[Scottp54]

You have a knife and say 100 feet of rope. Naturally you can sharpen green wood to make a spear, make a monkey fist around a rock and you have a flail that can also be thrown up around branches to help tie your packs up etc. then there's the break a rock on a rock to make a shard that's sharp but I'm not sure how valid that is.any other ideas?

 

[CTuska]

Stone head tomahawk, bow and arrows, slingshots, war clubs, there are tons of things you can make easily with the right knowledge.

 

[Scottp54]

A tomahawk is an interesting idea, I was wondering how one may improvise an axe for small tree limbs etc. I tried to make a bow just today but didnt want to cut any saplings to further my cause as that'd be a waste of a tree and I respect nature enough not to waste it unless I am in life threatening danger. Using only what I found on the ground I got a kind of crappy bow honestly but the arrows were the issue. Hard to shoot the straight (I shoot them off the right of the bow which I heard you don't do, you shoot off the left near your face, but that's the only way I could get the arrows to go even remotely straight for a few feet. Any clues on the bow, more specifically the arrows? As well as the axe too actually.

 

[FarmerJohn]

You have a knife and say 100 feet of rope. Naturally you can sharpen green wood to make a spear, make a monkey fist around a rock and you have a flail that can also be thrown up around branches to help tie your packs up etc. then there's the break a rock on a rock to make a shard that's sharp but I'm not sure how valid that is.any other ideas?

I would probbably make some sticks into wedges and find a medium sized dead tree and split out a stave and make a bow

I can make myself more rope

I can make a stone drill bit to drill out the terminal nodes in bamboo/cane to make a blowgun

I can make arrows and arrowheads

I would cut into a pine tree to collect sap to make PPG

the list goes on and on and on having the knife makes every thing else a breeze

 

[Fepony]

If you sharpen and burn (char) the tips of a wooden spear it "hardens" it. Makes it much more potent.

 

[vicdotcom]

You have a knife and say 100 feet of rope. Naturally you can sharpen green wood to make a spear, make a monkey fist around a rock and you have a flail that can also be thrown up around branches to help tie your packs up etc. then there's the break a rock on a rock to make a shard that's sharp but I'm not sure how valid that is.any other ideas?

There are rocks and volcanic glasses that are sharper than scalpels . Some microsurgical scalpels are made from obsidian. So sharp "rocks" are a very very valid option.

But some other things I can think of is a of course the bow and arrow. Another good option is the atlatl good range pretty accurate if you get good with it. Slings can easily be made. Boomerang. Throwing sticks. Nunchucks. staves. maces and clubs.

Just some options for you.

 

[FarmerJohn]

There are rocks and volcanic glasses that are sharper than scalpels . Some microsurgical scalpels are made from obsidian. So sharp "rocks" are a very very valid option.

But some other things I can think of is a of course the bow and arrow. Another good option is the atlatl good range pretty accurate if you get good with it. Slings can easily be made. Boomerang. Throwing sticks. Nunchucks. staves. maces and clubs.

Just some options for you.

thats all fine and good but unless you know how to work it and are well practiced your obsidian beer bottle glass or whatever will be of very little use as you cannot reliably create a uniform/controlled product

 

[CTuska]

Making a tomahawk takes some skill bit once you find the groove you can make some impressive weapons! Google "handcraftedtomahawks" and check out some of then ones I have made in my etsy shop.

 

[-06]

A Dogwood stump is extremely hard--especially when burned a bit. They make good head knockers, mauls, or wedges.

 

[bigmama]

When I was a kid my brother and I used to make our own shanghais - (or gings to aussies) - and destroy our targets. I always beat him but then I always insisted on my target being closer because I was three years younger than he was. Stones are cheap and nowadays you can buy professional shanghais that fire that stone like a bullet! I think I might re-visit this old skill. You might run out of arrows but stones and rocks .....

And I wonder how many fletchers we have amongst us?

 

[FarmerJohn]

When I was a kid my brother and I used to make our own shanghais - (or gings to aussies) - and destroy our targets. I always beat him but then I always insisted on my target being closer because I was three years younger than he was. Stones are cheap and nowadays you can buy professional shanghais that fire that stone like a bullet! I think I might re-visit this old skill. You might run out of arrows but stones and rocks .....

nope one arrows are reusable
and 2 i can make more

you taking bout a slingshot? whats a shanghai

 

[RedBeerd]

An atlatl is quite simple to make, and effectively greatens the distance and force of a spear. All you need is basically two sticks and a knife to shape them.

 

[FarmerJohn]

An atlatl is quite simple to make, and effectively greatens the distance and force of a spear. All you need is basically two sticks and a knife to shape them.

its a little more complicated than that if you want to make one right you need to follow the growth rings just like you would for a bow

and its one stick and your darts

here is a Abo style woomera

notice how the growth rings are not violated these are not simple tools used by simple people but very advanced tools that look simple and becoming proficient with a atlatl still takes a bit of practice

 

[RedBeerd]

Yeah, if you want to make one right, but im going with the original posters idea of basically needing a quick tool. They dont have to be well made to be effective.

I know im a noob here, but iv got a bachelor of arts in anthropology and seeing youtube videos is far from my experience with them.

 

[bigmama]

Yep Farmer John.... I guess it would be called a slingshot in the States.

 

[FarmerJohn]

Yeah, if you want to make one right, but im going with the original posters idea of basically needing a quick tool. They dont have to be well made to be effective.

I know im a noob here, but iv got a bachelor of arts in anthropology and seeing youtube videos is far from my experience with them.

if your going to do a job you might as well do it right the first time.

if I needed a tool that my life would depend on I would make it the best that I could the amount of time to do something right is only marginally longer than the amount of time it takes to do it quick

just saying id want a atlatl that can impart the most energy and be the best i could make it
fyi im actually making one from some cherry we cut from the property

 

[CTuska]

Here's one of my "handcraftedtomahawks" made with a stick, flint knapped head, and paracord.

I make native american inspired ones that are more decorative as well, but the paracord kind I call my survival line.

 

[Scottp54]

I would probbably make some sticks into wedges and find a medium sized dead tree and split out a stave and make a bow

I can make myself more rope

I can make a stone drill bit to drill out the terminal nodes in bamboo/cane to make a blowgun

I can make arrows and arrowheads

I would cut into a pine tree to collect sap to make PPG

the list goes on and on and on having the knife makes every thing else a breeze

Quick question. Any tips on the bow

 

[FarmerJohn]

Quick question. Any tips on the bow

thats almost too vague to answer, what exactly would you like to know about them

 

[Vacas Locas]

its a little more complicated than that if you want to make one right you need to follow the growth rings just like you would for a bow

and its one stick and your darts

here is a Abo style woomera

notice how the growth rings are not violated these are not simple tools used by simple people but very advanced tools that look simple and becoming proficient with a atlatl still takes a bit of practice

I would start with a simple one like this-

http://www.primitiveways.com/atlatl_branch.html

The darts are my problem. Those to me seem like the challenging part. We got no cane in the wilds where I live.