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My lightest arrowhead yet!


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I made my lightest arrowhead today!:D It is a small bodkin (around 1 and a half inches tall), and is somewhere between 100 and 150 grains (about .01 and .02 pounds). Take a look at the pictures and tell me what you think!

Don't mind the dirt. We shot it a lot before we took the picture:rolleyes:


(My brother made the arrow and fletched it)

In pictures 2 and 3 a very large piece of dirt can be seen on the head... Yeah, I forgot to clean it before taking pictures.:rolleyes:

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As a blacksmith,i like it lots(only the grindmarks are a little disappointing),neat little deal,right on!
As an archer(which,alas,i'm not...):Does the irregular form have much effect on flight,or is it just fine,for the point,not to be perfectly concentric?
Thanks for a glimpse,anyway,all the best,Jake.

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As a blacksmith,i like it lots(only the grindmarks are a little disappointing),neat little deal,right on!
As an archer(which,alas,i'm not...):D does the irregular form have much effect on flight,or is it just fine,for the point,not to be perfectly concentric?
Thanks for a glimpse,anyway,all the best,Jake.


The head has a slight dip in as it gets closer to the socket, but the socket is even with the tip. It is a side effect of a traditional way to make arrowheads quickly. The arrow flies beautifully.

The grindmarks are just a side effect of good sharpening:rolleyes:! No, actually I didn't want to clean it up, because it gives it an older look to it (they could also be rust/dirt marks- the arrow was shot quite a few times ere the pictures were taken).- Personal opinion. If I were to sell it, of course, then the choice would be the buyers.

Thanks for the constructive criticism!:cool: Edited by Black Maple Forge
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I share the question about it's flight trueness, but as a weapon aimed at armor plate it begins to look menacing. How does this compare to reenactor stuff? To make down to less than 150 grains is by my way of thinking an accomplishment!

-Thank you! :cool:
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In case anyone is wondering:

My very crappy picture (done in paint:o) shows the basic design of a war arrowhead (or extreme hunting head:rolleyes:).

I tried to show the wood shaft (brown) entering the head (in grey), and how the head's socket does not fully connect to the whole blade. This is all because of the basic method of bodkin head forging. When the end of the steel bar is flattened, the flat metal is wrapped around itself creating a socket, and the wrapping motion leaves a part of the head looking incomplete.

Here is a good youtube video showing the process of head making (pretty much the same process I use).
YouTube - John Marshall forging medieval plate cutter arrowhead

Sorry I couldn't explain in clearer words...:(

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Good job on the point you should be pleased.

On the issue of accuracy when firing we have to remember these were knocked out at a rapid rate and volley fired with very few archers doing what Robin Hood does so well. In that case fine balance would not be necessary, just the weight should be within tolerance.

As for the video, its great, but that hot cut in the anvil while he works! He seems to get away with it but its a good way to lose a finger if you forget its there and hit your hand on it while hammering. Just my opinion.

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little bodkins! what size shaft do they fit on? they are much more fiddly to forge than a loong bodkin aren't they? :D

I made some target points a couple of years ago. They are basically just the cone section with very little solid at the point. All forged to finished round cones. Unfortunately I can't find a picture right now (that means I have to go make some in order to have an image :rolleyes:)

I think they weighed between 70 and 100grains. I made half a dozen and they were pretty close in weight and size, though not entirely straight. I can't say that I noticed any difference in flight due to the bentness. Mind you, My shooting isn't accurate enough to notice very subtle irregularities such as fine tip shape/weight and I was shooting primitive arrows, so the shafts may not have been completely straight either :D

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little bodkins! what size shaft do they fit on? they are much more fiddly to forge than a loong bodkin aren't they? :D

I made some target points a couple of years ago. They are basically just the cone section with very little solid at the point. All forged to finished round cones. Unfortunately I can't find a picture right now (that means I have to go make some in order to have an image :rolleyes:)

I think they weighed between 70 and 100grains. I made half a dozen and they were pretty close in weight and size, though not entirely straight. I can't say that I noticed any difference in flight due to the bentness. Mind you, My shooting isn't accurate enough to notice very subtle irregularities such as fine tip shape/weight and I was shooting primitive arrows, so the shafts may not have been completely straight either :D


This head was made to fit on either 3/8" or 11/32" shaft. Better on the 11/32"...

70 and 100 grains? How did you do that? (My first arrowhead that I ever made was around a thousand grains:rolleyes:)
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This head was made to fit on either 3/8" or 11/32" shaft. Better on the 11/32"...

70 and 100 grains? How did you do that? (My first arrowhead that I ever made was around a thousand grains:rolleyes:)


with difficulty :D nah, just very carefully and my arrowhead tongs were (they broke at the weekend) quite fine on the flat side where the hammer is more likely to strike. Basically i forged teh socket very short and thing walled, then cut off on a small way into the solid before forming the point. The only grinding/filing was done to true up the end of the socket.

The little ones were made for my 5/16 shafts, hence the tiny size. Obviously when I make offencive arrowheads (broadheads, bodkins, etc) they are larger, normally 1/2" war arrow shafts of the 11/32 that I use.
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