Primitive Technology: Spear Thrower
A spear thrower is a simple tool that allows the user to throw a spear further than by hand alone. It is a small length of wood with a hook in the end that fits into a notch in the back of the spear. The extra power and distance gained by the thrower is due to the extra leverage it gives.
I cut a small branch with a minor branch coming off the side. I shaped the minor branch into a spur to fit into the end of the spear. The thrower was about 65 cm long.
For the spear, I cut a thin sapling approximately 2 m long and about 1.5 cm thick. I carved a cup in the end of the spear for the spur to fit into. Then I bound the back of the spear with bark fiber to prevent the wood from splitting. The head of the spear was simply charred in the fire and scrapped against a rock to sharpen it (during practice the head regularly breaks so only a sharpened tip is used to save work).
To use the spear thrower, the spur of the thrower is inserted into the cup of the spear. The spear and thrower are held at about shoulder height. The thrower is quickly flicked forward and the spear propelled towards the target. As the spear leaves the thrower it bends slightly storing energy until it jumps of the spur. During flight, the flexible spear wobbles and oscillates paradoxically giving the spear some stability in flight.
The throws in the video show what can be done in one afternoon of practice (my arm got sore and I wanted to start on other projects). I hit the target a few times at a distance 15 m. It is more powerful than a spear thrown by hand alone but is difficult to learn. The spear I made could have been a fraction lighter and so would have greater speed. Another improvement would be to add flights to the spear so it would be more accurate and fly straighter (like an atlatl).
The extra energy gained from a Woomera’s (Australian spear thrower) use has been calculated as 4 times that of compound bow (Wikipedia). It’s easy to make (this took less than a day) but requires lots of training to become accurate.
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tu esti român
ah yes…the Nahuatl word for this device is atlatl…
correct me if I’m wrong but I think these things are called atlatl
You’re videos are quite inspirational and awesome. Perhaps you should try to make a mud house (another primitive, but useful and beautiful creation of man). The desert peoples (i don’t know if this works in the jungle though… lol) would combine clay? or mud? sand and water to create a brick-like object. It would harden in the sun and then they would begin construction of a house, a mosque, a school, etc…
It would take some time, but I think this is a better long-term housing project for those of you who want to return to a natural way of life, or simply want to create your own basic survival house in the wild.
It is called a at ladle
this is a great example of: “Don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you can’t get it wrong.”
this contraption is named: atlatl
The Aztec called that an Atlatl
Muito bom! Esses vídeos me fascina. Parabéns.
Atlal.Aztec wepon
If you turn captions on he is talking to us.
this called an Atlatle (not sure if that is spelled correctly)
Super man
must there be a specific length of the atlatle to the spear?
try making a fidget spinner
and that my friends is called an atle atle lol
نته ادري منوين يا غابة و شنو نته ترجمتك عربي و شكرن ارجو الرد في أسرع وقت ممكن
i proud you you are the best bro your the best of all
Spear Thrower a.k.a. Atlatl
oloco
bella lancia
how he download vidio
he would be a good auxiliary spear thrower in the Roma era lol
This video remembers me like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nApQe0f8Zes&t=224s
no mms ese wey corta de un chingo de arboles jaja
Are you a cave man
aku baru ngeliat ajh langsung ngefans sma orangnyh
He is preparing himself for the war against gandhi
If you want a bit more power and speed take a step with your left foot while your arm is cocked back. Just like a Dan Henderson H Bomb.
This man is more patient then I’ll ever be in my lifetime combined
I m so glad to you are answering my comments. I find some others
https://youtu.be/ov7Ox7epcvw
https://youtu.be/0_gCmdgHYIs
https://youtu.be/eT3FVzXfWD0
https://youtu.be/xsGwYqDA86Q
I have never heard him speak on any of the videos he is truly a stoneage man
Spear thrower = Atalatal
i just want to see this shirtless guy on his natural habitat
are you a cavemen
Who is just watching because they have nothing else to do
3:30 LIKE A BOSS ))))