do double duty as a walking stick. A sheath or cover for the blade would be good for safety and ease of handling. I know some folks talk about fastening the spear to a ruck or backpack, but I feel like that could interfere with freedom of movement and speed.

 

[STONER_63]

Height maybe, but musculature? I doubt it.

Based on my reading, Roman men averaged about 5'5", with soldiers being an inch or two taller maybe. Some 'giants' were 6' or better, but that was rare. Romans were able to defeat larger opponents (think Celts, German 'barbarians,' etc.) thanks to their awesome tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs), which emphasized tight formations and lots of weapons training - to include spear throwing! The weight of a pilum could be anywhere from 2-5 lbs, but I can't find any example of a heavier one. And keep in mind, those could be thrown or used as polearms in melee combat: a versatile weapon for sure.