Making a Lance

I have a supply of 1080 steel on hand to make points for a variety of bladed items. I like to use 1080 because it tends to be rather inexpensive, easy to work, and heat treats easily. As usual I heat the piece to the Austenite region and then for this steel, a water quench. I follow up with a low temperature (200 C) tempering cycle to stress relieve the steel while still maintaining a reasonably hardened piece. My most recent build was a lance.

I decided on a hybrid form of a Lakota War Lance, and a Zulu Assegai. The total length of the piece including the point is just short of 6 feet. It can be thrown or used from horseback to spear game. A picture of the blade joined to the shaft is shown. I only finished the point to a 320 grit as it will become scratched with use. For a darkened blade you could use a 3-5% Nital etch.

The shaft started out as a 60" ash gardening implement shaft. The point is approximately 10" long with a hidden tang of 7." It was made with 2" by 1/4" thick stock The shaft was drilled to depth and then filled with epoxy. To further secure the point the tang is pinned with dowels. The shaft is then tightly wrapped in wet leather to at least half way down the tang. A photo of the completed lance, minus final hand grip wraps, is shown in the next photo. A 48" drywall square is shown in the photo for scale.