I'm making up several boar spears and am looking for shafts for them.

Most boar spears seem to use ASH as the wood.

Anyone know the reason for this?

It is a hardwood. Does it have special characteristics of strength but also flexibility?

Strong, tough, flexible. That's also why they make baseball bats from ash. A second choice would be hickory ,as in axe handles !!

btt

quote:

Originally posted by Cowboy44:
btt

another btt

Also straight grained in quite long lengths and has shock absorbing properties.

quote:

Originally posted by mete:
Strong, tough, flexible. That's also why they make baseball bats from ash. A second choice would be hickory ,as in axe handles !!

Some Baseball bats are also made of Hickory.

It's somewhat more dense than Ash typically is, but somewhat more prone to splitting.

hickory as a bit more spring thus it's use in Axe and sledge hammer handles.

Personally tradition aside if I were expecting to have a boar on the far end of that shaft while I was hanging on to the near end I think I'd want a fiberglass shaft.

The suitability of a specific piece of wood
is always an unknown quantity until AFTER you've tested it... and if the learning curve to gian that particular knowledge is punctuated with Tusks and teeth and their angry owner
I'd rather have something STRONGER than wood.

AD

Looking through my industrial supply catalogues, I find a number of very strong fiberglass compositions in the form of rods in the diameters of interest. These are much stronger than any wood, but only in four foot lengths!

I did see some fiberglass shovel handles at, I think, Home Depot at a good price. Something like this might be just the ticket. Practically indestructible.

Good luck

RG

I remember helping my grandad cut ash for use as netstakes when he commercial fished. It was the preferred wood for that.

For a spear I'd try bamboo first.

The good fiberglass would be "pultruded" ,that is about 70 % glass fibers.