Suggestions Craft-able Spears, Improvised spears

[sabreking]

Since whenever i have imagined a zombie apocalypse the first thing i imagine myself doing is frantically searching for a broom and then using its handle to craft a spear.

 

Stabbing

Just like when the zombie gets close enough you can stab him with the knife to one hit kill. We should be able to one hit stab in the head with a spear from way further. Please add this

 

Advantages of spears in a zombie apocalypse

Longer range

Stabbing as well as blunt weapon

Can be thrown as a javelin

can be used for fishing

 

Way a spear can be crafted and improved (Suggestions are welcome)

Broom Handle/Plank/Baseball bat + Kitchen knife + Duct tape

Plank + Axe/Knife (For sharpening) = wooden spear

Wooden Spear + Fire source = Hardened Spear

Broom handle/ Plank + Candle stand + hammer(To break away the candle cups and sharpen the ends) = multi-pronged spear

Some other ways http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Spear

 

What do you guys think? i for one will be very happy if this is added

[Suomiboi]

This is a topic that's come up before and I think the general consensus was yes for stabbing spears and no for throwing. I think if you'd apply the same one hit kill as with knives it would be OP, so a no for that. I do like the hardened spear idea though. I've heard something about the coal stuff making the tip a bit harder and maybe even sharper. Someone with some real facts could verify that though.

 

I don't know how durable your multi-pronged spear would be. We're talking about penetrating the human skull or at least making a high enough impact to damage the brain. A spear isn't a good blunt weapon in terms of force so I'd scratch that.

 

I'm pretty sure that spears will happen at some point.

[CatGuitarist]

 

Need any more info in it?

 

For sharpened sticks as spears.. Might work. Probably.

[Gaffa Tape Warrior]

I'd like to add my thoughts.

 

Making a spear:

 

Tools for making a spear:

 

Percussive tools: Hammer, axe, stone, stick etc.

Cutting tools: Chisel + percussive tool, axe + percussive tool, shears, hacksaw, angle grinder, and more.

More ways of cutting: Hammering metal over a corner and bending it back and forth until it breaks. Drilling holes in a line and bending back and forth along the line.

 

You can fire harden the top of a wooden spear. I seem to remember that one thing it does is dry it out.

 

Some sources of metal: Refridgerators, metal railings, metal fences, spades, shovels, shears, scythes, sickles, knives, metal chair legs, metal table legs, corrugated iron, cars, metal staircases, and bare sheets of steel or aluminium.

You can cut them into the shapes of spearheads.

 

Some ways of making spearheads: Cutting them out of bigger pieces of metal, using knives, and getting a piece of iron red hot with a blowtorch or a forge and hammering it.

 

Ways of attaching spearheads to shafts:

Getting a knife blade with a tang, either by removing the handle from a knife or making one yourself, and putting it through a slit in the shaft and riveting it.

Wrapping the head around the shaft as a socket, like a spade, and riveting it.

You could also use glue and string or duckt tape.

It need not be a blade, a spike could also do.

 

 

The effectiveness of spears against zombies.

 

You would need to be skilled to stab a zombie through the face and into the brain, and so you could practice thrusting at a tree and a hanging tyre or a hanging plank, so that you are skilled enough to stab zombies through their eyes.

 

A flexible blade may bend on the thrust and be less effective, and also vibrate on the cut.

Poor quality metal may get twisted in the zombie.

These are affected by the length of the blade.

 

Thrusting through bone would likely get the spearhead stuck, and there may be a chance that the zombie falls over and pulls the spear out of your hands, or you over with it, depending on the geometry and material of the spearhead, and how strong you are, and stuff like that. So the spear may not be a weapon for quickly killing lots of zombies if you need to keep pulling it out of the zombie skulls made of still-wet bone, but it can kill zombies.

 

I expect it would be more effective than the knife, because with the knife your hand would be very likely to slip onto the blade in a long forwards underarm thrust, and possibly a bit likely with the short overarm reverse grip, and there is one hand on it, whereas with the spear there is more weight for the thrust, there is more reach, and there are two hands for pulling it out again, and you can bludgeon them with your long stick with metal on the end.