I wrote this for another forum a while back and in light of rich59's post regarding atl-atls at the moot thought it might be of interest: -
Whilst I have been aware of the atl-atl as a novelty for some time it has only been within the last few weeks that I come to learn of its potential in a survival situation. I have come at this tutorial from a survival perspective and have only use tools and materials that I would either be able to find in nature or have in my PSK. In the field the thrower and a single dart can be manufactured in under 10 minutes.
The Wikipedia definition of the atl-atl is: -
"An atlatl or spear-thrower is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in spear-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to transfer energy derived from muscular energy during the throw. It consists of a shaft with a handle on one end and a spur or cup on the other, against which the butt of the spear rests. The spear is thrown by the action of the upper arm and wrist in conjunction with a shift of balance of the body. An atlatl can readily cast a well made dart to ranges greater than 100 meters." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlatl This link also contains further information.
Various sources refer to the projectiles as spears and others use the term darts. I feel that dart is far more apt and will use this description throughout.
Believed to originate approximately 20,000 years ago the atl-atl would have been our Palaeolithic ancestors equivalent to a bolt action hunting rifle. In a recent competition I launched three reasonably accurate darts from a range of 20 meters at a target in under 15 seconds. At the same range my survival atl-atl and dart, both made of green hazel, penetrated a realistic hunting target which was a side of a pig with devastating results. Please note that the dart point was just sharpened in a childlike fashion - imagine what a head similar to a broad-head arrow could do: -
Part One - The Atl-Atl or Dart Launcher.
This is what the end result will look like: -
The next two pictures show how the carved spur locates into a cup that is drilled or carved into the fletched end of the dart: -
I selected a forked piece of hazel because the grain of the wood, as I'm sure you all know, at this point does not run straight - this gives the carved spur great strength and prevents it from snapping off on the first throw: -
The next stage is to cut the fork in two: -
This now gives me two potential atl-atls: -
Once this cut is made it is now time to cut the atl-atl for length. I am advised that the optimal length is from the tip of ones fingers to ones mid-bicep.
Now to look at how to shape the spur: -
Just to make things easier to see I have shaded the areas to be removed at this stage: -
And here is the launcher shaped before the spur is "under cut" and the top of the shaft reduced in thickness by approximately 20% to stop the dart fouling or becoming difficult to position on the spur:-
After: -
Now that the forming of the spur has been done without any problems it is time to remove any remains of shoots, twigs etc. Please note that I am using the knife beyond the reach of my knees so that is nearly impossible for me to cut myself: -
Once the lumps and bumps are taken off I can now remove the bark. I find the best tool for this job to be a piece of flint - it strips the bark faster than a knife and, in a survival situation, preserves the knife edge for more vital tasks: -
And here is the completed atl-atl, below in this picture: -
Part Two will demonstrate how to make a survival dart and how to launch it.
Best regards to you all,
Phil.
Whilst I have been aware of the atl-atl as a novelty for some time it has only been within the last few weeks that I come to learn of its potential in a survival situation. I have come at this tutorial from a survival perspective and have only use tools and materials that I would either be able to find in nature or have in my PSK. In the field the thrower and a single dart can be manufactured in under 10 minutes.
The Wikipedia definition of the atl-atl is: -
"An atlatl or spear-thrower is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in spear-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to transfer energy derived from muscular energy during the throw. It consists of a shaft with a handle on one end and a spur or cup on the other, against which the butt of the spear rests. The spear is thrown by the action of the upper arm and wrist in conjunction with a shift of balance of the body. An atlatl can readily cast a well made dart to ranges greater than 100 meters." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlatl This link also contains further information.
Various sources refer to the projectiles as spears and others use the term darts. I feel that dart is far more apt and will use this description throughout.
Believed to originate approximately 20,000 years ago the atl-atl would have been our Palaeolithic ancestors equivalent to a bolt action hunting rifle. In a recent competition I launched three reasonably accurate darts from a range of 20 meters at a target in under 15 seconds. At the same range my survival atl-atl and dart, both made of green hazel, penetrated a realistic hunting target which was a side of a pig with devastating results. Please note that the dart point was just sharpened in a childlike fashion - imagine what a head similar to a broad-head arrow could do: -
Part One - The Atl-Atl or Dart Launcher.
This is what the end result will look like: -
The next two pictures show how the carved spur locates into a cup that is drilled or carved into the fletched end of the dart: -
I selected a forked piece of hazel because the grain of the wood, as I'm sure you all know, at this point does not run straight - this gives the carved spur great strength and prevents it from snapping off on the first throw: -
The next stage is to cut the fork in two: -
This now gives me two potential atl-atls: -
Once this cut is made it is now time to cut the atl-atl for length. I am advised that the optimal length is from the tip of ones fingers to ones mid-bicep.
Now to look at how to shape the spur: -
Just to make things easier to see I have shaded the areas to be removed at this stage: -
And here is the launcher shaped before the spur is "under cut" and the top of the shaft reduced in thickness by approximately 20% to stop the dart fouling or becoming difficult to position on the spur:-
After: -
Now that the forming of the spur has been done without any problems it is time to remove any remains of shoots, twigs etc. Please note that I am using the knife beyond the reach of my knees so that is nearly impossible for me to cut myself: -
Once the lumps and bumps are taken off I can now remove the bark. I find the best tool for this job to be a piece of flint - it strips the bark faster than a knife and, in a survival situation, preserves the knife edge for more vital tasks: -
And here is the completed atl-atl, below in this picture: -
Part Two will demonstrate how to make a survival dart and how to launch it.
Best regards to you all,
Phil.
