Homemade broadheads

[ObongoPox]

(14 December 2012, 03:29)Mortblanc Wrote: Native Americans had several favored items for making broadheads, the most favored being barrel hoops.

Iron trade heads were popular giveaway items during negotiations and blacksmiths forged heads and sold them to the government trade houses. They were difficult to move because no one wanted them. The use of bows disappeared with the frontier as it moved west.

As soon as contact with Europeans occurred the Indians were after GUNS as their ultimate hunting tool. By 1625 the Iroquois elders were complaining that the men had lost the skill of knapping and no one could make stone points any longer. By the 1650s the Cherokee had a consistant trade line going between the eastern mountains and Spanish Florida trading Spanish guns for deerskins.

Only the very poorest and most backward of the Indian tribes continued the use of the bow after trade goods appeared.

Most interesting.Thankyou.

(13 December 2012, 20:33)Tartar Horde Wrote:

(13 December 2012, 20:23)UncleFester Wrote: Hi,
I've been toying with the idea of getting a horse bow for the kit, something nice and compact. I use to shoot compound bows but would find it difficult to maintain one without all the proper kit so figured id keep it simple.

This lead me to start looking at broad heads and other tips and I got thinking about making my own.

Do you think cross cutting an arrow shaft at one end and securing 4 Stanley knife blades with epoxy resin would be a decent enough emergency broad head? You could pack part of the shaft with epoxy to give it a little weight and strength. I know its not gonna be as good as shop bought one, but shop bought ones won't last forever.

Anyone already done something similar?

UF

It might work at a pinch but the shaft will need binding behind the cut to reinforce it, the arrow might last longer doing this but I wouldn't like to take a bet on it lol,
Seriously though! if you learn to knap flint arrowheads you will be self sufficient for life, and can always fall back on your knapping skill when there is no metal to be found, your great ancestors used it to put meat on the table (cave floor)

Part file/grind bullet-points.Hacksaw groove for diy broadhead.Spot-weld or epoxy in place.Saves grooving shaft.Kitchen Devil knives would be good,but usually stainless so harder to work with and not spot-weldable on my apparatus which is mild steel only.