Arrowsmith Jaroslaw Belza


	Introduction Blacksmithing is my passion. I specialize in forged arrowheads as my profession. I forge a lot of types of arowheads, most of them are from Medieval Europe. I always try to make arrowheads as close to originals as possible. A piece of history and technical datas Arrowheads presented on my web page are exclusively forged heads. Most of them were widely produced and used in Medieval Europe. Blacksmiths of the time were real professionals, as far as this little piece of forged art is concerned. Great variety of arrowheads was invented, as there were many purposes for which they were used. Forging arrowheads is not as easy job as one would think. An arrowhead is an item of small and fragile structure, especially when heated to a high temperature. . Such a small object looses its temperature extremely fast and this forces me to hurry when forging it. I need to warm it several times before I finish. While forging, the strikes of my hammer have to be precise and fast. The easiest types may be manufactured with the basic blacksmith's equipment. But there are also many that require technical tools. In the Middle Ages the arrowsmiths used charcoal for heating metal. I have carried out a lot of experiments testings heating materials and I found that what suits me best is pit-mined coal. It has to be of very good quality and its grains have to be of a proper size. It gives high temperature and has few impurities. In Medieval times there were many individual blacksmiths who specialized in arrowheads, but there were also workshops where arrowheads were forged for the needs of the army. The arrowheads were manufactured in enormous quantities, packed into barrels filled with wheat bran and transported to royal armouries. The arrowheads have different properties depending on the shape and the purpose of use. Generally Middle Age arrowheads may be divided into two basic types: 1) BODKIN - any kinds of spikes, 2) BROADHEADS - different variations of flat arrowheads including barbed heads. BODKIN HEADS TYPE 7 BODKIN - forged in different lenghts. Not suitable for penetration of brass. It could successfully penetrate chainmail. TYPE 8 BODKIN - a shorter variation of the previous one. If made out of good quality steel, it could withstand an impact into armour. TYPE 9 BODKIN - even shorter than the above two. Very resistant to powerful hits. WAR BODKIN - a heavy arrowhead constructed for brass penetration. It used to have two different blade section : square or diamond. TYPE 20 BODKIN - its purpose was simmilar to war bodkin. CONICAL BODKIN - it is an battle arrowhead with roman origin, his weight is similar to TYPE 8. TYPE 5 - these was used as a target head. BROADHEADS TYPE 1, 3, 4 BROADHEADS - these arrowheads were used in the Middle Ages for hunting. They could also be used in battle. The type 1 has a thicker core than the other two. TYPE 13, 14, 15, 16 BROADHEADS - these are so called barbed heads. What is characteristic for these arrowheads is that they have a wide cutting edge. They are perfect for hunting big animals. The wider the cutting edge, the bigger animal could be killed. Type 13 and 16 culd also be used on battle field. There were also some special arrowheads for example CAGE FIRE- used to carry fire or FORKED HEAD, which purpose is not exactly known. It is believed to had been used to make painful wounds to horses during battle. The other theory is that it was used for hunting or that the Miedieval hunters used it to kill birds. The other group of arrowheads used in the Middle Ages are TANGED HEADS. The tang and blade were forged of one piece of steel. The tang was put into the shaft of arrow. The blades of those arrowheads have different shapes depending on their purpose. The purposes of each shape were simmilar to the arrowheads with sockets. The arrowheads with sockets were more commonly used in Medieval Western Europe than tanged heads. The other group are BOLTHEADS. These have different types of square or diamond blades. Their size varies depending on the draw weight of crossbow to which they were used. There are also other, custom made arrowheads I forge which are not presented on the web page.
Jaroslaw Belza