Making a Simple Spear From a Branch or Pole
Acquire a branch and/or pole. When searching for a pole to make your spear, you’ll want something at least as tall as you. Ideally it would be a few inches taller in order to give you a better reach. The pole you choose should be anywhere from 1–1.5 inches (2.5–3.8 cm) in diameter. Hardwoods, such as ash or oak, are best for this project. To sharpen your spear, find some sort of rough surface such as stone, or a brick wall/ sidewalk. Rub it against the surface and sharpen it well. If you are making a spear in the wilderness, search surrounding areas for a sapling of the right size. You can choose to use live wood or a recently deceased tree, whatever is available.
Carve a pointed tip for your spear. Using a knife or a small hand-axe, carefully fashion a point on one end of your pole or branch. Form the point by using small, even strokes and always cut away from yourself to avoid injury. This can be quite a time consuming task. Even with a sharp knife, cutting away at wood can be dangerous and physically taxing.
Build a small fire to “bake” the point of your spear. Once you are satisfied with the point of your spear, hold the sharpened end just above the flames, turning until you see the wood change color. Continue turning over the fire until the entire point is completely “baked.” Fire hardening is simply drying the wood out to make it lighter and harder. Moist wood is soft, dry wood is hard. By holding the spear tip over the flames, you are simply removing all moisture from the wood.
Making a Knife Spear
Find an appropriately sized limb or sapling. When making a knife spear, you want to find a handle that will be easy to cut into but sturdy enough to use as a weapon or tool. Avoid using green wood. Recently deceased trees are ideal. Search for a limb that is roughly 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter.
Clean the limb. Trim any branches or knobs off the chosen limb and make a clean handle. You may choose to remove some of the bark in order to make the handle easier to grip.
Create a “shelf” for the knife. Choose which end of the branch you will be attaching the knife to. Using a sharp knife, cut long, thin, vertical strips off the branch until you are left with a shelf for the knife. Creating a shelf lends support to your spear and will aid in securing the knife to the handle. Brace the branch against another tree or stump to make this process safer and easier.
Attach the knife. Use a length of rope or other available cordage to secure the knife to the branch. Tie one end of the rope to a tree trunk and wrap the other end around the knife and branch. Walk away until the line is taught. Then, using your body weight to keep the line taught, begin wrapping the rope around your knife. Wrap the rope all the way up to the hilt of the knife. For extra security make another pass back down the handle. Finish the wrap with a simple knot.
Hafting a Store-Bought Spearhead
Purchase a spearhead. Spearheads can be purchased from numerous blade-smiths online. It may also be possible to purchase a spearhead from a local knife shop if your city has one. Purchased spearheads may not come pre-sharpened. You could sharpen the blade yourself if you like, or take it to a professional knife sharpener.
Find a suitable haft. The “haft” of a spear is simply the pole to which the spearhead is attached. “Hafting,” is the act of attaching a spearhead to a handle. If you spent money on a nice spearhead, chances are you’ll want to shell out the extra money for a decent ash pole. Depending on the thickness of the haft, you may have to taper one end in order to properly secure the spearhead. Make sure you only carve enough to fit the spearhead; carve too much and you will have a gap between the haft and the spearhead resulting in a loose fit.
Check the fit of the spearhead. Put the spearhead on the haft making sure the fit is snug. Your spearhead may come with holes in the “socket,” the hollowed end that fits over the haft. Using a marker or pencil, mark on the haft where the holes fall. You will be drilling a small hole here to secure the spearhead.
Attach the spearhead. You can secure the spearhead with a short nail or a pin. Alternatively, you may simply use glue or epoxy if you do not have access to a drill. If there are multiple holes in the spearhead socket, make sure you drill straight through the haft, otherwise the pin or nail will be out of alignment with the socket holes. Drive a short nail through the holes securing the spearhead to the haft. Secure one end of the nail using either a pair of pliers or a vice. This is to stabilize the spear while you hammer the other end of the nail. Using a ball-peen hammer, tap around the head of the nail until it flattens out, causing a rivet and locking the nail in place. Repeat this process on the opposite side until both ends of the nail are securely fastened.
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