Spears

[Fisherking]

While using splits for bows is the way to go it is not the best way to go with a spear shaft.

Spears are made from green wood and treated. Bows are made with seasoned timber.

A self bow of yew has to be split so it contains both the heart wood and the sapwood.

For a spear, the nature of using a sapling for the shaft also reduces the likelihood of cracking and warping.

Fire hardening is actually a drying process that dehydrates the areas treated, usually the ends. The wood is not burned but the sap is cooked out. This is the last process before affixing the spearhead and possibly a butt spike.

With a bow, after it is shaped it would be boiled or steamed and shaped to hold curves for added power. Then it would be allowed to dry by seasoning so it loses its moisture slowly.

These methods make best use of the mechanical properties of the wood’s intended use.

It may not make that much difference but don’t be surprised if you get results you were not looking for.

[Tuuvi]

Oh ok yea Vuk you should probably listen to Fisherking, as I said before I've never made a spear before so I didn't know any better.

[Fisherking]

As long as the work...lol

Maybe Vuk will share with us how it all turned out.

[Vuk]

I will, and I will respond to your post in detail Fisherking, but not for a few days. I have finals until Friday, so I have had to put things off until they are over. I can tell you now though that my attempts at making a spear have so far proved unsuccessful. On the bright side though, I have learned many ways to not make a spear. When I tried splitting the oak (The log had a 5-6" diameter on one end, and a 3.5-4" diameter on the other) it split, but it ripped into fibers and the wood itself started falling apart. I am not quite sure what I did wrong. Maybe I should have used a pull saw? What I did was make an initial split with an axe, and then drive steel wedges in with a sledge hammer. The grain was almost straight, but wasn't quite. At the very middle it waves to the side noticeably, even though the log itself was completely straight.
Should I have used a thinner or thicker log?
As I am sure you have heard on the news, we got about 2 feet of snow here in central WI, so taking the truck out to the woods is out of the question. This means that I will not be able to get logs much bigger than the one that I got unless I split them in the field.
(I used Oak because I could not find any Ash on my property.)

[Vuk]

While using splits for bows is the way to go it is not the best way to go with a spear shaft.

Spears are made from green wood and treated. Bows are made with seasoned timber.

A self bow of yew has to be split so it contains both the heart wood and the sapwood.

For a spear, the nature of using a sapling for the shaft also reduces the likelihood of cracking and warping.

Fire hardening is actually a drying process that dehydrates the areas treated, usually the ends. The wood is not burned but the sap is cooked out. This is the last process before affixing the spearhead and possibly a butt spike.

With a bow, after it is shaped it would be boiled or steamed and shaped to hold curves for added power. Then it would be allowed to dry by seasoning so it loses its moisture slowly.

These methods make best use of the mechanical properties of the wood’s intended use.

It may not make that much difference but don’t be surprised if you get results you were not looking for.

So much for me waiting to reply in detail.
Thanks for the advice Fisherking. I have heard conflicting advice about that. Some have told me that it is best to use saplings (gained by coppicing), and others have told me that it is best to split the shaft out of a log. I was wondering if you knew what the arguments on both sides were? For me another problem is that I can never find a sapling of suitable length that is straight and strong enough. I was told to search in the thickest parts of the woods to find ones that shoot up for sunlight, but I have still been unable to find any. (most of the trees in the woods on my land are very young growth.)
Thanks,
Vuk

[Fisherking]

Since you are looking at your own property, selecting your best hardwood is not a bad idea.

Knowing all the types of trees you have could be important. Particularly oak. There are more types of oak in North America than there are types of trees in Europe. There are literally hundreds of verities. There are some 60 major varieties in three major groups but they will crossbreed and form new types easily. They are not so uniform in properties that you can just say oak is oak. Verities of white oak have tighter grain than red oak verities and are less likely to split apart. Splitting green woods can be problematic though.

Coppicing is a good way to insure you have a supply on hand but it will take some years to establish.

It would be best just to top a larger tree rather than depend on shoots just from a stump. You may get fewer shoots, but those you get will tend to be straighter. You know the tree will live and it is not so hit and miss.

Crooked shafts can be straightened by steaming or boiling the wood and forming it to the shape you want with clamps.

If it is a long term project planting and coppicing are good ways to begin, setting up your lathe, and building a steamer for the follow-on of production but if you just want a couple of good shafts I would be temped to just buy some 7 foot ash staves to get started. Once you have the head and perhaps butt spikes mounted you will be getting close to 8 feet anyway.

I looked up the tree varieties for WI and it lists 32 broad-leaf and 10 conifers that are native. That is not to say that those are the only types you may have on your property and likely you don‘t have all of the native trees, either. About a quarter of those types would make decent staves. Just stay away from the softer or wetter types.

If you have tamarack (larch), that also makes good poles and staves. It is much tougher than fir and pine or many of the broad-leaf trees for that matter. As it is a deciduous conifer, it shouldn’t be too hard to find this time of year.

Keep us posted when you can get back to it.