Making a spear for the wilderness may sound odd or unnecessary until you find yourself out of supplies, food, bullets, and whatever. So, in case you wonder why you’d be in the wilderness that long, remember you can’t predict how long a natural disaster will take.
Sometimes, you may even be without supplies and have to hunt if you want to survive. So, what would you do then? Go hungry because you can’t hunt game? Or do you suppose you’ll be hunting in the wild using your bare hands? I hope you said no.
And, lest I forget, while some of us may have the option of using a bow, there’s nothing wrong with knowing how to make and use a spear as well. It can always come in handy.
Materials For Making A Spear In The Wilderness
To make a good spear that you can use to hunt games when SHTF, here are the materials you need:
- Spear Pole: This is the stem of your spear, literally the body. I suggest a sapling that’s taller than you with a few inches and measures between 2 – 2.5 inches in diameter. Your spear pole is best made from the straight sapling of hardwood, for example, maple, hickory, or oak.
- Sturdy Baton Stick: Usually, this is a hardwood sapling that improvises as a hammer to divide the spear into parts without crushing it. A sturdy baton stick can be found across the wilderness, or you may just use the leftover of your spear pole if it’s sturdy enough. When selecting a baton, ensure it is not yet rotten, as it will easily fall apart.
- Firm Cordage (2 – 3 feet): The best choice for your cordage is a paracord since it’s usually strong and durable and can resist rotting in unfavorable conditions. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t use another cordage. In fact, even your shoelaces would handle the task. And, just as a heads up, you should include at least a dozen of cordages in your kit when going to the wild. Cordage has a lot of unbelievable benefits.
- Folding Saw: While a sturdy, serrated knife will do just fine shaping your spear, a folding saw does it faster and more easily. With a folding saw, you can quickly conclude the necessary tasks. And while a wire saw or pocket chainsaw makes an able alternative as well, I don’t think a prepper’s toolkit is complete without a folding saw.
- A Strong, Full Tang Fixed Blade Knife: When you have to baton or split wood, a folding knife won’t do it. Trying to do so will only damage the knife. So, before you hit the wild, you should get a sturdy, full tang fixed knife.
Steps For Making A Spear In The Wilderness
If you’ve found the above materials, here are the steps to follow to build your spear in the wild.
Prepare Your Spear Pole
As expected, the first step when making your spear is to prepare the pole. After you find a pole, maybe from a tree or the ground, use your folding saw to cut off both ends, so they look flat and even. After that, tie your cordage around the pole, do so at a distance of 10 inches or more to the working end. This will ensure that the pole does not split when you start to beat it.
As a warning, choose a spear pole that is taller than you are, or at least of the same height as you. This will see that you don’t fall on any of the sharp points if you fall while hunting.
Split & Sharpen Your Spear’s Working End
Having tied cordage around the working end of your spear, hit the opposing end against a stump or tree to make sure the cordage is firm. After this, start to split slowly from 8–10 inches below it. When you get to the bottom of the pole, turn the knife perpendicularly to the first baton and split downward until you reach the bottom again.
The next step is to get two 3-inches sticks as thick as a pencil and position them between the two splits to keep the spear points open, after which you sharpen the four points using your full tang fixed blade knife.
Harden The Sharpened Points
When you’re done sharpening the points, unwrap the cordage and remove the 3-inches sticks and leave underneath hot coals for 10 – 20 minutes. Doing so will fire-harden or dry the wood. While this is ongoing, keep an eye on your pole to ensure it is only drying and not burning.
As an alternative, you can just choose to turn the pole over a fire, like you make a marshmallow. This tends to take more minutes, but you can easily monitor the spear this way.
Reinforce The End Of Your Spear
After you have hardened the points of your spear, remove from the fire, and let it cool. After 5–10 minutes, return the two 3-inches pegs to their initial positions for a more elaborate impact when thrown. Then create a loop by aligning the cordage against the vertical shaft of the spear. After this, wrap the rest of the cordage around the shaft while passing below the pegs in an alternating manner.
Apply Finishing Touches
After tying the cordage around the shaft three times, put the cordage through the loop, and pull firmly. When expertly done, the pegs are tightened up nicely, and you have a spear with a 4-prong point. You can alternatively choose to sharpen the other spear end into a hardened point, which will serve as a form of protection from potential predators.
Conclusion On Making A Spear For The Wilderness
When making a spear for the wilderness, take proper care to ensure that you go through all steps properly. Else, you’d be having a hard time getting a game. It is also important to settle the right materials for the process. Remember to do some target shooting too before it is time for action.