Cold Steel Spear with Sheath, Assegai Long Shaft

This spear head really surprises me with it's durability. I thought I hated Sk 5 steel because my first experience with it was in the cold steel Gurkha Kukri-for the record Cold steel doesn't know the first thing about the Ghurka kukri as THEY AREN'T SUPPOSED TO ME MADE OF LIGHTWEIGHT METALS WITH LOW TENSILE STRENGTH. The San Mai is even worse, order yours from Nepal.- The Afghan kukri can be had on Amazon With expedited shipping for 100 bucks and the first thing I did with mine was make a u tube video cutting the san mai in half(-yeah I'm the limping gimp that got accused of building a look alike out of tin lol) this metal is excellent for the Natchez bowie-sk5 doesn't need a modified quench and it too soft to begin with for any blade that put all the weight and reulting force i cought on one small area-or o I thought. While cold steel doen't admit their mistakes but they do on occasion learn form them. This pear i a case in point. I'm 5'11 o this spear is too long for me, or o I thought. But the point ofbalance is aproximately two fifths the entire pear length from the tip which allow for much for much more control. A a result I can throw this at a plywood target from fifteen feet away and it invariably buries itself four fifth of an inch which support the shaft at a perfect 90 degree angle How ever the short shafted version i the one your want for throwing as my distance doubled when using that version, but this is a better boar spear or melee weapon. The shaft is of lesser quality then the boar spear- which I may buy, but I would immediately tak a cutting torch to remove the quills on the sides. That style of boar spear is for rich cowards with no honor. They aren't meant to kill with a single thrust because they don't have to. The people who have used those historically were royals and noblity that had a whole entourage: guides, beaters for flushing the boar out and two or three experienced assistants who generally finished the kill. I have kille 2 boars in my life both with spears that had bladed tips with similar dimensions to this one. I can't hunt them anymore because of a n accident that restricts my mobility but the last boar I killed was in in funerary of 98 on an island in the Bay area. I Patelled out there alone spent two days tracking and cornering a 500 pounder. My left knee bent my right leg from the knee down parallel to the spear I had a climbing spike on toe of myu right boat and a steel plate for thigh protection against which I rested the but of my spear Yes it was scary yes the charge and momentum did carry it a foot past the spear tip but I used my "spot weld" to keep my spear from being forced to an angle and either torn from my grasp or broken. Point is with a pear blade with wide no animal under a thousand pound is going to be able to force it's way down the shaft from it's neck till it it comes out it's hind quarters and still be a threat to you. If you really want a good value, buy the least expensive spear the comes with this tip through the shaft away and either craft your or get a woodworker-not one who specializes in making the north face equivalent of boar spear shafts, any masterful carpenter/ wood would worker will make you the same thing at a much lower price. In this way you can get a $1000 boar spear for around 150$.This spear is fine as is for throwing in the back yard. I have read reviews that complained both about the fact it doesn't mention you need a power drill to assemble and about the fact the the screws aren't Load bearing screws-which they arent. However you don't need a power drill or screws to assemble this in a way that gives it maximum structural integrity end to end. put the tip in the scabbard put that on the end of the shaft tap the tip on a hard surface-fireplace bricks work fine- tap twice the remove the cover and stab a piece of soft green wood-not too hard-with thrusts toward your 6 o clock, withing a day or two the spear will swell until the tip cannot be removed with a vice a clamp and a hydraulic jack. No I didn't treat this spear or use any kind of a seal. But at this price I only expect the shaft to last about a year- at which point I will shatter the shaft and use the tip two make a much better overall spear. you can seal the shaft and it'll last longer but this is not the wood you want for a serious spear regardless.

Sharp, scary, be careful. This fits right into this stick I have which turns this into 8 ft. spear. I was surrounded by lions on our Sahara trip. This came in handy. Even the lions and other animals are stronger, etc. they will bag-back when they see a sharp spear in their face. Life-saver. Light, easy to maneuver

As mentioned several times the screws that pin the handle in place are cheap/weak/strip easily/etc and I should get around to putting better ones in someday.The reason it is not a big deal is that with the handle properly tamped into the spear head the screws are not really doing very much so it is not a big deal.Maybe I was lucky, but I was able to tamp the butt end of the spear on concrete and seat the spear head very tightly onto the shaft with no sanding or other work. I did scorch the shaft/handle with a propane torch to bring out the wood grain and give it several coats of a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and turpentine. I find this gives a nice looking finish, but also one that blends in well in the woods. (Natural camouflage?)I could have sanded the shaft at this point, but I find my boar spear a little too smooth for optimum grip once I sanded it a bit after scorching.The head came pretty sharp as expected and is even sharper now that I touched it up with my diamond stone. The sheath fits well and is even better now that I took the edges off of the shaft where it comes through the head. I rounded over both edges of the handle where it is wedge shaped so that it does not hit the sheath allowing it to seat easier and more importantly it makes it easier to remove the sheath from the spear.Speaking of removing the sheath this is probably the most dangerous time since you will run yourself into the sharp edge trying to pull the sheath off once it pops free unless you are paying strict attention. To take that possibility totally off of the table I tied a loop of para cord on the end of the sheath which allows you to easily pull the sheath off with no parts of you body near a sharp edge.Since I worked it over with a torch and put several coats of oil on it I probably spent 20-30 minutes prepping and putting this spear together. I will continue with the oil coats until the wood stops soaking it up and I will likely put a cane tip on the butt end of the spear so I can use it as a walking stick if I want and so that the spear will not slide on my wood floor once I stand it up in the corner of the room. (Boar spear did that a time or two!)I would buy this again and have even thought about getting the short shaft one to try at some point.SRC

Spear arrived sharp and in perfect condition. As someone stated in another review, the back side of the blade is different from the front in that the front part of the blade has a center ridge running the length of the blade, whereas the back side is indented which allowed the raised ridge on the front side. Structurally there appears to be enough of a completely closed ring on the area mounted to the shaft to secure the spear blade but I would have prefered a symetrical blade so the end of the wooden shaft would be concealed. The shaft is sturdy but has a rounded end that makes it look like a shovel handle. A quick saw job will remedy that. The shaft comes unvarnished but that allows you to choose a color you prefer and apply. The two aluminum screws that come with it to secure the head to the shaft are too short and soft and I recommend replacing them with stainless steel and slightly longer screws. Because of these three issues I rated this as a four. Structuraly, it is a heavy, well made spear, fully funtional and will look good on your wall.Neverhome