The spear is one of the oldest weapons known to man. With a service life dating back at least 400,000 years, millions of units produced and millions of kills attributed to it, the spear is also the most successful weapon system of all time.
http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/behavior/getting-food/oldest-wooden-spear
Like most successful weapon platforms, the spear has gone through many iterations and upgrades from its origins as a simple sharpened stick to refined fighting weapons such as the pike or the naginata.
If you live under a repressive regime which violates your self-evident right to possess modern weapons or even if you have a safe full of guns in your house, consider adding a fighting spear to your arsenal. It’s dead silent, never jams, never runs out of ammo, doesn’t require registration, will never be on a banned weapons list, will never require an expensive tax stamp and you can make one quickly from readily available materials.
The fighting spear should have a hardwood shaft about as long as the user is tall and have a high quality steel blade 6”-12” long and at least 3/16” thick.
I started with this ironwood sapling, which I selected due to its straightness. I stored it indoors with its bark intact for about a year to allow it to dry without cracking.
This is an unnecessary step but the harder the wood the more likely it will crack if its bark is removed before it dries. Using a sharp knife I stripped the bark and worked the knots flush with the shaft.
Next we need some way to fasten a blade to the shaft. The connection must be rigid and able to withstand extreme abuse. I selected the socket from this old shovel, I will use the rake socket for something else – perhaps a javelin or a fishing spear.
The steel the shovel socket is made from is tool quality and quite thick. I used an angle grinder to cut it and remove the peened pin which held a broken off bit of old wood inside it. If you don’t have an old socketed tool around you can use several large steel hose clamps, the results won’t be pretty but you can achieve a strong, rigid connection with just hose clamps.
This Solingen stainless steel kitchen knife has a 10” long blade, is full tang and is thick and strong enough to make a good spear point. I used some fine grit sandpaper to remove the maker mark and to dull the reflective quality of the blade. A shiny blade may have a fear-inducing psychological effect on the enemy but I prefer the advantage of stealth.
If you don’t have an old kitchen knife with the correct characteristics you can make a great blade from an old file with just a bit of work using an angle grinder or bench grinder.
Work the fatter end the spear shaft using a knife until it will fit snugly into the socket with just some light hammer taps. Remove the socket and measure the tang portion of the blade (this is the handle part of the blade that will be fastened in the wood).
Draw a straight line the length of the tang and then drill a series of holes with a drill bit slightly larger than the thickness of the blade. It is necessary to drill these holes to prevent splitting and because we will be using a saw to cut a slot in the shaft. It is nearly impossible to cut wood with the grain in a straight line so these holes will help keep our cut straight.
With the slot cut I next used a propane torch to burn the frayed wood out of the slot and to give the shaft a bit of a camo effect – this is a purely esthetic step – don’t burn the wood too deeply anywhere.
Its time to assemble the blade, socket and shaft into one solid unit. I will be adding these feathers for two reasons; they improve the aerodynamics of the spear when thrown and they allow blood to drip off of them instead of down the shaft.
Tapping everything tight I next drilled through the pin hole in the socket, pushed a bolt through and tightened it with a nut and steel washers.
Using a hammer and this anvil I made from a piece of railroad track I carefully bent the washers flush with the socket.
A wood screw and a couple of washers make a good butt plate for the shaft. Drill a pilot hole for the screw to prevent splitting.
A handmade leather sheath prevents accidental injury and will keep the blade sharp.
The completed fighting spear.
