tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post8626055671819069473..comments2024-03-18T11:38:13.384-02:30Comments on Elfshot: What are the parts of a Toggling Harpoon?Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11473674521424237610noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-63409168738755689782009-11-18T20:48:28.259-03:302009-11-18T20:48:28.259-03:30Yeah, harpoons are still being used in the north, ...Yeah, harpoons are still being used in the north, although they tend to be made of tougher materials than antler and whalebone these days. A few years ago at the Folk Festival, an elderly Inuit man from Labrador picked up one of my Palaeoeskimo harpoons and he said I was on the right track, but he pointed out a few design improvements in the harpoon head and overall heft of the implement. All of the suggestions he made were changes that his Thule ancestors made in their harpoons over the earlier Paleoeskimo designs. <br /><br />If I can get the bugs worked out of my reproductions in the ballistics gel tests, I'd love to do some field trials with Inuit hunters who have experience with modern harpoons.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11473674521424237610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-42061086190785853322009-11-18T20:08:18.935-03:302009-11-18T20:08:18.935-03:30I think you need to head north to a community wher...I think you need to head north to a community where a person living a traditional native lifestyle with the appropriate hunting permits can take part in this experiment! There must be someone still using similar techniques?Janet Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07834233393973556294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-65370536178674898972009-11-18T16:24:37.563-03:302009-11-18T16:24:37.563-03:30Edit: I added a screen grab to the post of the mom...Edit: I added a screen grab to the post of the moment the harpoon head bound and the foreshaft broke. It shows the knot where it grabbed the raw hide skin a little more clearly than in the video.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11473674521424237610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-69486681425570687182009-11-18T15:57:27.680-03:302009-11-18T15:57:27.680-03:30If we could make a thick enough gel seal "bla...If we could make a thick enough gel seal "blanket", perhaps we could wrap up one of the nieces or nephew and put them in the pool. You'd have to make sure it was a REALLY thick blanket... I'm attached to all three kids.LoriWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450142685082437734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-36347448353111472992009-11-18T15:48:57.131-03:302009-11-18T15:48:57.131-03:30I think Lori is right about the seal being respons...I think Lori is right about the seal being responsible for the tension in the line. That will be a challenging thing to replicate in the experiments. I don't think the hunter jabs in and then out, I think he would have just stabbed once and the line would go taut when the seal immediately recoils from the shock of being harpooned.<br /><br />There was some resistance in the gel, but the endblade cut through that easily. The snag was definitely on the rawhide between the sinew knot and the skin. If I would have anticipated it, I might have been able to change the direction or angle of the harpoon thrust to avoid the contact.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11473674521424237610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-52231744225470850492009-11-18T15:32:58.440-03:302009-11-18T15:32:58.440-03:30I think the seal's own response to being harpo...I think the seal's own response to being harpooned (diving) would also determine the maximum depth of the harpoon head.<br /><br />Given the limited surface area of the gel seal shown above, and the restricted space of our kitchen, I don't think it was possible to use the appropriate force (and varied angle) that might be used if you were harpooning a life-size target in an open area. I hope you get the chance to harpoon a 1:1 gel seal target on your next R&D trial!LoriWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450142685082437734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5086026991280831425.post-2805089965843330982009-11-18T14:40:51.628-03:302009-11-18T14:40:51.628-03:30Great demonstration Tim!
From watching the video...Great demonstration Tim! <br /><br />From watching the video many times over - and frame by frame - I think the foreshaft broke because of how you stabbed at the target. From the direction of the thrust, and the flying foreshaft (toward the camera) after impact, it appears the foreshaft bent and ultimately snapped under the force of your thrust and the resistance of the gel. <br /><br />I'd propose that in order to avoid foreshaft breakage, that the harpoon needs to be used in a jabbing motion. As such, the more skilled Dorset seal hunters would know: (1) how much force to apply, and (2) when to pull out. <br /><br />I suspect that if you pulled out at maximum resistance you would have saved the foreshaft and left the harpoon head at maximum depth. In this regard, I don't think it necessarily was equipment failure, but rather, hunter error.John Erwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11557136521355806134noreply@blogger.com