How to Make a Spear Out of Wood

Spears usually consist of wooden shafts with metal or stone tips. People have used these weapons for hunting, fishing and protection since prehistoric times. The earliest spears were either sharpened sticks or had stone arrowhead-like tips. Spears remained popular fighting weapons through the European Middle Ages and Medieval Japanese periods. Many native tribes throughout Africa and the Pacific still use spears as hunting tools and for protection. With a small sapling, you can make a spear for hunting and fishing.

Things You'll Need

  • 6-foot straight sapling
  • Knife
  • Twine
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut a small portion off the tip of the straight sapling with a knife or saw in order to make a flat end. The sapling should be about 2 inches in diameter.

    • 2

      Secure the uncut end of the sapling against the ground or a rock, and then split the cut end down the middle using your knife and a small stick to hammer it into the sapling. The split should be about 12 inches deep; split the sapling it directly down the middle.

    • 3

      Rotate the sapling 90 degrees and repeat Step 2, making a second cut perpendicular to the first. You should now have four wood prongs on the end of the spear.

    • 4

      Cut a piece of twine 3 to 4 feet long and lash it around the spear below the split, about 18 inches from the tip of the spear. This will prevent the wood from continuing to split.

    • 5

      Continue cutting the splits all the way to the twine you just tied around the spear, so that the prongs are almost 18 inches long.

    • 6

      Cut two small twigs, each about ½ inch in diameter and 3 to 4 inches long. Slide each of these horizontally down the two splits in the spear tip, pushing them down to the twine lashing. The four prongs will begin to spread out.

    • 7

      Lash the two twigs in place to the spear securely, using a length of twine. Tie them tightly so they will not move when you use the spear.

    • 8

      Carve the four spear prongs into points, using your knife.