Ed Steinkirchner Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 made this spearhead alittle less than a year ago. up until then i never rolled a socket or forged a double bevel before. it is made from what used to be 3/8 x 1-1/4 inch, but it was pretty rusty so it was slightly less. the bar was off of an old porch railing so it is mild steel. after the blade was rough forged, and the junction between blade and socket done(it is still full thickness there), i closed the last 3/8 inch gap in the socket cold, and cold hammered the blade. actually that made it quite rigid and i can't bend it in my vice bare handed. the ridge is still a little more than 1/4 inch thick. since these pics, ive filed the blade to a point, filed the bevels smooth, and fixed the gap at the opening of the socket. can start on the herringbone inlay lines now, if i ever get out to my shop again...so much i need to get done. -sigh- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianbrazealblacksmith Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Nicely done, Youngsmith 229! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 made this spearhead alittle less than a year ago. up until then i never rolled a socket or forged a double bevel before. it is made from what used to be 3/8 x 1-1/4 inch, but it was pretty rusty so it was slightly less. the bar was off of an old porch railing so it is mild steel. after the blade was rough forged, and the junction between blade and socket done(it is still full thickness there), i closed the last 3/8 inch gap in the socket cold, and cold hammered the blade. actually that made it quite rigid and i can't bend it in my vice bare handed. the ridge is still a little more than 1/4 inch thick. since these pics, ive filed the blade to a point, filed the bevels smooth, and fixed the gap at the opening of the socket. can start on the herringbone inlay lines now, if i ever get out to my shop again...so much i need to get done. -sigh- It looks a lot like some I've made. It's okay to bend the socket closed cold but don't be forging it out that way I hear you can go to hell for that. (:-) You can quench the mild steel and get a mild hardening effect. Better I think than cold hammering it which creates stresses that could cause the blade to break in the middle of a battle!!?!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Steinkirchner Posted March 5, 2010 Author Share Posted March 5, 2010 i am not too worried about stresses from cold working, to see if it would be worth it to haft it well, i took an ols shovel handle and fit it to the head. i did a few full throws at an old stump, and even when it hit VERY off it didn't bend. i also tried stabs and thrusts and they had no ill effects on the spearhead. actually many finds from the early iron age showed that work hardening was common, even when there was enough carbon to harden them, too bad they didnt know hardening and tempering then. i dont know what was used for spearheads in ancient times. and i forgot to give the dimensions. the blade and the socket are each about 7 inches, so the overall length is near 14 inches. BTW is there a way to change your name on IFI cause my name is Ed Steinkirchner and i would like to use it instead :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 What was used for spearpoints over time: fire hardened wood, bone, antler Flint and other rocks copper bronze wrought iron higher carbon or phosphorous wrought iron edging wrought iron piled higher carbon or phosphorous wrought iron often edged Pattern welded higher carbon or phosphorous wrought iron usually edged Blister and Shear steel (coming into modern times!) still sometimes used as an edging on a WI base Crucible Steel Modern steels. (read the part about forging the harpoon in Moby Dick" for an example of a more "modern" spear making technique.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Very cool Youngsmith, very cool indeed. You went through most of the "smithing" steps and have something to be proud of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Steinkirchner Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 thank all of you for the complements, i will start on the simple inlay pattern soon, if i can devise a way to hold the thing so i can cut the keyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sukellos Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 A co-worker/friend of mine just asked me to make him a spear point. The coyotes (4 legged) killed his doggy and the city won't let him shoot at them with a firearm. Frankly, if he can hit a coyote with a spear, he's a far better throw than I. I hit a jack rabbit on the run once when I was about 10 (middle bronze age;)) but that was a freak accident. The last socketed spear I forged was over 20 years ago. I made that one from an old lawnmower blade. It's good steel and I still have it. Every once in awhile I'll take it out and peg it at our palm tree. I made this from a 2" wide strap of 3/32ths +/- thick mild steel. It was some kind of a bracket or something. As you can see, I didn't waste much energy on finishing it. I just rubbed it with an old bit of grindstone and let it go at that. I forgot to put something in the pic for scale. The socket is about 4" long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Steinkirchner Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share Posted March 23, 2010 sounds to me like your friend needs a crossbow! nice little spearhead. Ed Steinkirchner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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