Anyone know this Spearhead/Lancehead ( no RPG please ).

[Mp7]

paid like 16$ for both, couldnt resist saving them
from this fleamarket environment........


i got some harppon-speartip that looks like
its forged in an african campfire..... this looks
well made though.

old thread... highjacked by the LARP-Mafia
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=363279

Any ideas, input, comments?

cheers from europe,
Mp7.

 

[hso]

They look African, but with so much variety in African spears I can't be more specific. Fancy work on the twist shaft between the socket and blade.

 

[gb6491]

They look African,...

...possibly of the Samburu people.
http://rosswarner.com/7495.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blBzKTly4Yc
Regards,
Greg

 

[Piedmont Plinker]

They remind me of pila

 

[Pax Jordana]

Pila, says cz, I say assegai.

but he says tomato.....

Point is, you should cut some wood out to about where it balances maybe a foot past the end of the socket and start chuckin 'em!



oh. and.

LARP mafia? scoff. there is an element of lonely, ultranerdlified escapism, but many LARPers are really into period weapons and know quite a bit about them. Heck, sometimes if you're willing to talk to one they teach you things!

 

[Mp7]

...

thx for the input so far.


I´m not sure. It could be some german dude made them
for roman reenactment - and they are Pilum-heads.
They seem very well made for Africa...... not even rust on them......

...i was thinking about putting 2 short shafts on them
and selling them to some escrima-nuts.
Or maybe put them on one shaft....

ah well, i guess for that price it was a fantastic deal nonetheless

 

[PTK]

Could be they were made almost anywhere, but I'd assume that if they were made there in Germany as pilum they would be more correct - smaller point, shorter shaft, etc., and probably have wood on them already.

 

[Mp7]

....

indeed the long shaft seems weird - and the twisted metal.......

anyone got any insights on where this design comes from?

 

[praetorio]

It reminds me of a Migration Era germanic spear whose name escapes me at the moment.

 

[CWL]

Doubt they are pila heads since they have such wide leaf blades as opposed to the 4-sided penetration points typically used. Twisting of the shaft would be rare since pila are throw-away weapons -no need to decorate them.

They could be javelin heads but that's a lot of iron to waste on another throw-away weapon.

Looks like it could be African thrusting short spear like assegai.

Is the shaft welded to the spearblade on the second one?

 

[Piedmont Plinker]

I said they reminded me of pila, not that they are. But they do look similar.
I'd guess they are heads for throwing spears of some sort. The twisted shaft is interesting.
They remind me of Cold Steels samburu spears.
Hmm- maybe a ceremonial weapon? I doubt twisting the shaft would add great strength.
They also look kinda like harpoons.

 

[JShirley]

Welcome to THR, praetorio.

John

 

[EdAK74]

Those are tasmanian fishing harpoons. might as well hang them on the wall cause they don't make the gun any more.They/ll make a good conversation piece at cocktail parties and keggers.DTNWO

 

[Mp7]

...

he germanic spear u mean is called "Ango"
but that typically has barbed hooks.

It´s most likely meant for assegai-function,
since all the metal wouldn´t really make it a
well balanced projectile - unless u mount it on a 6foot stick.

IMHO the twist does add strength against bending
and is not for decorative purposes.

...hm.... i´m tempted to auction them off,
to see wether some nutty LARPer pays me big bucks for them.

Hanging them on my wall will give me weird looks
from my GF - again(!)

Cheers all
Mp7

 

[Piedmont Plinker]

I'm not a metallurgist, and I don't play one on TV, but how would twisting the shaft aadd any strength? That would seem to strain and stretch the metal, weakening it.
I maintain that these are throwing spears. Perhaps the twisting of metal was to get a few more centimeters out of a certain amount of steel.

 

[Joe Demko]

Not harpoons. Not barbed.

 

[give]

look more like spindels from an iron gate

 

[give]

never seen throwing spears with metal shafts,wouldent that make them off balance,i mean the reason the head is heaver is to have it hit first

 

[Piedmont Plinker]

Harpoons, pila, and samburu all have a form of metal shaft.
I think the idea is to let it penetrate the target more.

 

[Jason_G]

Okay, I'll be the dunce... what the heck is an RPG and a LARP? The only thing RPG stands for that I know of is rocket propelled grenade, and that don't fit. Since we're talkin' about spears, I reckon that LARP stands for "Long And Real Pointy"? Probably not...

Jason

 

[Piedmont Plinker]

Role Playing Game, Live-Action role playing.

 

[Jason_G]

Role Playing Game, Live-Action role playing.

Well I would ask what those are, but I think that would probably derail the thread, so I'll see what my Google-Fu can turn up. Thanks for the enlightenment, CZ.

Jason

 

[hso]

Metal shafts are pretty common in spears if socketed forging isn't well developed.

I would be interested if the heads are welded to the shaft or actually forged from of one piece.

The twist would be decorative. It requires additional work that doesn't serve a practical purpose.

 

[ZeSpectre]

Reminds me of something I saw with regards to Fiji islanders. If I can find more info I'll post back again.