The Gun Counter

blackeagle603 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 29, 2022 3:17 pm bamboo? thinking of material with that gives a bit more? Sharp impacts and brittle fractures seem to be the issue. Go for some elasticity?

just spitballing on first cup of coffee.

I tried that with a piece of bamboo flooring, using it as the core, but it was a poor outcome. Maybe doing bamboo plywood laminated would work. May try that too.

here are some images of what I have built recently. Version 3 haft

White oak and Hickory, I think. Two hard woods alternated with titebond 3 in between.
Cut to an elongated octagon shape to help with hand feel.
The leather epoxied on acts as a safety feature. Very unlikely that even if you cut through the leather on the front, the rear leather will also get cut / sheer. This keeps the head from flying across the room.

What I don't show is the 2mm jute wrap that covers the leather to make it look more period, to help reduce / distribute point stress. I also put some of that on the grip area. It is glued on the side but left pliable on the impact edge.

So… was it just better grades of wood in the period, or were they using laminated like the Mongolians did for bows?

You might need an exterior layer to absorb impact - I think it was common for weapons to be wrapped with layers of green rawhide and horn.

Any way to get a non-Newtonian fluid layer under the wrap?

BDK wrote: ↑Thu Nov 03, 2022 10:13 pm Any way to get a non-Newtonian fluid layer under the wrap?

Oooh, oooh Mr Kotter! Call it the Big Hunk

BDK wrote: ↑Thu Nov 03, 2022 10:12 pm So… was it just better grades of wood in the period, or were they using laminated like the Mongolians did for bows?

You might need an exterior layer to absorb impact - I think it was common for weapons to be wrapped with layers of green rawhide and horn.

They had old growth wood which by definition is stronger.
To the best of my knowledge, no one in antiquity did lamination for hafts. Their glues tended to not be waterproof, so that would have been a big issue for them.

The leather strip and the cordage act as an impact absorber. Some people put langets on them. Those are thin steel sheets running down the face of the shaft, but they don't seem to work very well at stopping the wood from shattering. They do tend to keep the head from flying far.

So, this looks useful, but expensive.

https://brill.com/display/title/11848?language=en

More, thinner layers with a thin weave of fiberglass or carbon fiber embedded in each glue layer might help.

BDK wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:31 pm So, this looks useful, but expensive.

https://brill.com/display/title/11848?language=en

Maybe once this business is a going thing. Then it is a tax write off.

Cobar wrote: ↑Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:36 pm More, thinner layers with a thin weave of fiberglass or carbon fiber embedded in each glue layer might help.

Are you saying take a thin sheet of premade (commercially) fiberglass and put between each layer or MAKE fiberglass with fiberglass mesh and the glue between each layer of wood.

I hadn't thought of the second idea. May try that.