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Shape and size seem to fit. They look awfull, though, being of cast iron. Most likely MUCH too thick, too.
If I must chose between those three, I would presume maple to make the best shaft. Ash (or hickory) to be prefered. Look in the DIY store in the gardensection for a good long rakehandle. Fine for shaping into a javelin.
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I e-mailed Wilkie Collins (the one from Native Way, not the dead playwright) and he believes they're actually cast steel. Three inches is the total length. He says they are a bit thicker than the originals and the socket cavity is "a little smaller than ideal."
I have a couple of their bronze arrowheads and I know the bronze can easily be filed down to reduce weight. Not so sure about the steel.
The reason I ask about those three woods is because I'm looking for javelin shafts of well under an inch/25mm in thickness for ease of carrying several, and birch, poplar and maple seem to be the most common offerings in the sizes I'm looking for. Ash seems to be common in larger and smaller dowels. I'm looking online because the garden and hardware stores where I live have very limited selections.
Dan D'Silva
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I ride the winds of fate
Prepared to go where my heart belongs,
Back to the past again.
-- Gamma Ray
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To pick myself up from under this table...
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Cast steel is less bad, it does not have that christaline structure, so it is easier to reforge. You may have a chore drilling out that socket, though. The size is OK, many spearheads of that period are pretty small compared to the later times. Casting does make for clunky, unless vacume casting is done, so it is no wonder the walls are way thicker then in the originals.
Like I said, maple is the best of the three. Poplar comes second, birch .... ah well, wouldn't use it for a broomstick. Maple is the tougher wood and is used for furnature, but poplar is light and henche was used for making arrows in Medieval times. The wooden shoes of the old Dutch farmer are made out of poplar. Dying out fast, though.
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Dan, it seems you can have them cast in bronze too, according to their site, in the same price. It would be much more accurate too.
Khaire
Giannis
Giannis K. Hoplite
a.k.a.:Giannis Kadoglou
a.k.a.:Thorax