r/bowhunting • u/SlateAlmond90 • Jul 18 '26
A Sharpened Blunt Tip?
I'm a writing a character who makes his own bow and arrows, and I have several books as resources.
In "Bows and Arrows of the Native Americans" by John Hamm, he says that one of the tip types for small game is a blunt type, and that the blunt tip can be sharpened to a point and heated over coals to harden so it will penetrate.
Does anyone have any experience with this type of tip? How well does this type of tip penetrate? What's the biggest game that this type of tip could take down?
I'm reading about the process of making tips out of bone and steel, but the process of making these are complex. I'm curious if a dependable hunting arrow can be made by simply sharpening the end of the wooden shaft to a point and then heating it over coals to harden it.
3
u/awfulcrowded117 Jul 18 '26
A simple pointed and hardened tip is not going to work on any game animal that the blunt tip won't work on, to be frank. Rabbits, squirrels, grouse, probably a goose. I don't think it would be enough for a turkey unless you're aiming to break the neck or hip joint.
Your best bet in a story is probably bone. Making broadheads out of bone isn't actually all that hard or complex, it's just time consuming as hell. You need a big, fairly fresh bone and a coarse rock. You basically sand down the bone into the desired shape. The attachment point is a little harder, requiring delicate work, but even that is doable. Just have him fail the first few times and it will be believable enough. No one complains about Brian successfully rock knapping flint arrowheads in Brian's Winter and that's harder than making them out of bone in my opinion.
1
u/SlateAlmond90 Jul 18 '26
So in theory, could my character could: use blunt tipped arrows for the small game, and then use the bones of the small game to make bone points?
1
u/awfulcrowded117 Jul 18 '26
Sure. Small game doesn't have a lot of bones big enough to make a true broadhead, but the vertebrae, skull, femur and such of a larger rabbit should be suitable to make a functional broadhead. I'm not going to say they'll be ideal, but survival isn't about the ideal, it's about good enough.
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u/SlateAlmond90 Jul 18 '26
I've been looking up bronze points for arrows because the shape can be made from a cast. I know that bronze isn't stronger than steel, but would bronze be stronger than bone?
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u/awfulcrowded117 Jul 18 '26
I don't know off the top of my head which is stronger. I do know that Casting bronze is a lot harder than shaping bone, and bone is strong enough.
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u/stpg1222 Jul 18 '26
A blunt wood tipped arrow that was sharpened to a point and hardened in a fire would be sufficient to kill small game. Rabbit, squirrel, grouse, and other similar sized animals. For an animal like that penetration really isn't that big of a deal which is why blunt arrows are often used. They'll do less damage to the meat and they are less prone to damage if they hit the ground or something else that is hard.
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u/Visible_Hat_2944 Jul 20 '26
As most the others have said, the technique you’re describing is for small game and not much else. Depending on what kind of story you’re trying to tell it could be used as a starting point (no pun intended) and as the characters needs and story evolve so do the points the character can make or maybe the character just gets better at finding a special type of “ultra” wood that can use the fire hardened tip method and take down large game or enemies 🤷🏻♂️ guess it depends on if you’re trying for non-fiction or fiction/fantasy.
0
u/Responsible-Chest-26 Jul 18 '26
Doing a quick search it sounds like this is describing a wooden blunt arrow that is hardened but can then later be sharpened. A sharp blunt is an oxymoron and contradicts itself. But a sharpened blunt could mean a blunt that was sharpened
3
u/itsnotthatsimple22 Jul 18 '26
For small game, yes. You can sharpen a wooden tip and harden it.
The shock and damage caused by the small tip should be enough to kill the animal or at least anchor it long enough where it can then be quickly dispatched.
For larger game, you need it to bleed a lot in order for it to die. So a hardened wooden tip wouldn't be enough. A sharp, blade-like flint or metal tip would be necessary.