Improvised broad heads

[man at arms]

Not sure if this is the right section. If not, please move it.

I saw these on EBay while going through various bow makers. They're $50/6 after shipping BTW. They appear to be sharpened arow shafts with exacto knife blades attached. I wouldn't buy such a thing, but the idea is interesting. Has anyone ever tried something like this? It would make for a relatively light arrow, and I don't know what the lack of a heavy, dense point would do to the flight characteristics of the arrow. It looks like a neat "mcgyver", in-a-pinch hunting arrow. Any thoughts? Any other improvised point ideas?

[sleek]

Bone is every where and what I would use in a pinch. I have carved them out of hickory before with success. Pvc has been mentioned in the past. Sharpened spoons works well. Imagine being shot at with a fork on an arrow?! Yikes! Bamboo gets a sharp point, could make a hollow point of boo cut at a steep angle like a medical injection needle.  There are hollow small bones in that shape as well...  a hammered flat nail would do well also.  Locust tree thorns,  fire hardened sticks work well for making a hole. Antler could sub for bone if needed. Coins can be sharpened and flattened more to make substantial points also. 

Even in a pinch, you would be hard pressed not to be able to find good point material.

[man at arms]

Our ancestors were in a pinch all the time. I've recently come across mention of points made of rawhide. There's a YouTube channel called "primitive pathways" where the guy knaps glass points.

[aaron]

I wouldn't use 'em- too light. weight helps penetration and is a big part of why an arrow flies well. Why do you say "our ancestors were in a pinch all the time"? I think many stone age people were well provisioned and had time-tested gear. They didn't have to improvise or use untested tools. They used what had worked in the past. It may have been wooden points, or whatever, but I don't think this means they were struggling to find what worked.

[Pat B]

Will you post pics of the points?

[man at arms]

I say they were in a pinch because they had to use what materials they found.

[man at arms]

Will you post pics of the points?

Which points?

[Pat B]

The broadheads made with Exacto blades.

[man at arms]

That's the picture in my original post. It looks like he took a pencil sharpener to some bare shafts and glued some exacto knife blades to them.

[Pat B]

I'd like to see a close up of the broadheads.

[man at arms]

I'm sure they'd work, at least for one shot. The cutting diameter is a but small though.

[Grasshopper Mouse]

By the Red Gods, that's exactly what he did: sharpened the shaft with a pencil sharpener and glued on craft knife blades.
Wow, I've never seen anything like that and especially never seen anyone try to sell something like that.
I guess you really can find anything on eBay!

Guy

[sleek]

Against deer I wouldnt try unless there were no other options. Now, in a bow war as anti personal, those would be grwat if the blades came out after penetration.  Fragmenting arrow heads. Wow im glad we have bullets. That would suck!

[man at arms]

Same with the knapped glass points. I wouldn't hunt with them because of the risk of glass shards in the meat, but that'd be one nasty war arrow.

Grasshopper,  that same seller offers them without the blades as "target arrows".

Edit: I just noticed something else. They're fletched with duct tape. Again,  not a bad concept. I've made arrows from hardware store dowels with sheet metal broadheads and gorilla tape fletching. It works, but I'd never try to sell such a thing. Come to think of it, he might be using plain hardwood dowels for shafts. He sells them in packages with 80lb bows. That can get dangerous.

[osage outlaw]

I wouldn't shoot those at anything.