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I Forge Iron

Iklwa, the Zulu fighting spear.


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Over All Length, 5-1/2 feet long and the spear head is made if 3/8 inch thick steel. The spearhead is my Stock Removal project, I hand made the jute rope wrapped around the top quarter to cover the bolts that secure the steel to the wood and add texture. At the shoulders, the spear head is 4 inches across. I screwed a steel ring to the shaft at the bottom that can be used for a myriad of reasons.  Now its time for Beta Testing!  I’m gong to put it through a car door, a wooden dorm and anything else I can find.  I may give it to a friend who is an enormous Strongman/Powerlifter and see how much damage he can do with it. 

 

post-23503-0-19507800-1371505918_thumb.j

 

I’ve recently started experimenting with etching,  I used PCB etchant from Radio Shack on another blade, the results were nice.  I am going to etch my next spear, however I want to make the spearhead black.  To get the same high-contrast that the folks over at Zombie Tools use.  I think they also use ETEC-502 somewhere along the process. Any advice and constructive criticism is appreciated.

 

Example:

post-23503-0-75176600-1371506297_thumb.j

 

Thanks,

Kwisatz

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Nice spear, but sadly it is no Iklwa(no disrespect intended) , blade and handle should be of similar length it was meant to be a short stabbing spear, for close quater work!

If memory serves me correctly, they were about 4ft long, with a very wide blade. Sorry most images of Shaka were done by Europeans who had imprinted mental images of the Zulu(who were typically very "athletically" built but short of stature) as tall Masai with long spears.

 

Ian

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You’re correct.  The dimensions are off, it started out that way, but ended up much bigger and heavier than it should be.  I’ll be trying again soon.  Thanks for the feedback.

Nice spear, but sadly it is no Iklwa(no disrespect intended) , blade and handle should be of similar length it was meant to be a short stabbing spear, for close quater work!

If memory serves me correctly, they were about 4ft long, with a very wide blade. Sorry most images of Shaka were done by Europeans who had imprinted mental images of the Zulu(who were typically very "athletically" built but short of stature) as tall Masai with long spears.

 

Ian

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Sadly I think the spear will probably break during your test. If it doesn't then I'd be very surprised. They weren't made for car door killing lol. Just be safe when doing that demo. It looks awesome btw. I really wasn't sure about the ring when I was reading about it, but it adds a perfect touch to the spear. Very nicely done.

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