Zuri’s spear, from the new blockbuster movie Black Panther, looks like one mean weapon. Thankfully the guys at Man at Arms are perfectly set up to build just about anything. It’s interesting to see that the spearhead isn’t just one big piece that gets cut and then shaped, but instead starts out as three bars that have to be straightened and then forge-welded together. Watching these guys at work is just awesome since they seem to have a tool for every purpose when it comes to making weapons, meaning that it doesn’t matter what shape the metal needs to take, they can do it. The metal they shape is glowing hot as they’re working on it and looks as though it bends and shapes like butter under the power hammer, but you can well-imagine that the pressure being delivered by that hammer is something that a human hand could just barely meet, if at all.
The central ridge to the spear is necessary so that the edges can be made razor thin and not force them to sacrifice the integrity of the spearhead. That’s extremely interesting to learn since I did not know that the central ridge was so important. Now it makes sense when you take a look at the general construction of a spear. Warping though seems like it could be a problem, but these guys are so good that the likelihood of it never even comes up. After dipping the forged blade into the oil they’re ready to let it cool slowly.
That brings them to the haft of the spear, which might seem like it would be difficult since the tang of the spear is so long. Carving channels into two separate boards however seems to do the trick, and grinding the boards eventually shapes the haft so that it can be given its distinct look and design. At this point the spear is looking awesome and can be seen as the beginnings of Zuri’s spear. I’m just blown away at this point at how good these guys are and the dedication to the craft they display. The detailing on the haft is just insanely intricate , and the design of the spearhead as it’s being cut to specs is nothing short of awesome. I’ve got to admit that I love watching these guys work. It almost makes me wish that I could go back in time and learn this process.
To think that one little slip would mean that they would have to do this all over is kind of hard to imagine, especially since you can easily believe that these guys would know how to problem solve just about anything at this point. But this work is so intricate and delicate that it has to be precise and on point that they have to know just what they’re doing. Obviously there’s no issue there since they’re on top of it and create a wonderfully crafted spear that looks awesome and is insanely deadly. Just imagine what it could do to a human body.
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