How to Make Hand-forged Arrowheads

During a survival situation, the bow and arrow create a formidable hunting combination, useful for killing ground animals, birds and fish. Any effective arrow requires a sharp point, which can be created in a variety of ways. Bone and flint arrowheads tend to be the sharpest and most durable, both increasing the chances of a kill and decreasing the likelihood of frequent arrowhead replacement.

Things You'll Need

  • Animal bone
  • Knife
  • Flint rock
  • Hard stone
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Instructions

  1. Bone Arrowheads

    • 1

      Select your animal bone. If available, select a wide, flat bone, as opposed to a longer, marrow-filled bone. Scapulae (shoulder blades) and pelvic bones work very nicely.

    • 2

      Cut the bone into a triangular shape using a sharp knife. If the bone is dry and brittle, leave the bone in a bowl of water for several hours to restore moisture to the microscopic pores.

    • 3

      Carve a flat surface into the upper and lower faces of the arrowhead. Curvature in the bone can cause the arrowhead to curve during flight, negatively impacting accuracy.

    • 4

      Cut away small slivers of bone along the cutting edges to sharpen these crucial surfaces. Create a sharp point by removing small flakes of bone with each nicking motion.

    • 5

      Place your finished bone arrowhead in the sun for several hours for drying and hardening.

    Flint Arrowheads

    • 6

      Locate a wide, flat piece of flint, which is dark and metallic in color with a reflective surface. Flint is often located near chalk deposits.

    • 7

      Locate a small, hard rock the size of a walnut. Rub this rock against the flint. If the flint digs into the rock, your rock isn't hard enough. You will use this smaller rock to "knap" the flint into an arrowhead shape.

    • 8

      Hold the flint in your non-dominant hand and lightly strike the the small rock against the flint with your dominant hand. The strike should come at a slight angle to the flint's surface, not straight into it. This angled strike should chip away small fragments of flint.

    • 9

      Knap the flint into a flat, triangular shape. If you accidentally crack your flint in two, you will need to start over, so plan each strike carefully.

    • 10

      Knap along the edges of your triangular chuck of flint to create the sharp edges. A properly knapped flint arrowhead is surprisingly sharp, far more so than bone.