tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post4275160993581534264..comments2024-03-18T11:38:13.384-02:30Comments on Elfshot: Building the Wapusk HarpoonTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11473674521424237610noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-48883234023185183612010-03-17T10:52:52.406-02:302010-03-17T10:52:52.406-02:30Kind of - it'll be easier to explain with phot...Kind of - it'll be easier to explain with photos, but I'll try it here. The line holes on Groswater harpoon heads are made by gouging holes from opposite sides of the harpoon head. On the dorsal surface the gouged slot is oriented up and down the length of the harpoon head (like the first view in the drawing above). On the ventral surface (with the open socket) the gouge cuts across the harpoon head from side to side and is often enlarged to form a kind of square hole (its round in the pre-Dorset artifact above). I thought the knot from the harpoon line would sit in that enlarged hole and the groove on the dorsal surface would help guide the line down the back of the harpoon head. Which isn't a problem on the Groswater harpoon heads, but on the pre-Dorset design it wouldn't work.<br /><br />If you put the line through the hole so that the knot sits in the round hole on the ventral surface, then the harpoon line blocks the barbs on the dorsal surface. You've effectively locked the harpoon head on the foreshaft - the line must have been threaded through in the opposite direction, with the knot sitting in the linear groove on the dorsal surface.<br /><br />Maybe there is something about the shape of that linear groove that would help understand how a knot could be strong enough to secure the line to the harpoon head. <br /><br />I'll explain that again with pictures in a future post.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11473674521424237610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-17104169614774585662010-03-17T10:35:25.749-02:302010-03-17T10:35:25.749-02:30"I'm reversing some ideas that I had abou..."I'm reversing some ideas that I had about Groswater harpoon heads after seeing how this style of harpoon would have fit together." <br /><br />Oooh, sounds interesting! Does this have anything to do with how the line attaches to the harpoon head? From your gelatin experiments i recall that you had said that the protruding knot was a hindrance - is this what you have figured out?John Erwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11557136521355806134noreply@blogger.com