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Arrowhead: The armor-piercing bodkin point

This is the style of arrowhead that helped bring victory to the English at battles like Poitiers, Crecy, and Agincourt. A good solid hit with a head of this style will pierce plate armor.

One of the shoots often done in the SCA is the "Advancing Man Shoot". In it there are a number of man-sized targets depicting armored warriors running at you. At one point I looked at the drawings on the targets and I looked at the modern target points I was shooting and thought, "These things would just annoy that guy. I don't want him annoyed, I want him lying down. Out there." So I started trying to make arrows that would do just that: make a man in plate armor lie down. It took me many tries over about two years to get the process and techniques down. This is a design that works both for piercing plate and for target archery.We will make a classic medieval bodkin point or two, maybe three.
The techniques are flattening, curling, cutting on the hardy, and drawing out. There will be a strong focus on hammer control, symmetry in the work, and working in very thin sections.

There will be a discussion and demo of techniques for weighting and mounting the heads for target archery use.

Gift Certificates for Arrowhead: The armor-piercing bodkin point are available.

3.5 hours one meeting    dates&times

Instructor: Carl West
Fee: $140 per student
Class size is limited to 4 students (one per forge).

Prerequisite:

Required: A rapid Covid test that day.
Yes, really, we're still asking for it in 2024.
It's still out there, and no fun at all.

"A Taste of Blacksmithing" or equivalent hammerskill expected.

Please wear proper clothing for visiting or working in the forge:
closed toe shoes (preferably leather, preferably high-topped. Sneakers are sufficient, sandals, crocs, pumps, mules... are not), natural fiber clothing, long pants that cover the tops of the shoes.
Click here for more safety information.


Dates and Times:
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