[Bill Duncan]

Well (and yes that is a mighty deep subject) I finally did a little test cutting as well as thrusts with the MRL hewing spear that we picked up a couple of weeks ago and I have to say that I am happy so far.
The head is mounted on a six-foot wax-wood staff witch brings the whole thing in at seven foot six (glad Mom liked tall men) now while the wax-wood is not something you would have found in 15th century Europe I like it!
The first test was done on a piece of cardboard folded several times and about two to two and some half inches thick and on this was done a simple thrust, simple being the operative word. Now the lance was unsharpened and it went right through with just a medium hard thrust, the tip is like a needle and not something that I would like pointed at me. Next came the ever popular 1/4 inch plywood, this was a bit tougher that the cardboard but with a full on shot I was able to pop it out the other side a bit but not much, I think the width of the head has more to do with this than anything else but further testing may show this to be wrong. One thing I did notice was the flex in this blade was pretty extensive which kinda worried me at first but after checking with a straight edge my fears were put to rest.
Now since this thing is called a hewing spear onto the cutting. First I had to get a little come-upance on that durn plywood so it was on the block first. Holding the shaft at about mid way with my left and my right quite a bit lower giving me a nice wide grip on the lance then bringing it straight down into the wood wear it buried its self about 2 ½ too 3 inches in the board, the next were done cranking back a bit farther and the result was a much deeper cut. If this blade were to go up against a wood shield I believe it would do a hell of a lot of damage
Next was the milk jug. Since Doc was in the house with the baby after a long day at the hospital I thought just one jug would suffice and boy did it. After a few passes with the file and a few more with the stone a fairly keen edge was put on the lance head and the cut was tried much to my surprise it went very clean, the reason for the surprise was that several folks here have stated how difficult it can be to cut with a round handled weapon and while it is true with a sword a lance used with gloves do very well, two cuts were made and both went just as fine as paint.
To sum this up if you are looking for a nice lance that wont cost a fortune and will hold up to some rough usage this is one you would want to look in to. Nice clean line to it and a nice bit if heft when handling. I plan on seeing what it will do to tatamie mats later this summer will post more then. As well as the next cutting party I would like to get another and do a destructive test on a 55 gallon drum or old fridge and on that I promise to post results and pic’s!
Dunc

[Bill Duncan]

just a few more

[Jean Thibodeau]

" IMPRESSIVE YOUNG SKYWALKER " ......... I mean Bill.

Oh, no something else to buy ! Well at least it is affordable.

Good, more spears and polearms.

[G. Scott H.]

Many thanks for the update, Dunc. Indeed, Windlass blades are veeeerry flexible (when they say "spring" temper, they aren't kidding ), but they seem to be tough as all get out, at least in my experience. While not desirable in a long thrusting blade, it sounds like no big deal on your spearhead (nor do I consider it a liability in my Windlass cutting swords). Waxwood is supposed to be very tough and flexible too, so you probably have a virtually unbreakable spear there. Nice pics too, though I'm afraid I'm gonna have to report you to the SPCPJ (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Plastic Jugs)

[Bill Duncan]

I posted this at SFI thought it might do well here as well.
Cheers Dunc


Thank you all for the kind and encouraging words! This spear is just right for what I wanted and am very happy with it. To address some of your questions as well a comment here goes,
Bob Jenks.
Yes I had thought of the cold steel Assegai for a while but it did not fit with the time line I follow in my collecting but is one tough spear! A friend back in Kerrville Texas has one and has taken at least one feral hog with it. I would love to do a side by side test with these two.
Brian James.
While wax-wood does flex very easily, it is not all that bad. Doing some dry moves in the back yard I was able to do some rather nice staff (JMA) style moves without the tip going wild and when I did a few more thrusts at the cardboard target I was getting quite good at hitting the target where I wanted to. As to the fit....well it’s not as flush as it may seem, the shaft is a tooth pick type which means it is thicker in the middle than on the ends and the end that the head sits in, while thin, was too thick at the tip to set the head very deep so I took a rasp and made a more acute point which worked just fine for that but the id of the head was too large for the shaft so I took it off and used a leather wrap to fill in the space then drove the nail that I use as a pin through and peened it over and there it sets. Wax-wood is great stuff but it can be hard to find what you need sometimes, most of the WW staffs I have seen are basically saplings that have been cut, peeled and sold off as soon as they are ready which could work for you if you have the time, tools, and inclination to take one and shave it down to a size that will work for you, granted a bit of work but it could be well worth it. As far as the di of the socket I have no idea when I do go back to MRL I will find out and email you. And yeah I think it’s kick arse too! *g*
G van Loo.
Sound like a plan any addition to the socket will give the head a bit more leverage against the shaft and keep it from making tooth picks. Would love to see the finished product.
One thing I feel I should point out is the fact that earlier I said that the flex on the blade was pretty big I should say that the thrust that I did I put what I call a full on shot which means putting most of my two hundred pounds behind the thrust so yeah it did flex pretty good but I was not being too clear, the flex was about two to three inches out of normal but it went right back to true.
Dunc