Meso-American war head arrows / made from scrap flakes

[half eye]

Recently I got some knapping "scrap flakes" of obsidian from Rileyconcrete. I wanted to use them to make a "warhead" arrow in the style of the Meso-American type. The flakes form a 3 blade configuration and are absolutely deadly on thin skinned critters such as coyote's and the like.

Just something different and a way to use some "scrap"
Rich

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[aero86]

oh crap thats awesome!  did you just cut three slots to slide them in to?

[half eye]

aero,
         Ya I layed out the 3 groves at roughly 120 dgrees and started them with the edge of a file, then split those with a razor blade. The I dry-fit the flakes for size. Next slopped on some pitch and set the flakes by forcing them into the slits, I formed the cutting point by haveing one flake protrude past the tip. Then I used a lighter to "slick down" the pitch and hafted the shaft right behind the head.  I think you could run them farther up the shaft if ya wanted to.
Rich

[paulc]

Would you use that on a deer?  I would think a feral hog would be too tough for a likely kill?  tia, paulc

[half eye]

paul, not for hunting....unless ya count people....Most of all the "chip" type weapons were all for war, i.e. people. But I think they would do a job on coyotes, or other small fur-bearers.
Rich

[rileyconcrete]

Man those are sharp. Looking and litterally.  Cut my hands a couple times rounding those up for ya Rich.  Let me know when you need more.

Tell

[paulc]

any explanation as to why they would have one point for a man and another for dinner?  wouldn't which ever killed fastest be used in both situations?

[jthompson1995]

any explanation as to why they would have one point for a man and another for dinner?  wouldn't which ever killed fastest be used in both situations?

Never researched it myself, but I don't necessarily think that you'd need to kill fast in war, just wound enough to incapacitate.

From the other war arrows Halfeye has posted, it looks like the flakes are intended to come loose from the tip as the arrow is removed, thus staying in the enemy, killing them eventually but not necessarily immediately. They would not have been as concerned with a quick kill to make retrieval easier during war, just that it made it so they could not fight anymore and killed them eventually so there is one less enemy.

[half eye]

JT,
      How right you are.....most of the war arrows etc. were designed to inflict fatal damage.....but do it as slowly and painfully as possible.........making a statement  "dont mess with us or you die slow and in a lot of hurt"....that way maybe the other people wont come looking for trouble again.   
      I for sure am no big expert, but that seems to be what most NA elders have expressed to me. The heads on Game were designed to bleed them out as quick as possible to reduce unnecessary trailing....or get it to the minimum.
Rich