Author Topic: hardwood arrow points  (Read 1979 times)

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Offline Philipp A

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hardwood arrow points
« on: February 03, 2018, 10:34:15 am »
In the Encyclopedia of Native American Bows, Arrows & Quivers there were other than hardwood arrow blunts, numerous examples of hardwood arrow points. I am wondering what game those hardwood points were used on and how effective they would be. Has anyone tried to make some and done any comparison to obsidian or other stone points in terms of penetration levels into targets? The hardwood arrow points depicted are mostly hickory and are done from a large enough arrow shaft that the point can be incorporated into the one piece shaft. I know that when working with HHB with its fine grain you can make some pretty sharp edges but I would have never thought it would be good enough to hunt with.

PS: after writing this post, I found this in my search from swamp monkey:  http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,51877.msg701926.html#msg701926

He does a good job showing the penetration levels of different arrow points, but I am still wondering what game the hardwood points were primarily made for and whether folks on here have made them and had much experience in the field and target shooting with such points.
« Last Edit: February 03, 2018, 10:46:13 am by Philipp A »

Offline Buck67

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Re: hardwood arrow points
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2018, 01:00:58 pm »
If you lived in an area that didn't have any flint, I would think that hardwood and bone arrowheads would be quite common.  Of course those rot away when in the ground so all we see are the stone points that are left.  Stone was traded but I think that the weight of hauling rocks from one place to another would make flint an expensive trade item.