Native Way G202

While the socketed trilobate arrowhead is the most common and preferred type for our period, Native Way's model G202 (their G200 looks very similar) belongs to a type attested from findings at Persepolis and is therefore an option for the Achaemenid reenactor.  I also happen to find it very cool-looking.

It's molded from an original and cast in a "lightly leaded" tin bronze which as you can see cleans up very nicely.  It is unfortunately cast rather thick and heavy at 12 grams, but filing and trimming the tang (above, I've cut the tang down by about a third) will help, and also let you define the mid-rib more clearly.  I've managed to get the one I've worked on down to around 9g and could go further.  Because the dust contains lead, I'm guessing your should avoid high-speed power sanding.

The best thing about these, along with being perfectly authentic, is they're very inexpensive as far as reproduction arrowheads go:  Rough-cast, they retail for $3 each, and for the U.S.-based reenactor, shipping costs are far lower than overseas options.  If you don't mind doing some of the work yourself, these are a great option for the reenactor on a budget.

Er...  Some of you may be wondering why I haven't done anything with XMFM's Facebook page since creating it back in April.  The reasons are twofold:  1) my browser is so out-of-date that using Facebook properly is next to impossible (and upgrading is out of the question, for technical reasons relating to a completely unwanted and unrequested ISP "upgrade"), and 2) even using another computer, I can't figure it out to save my life.

I'm not asking for help, just thought an explanation was in order.

An all-wood akinakes scabbard

The British Museum has some good-resolution profile shots of an akinakes scabbard showing an alternative method of construction.  It is made of just two pieces of tamarisk wood, mirror-image front and back halves.  The chape and throat are presumably also integral to these halves, although they seem to carved to represent separate pieces.  The shell-like carved throat would eliminate any need for clever methods of shaping to make it wide enough to cover the sword's guard.  An unidentified white paste was used to cover the scabbard in gold sheet, most of which is now gone.

This find does not contradict the existence of separate chapes, which are well-attested archaeologically.

Over the months it's become hard to deny that, although (as I've observed below) the variety of arrowheads acceptable for use is much wider than I initially thought, the acceptable options available on the market remain sadly limited and that the good replicas available are a bit pricey for new reenactors to buy by the dozen.

To rectify this situation, we might consider working with bronze casters to develop new products.  As a demo I've made a handful of wax prototypes based on illustrations from OIP 69.  It's easy.  The challenging part will be to make them accurate by finding and examining originals firsthand.  Since shipping and handling overseas increases costs, I'd further recommend that these ventures by carried out separately in whichever continents significant numbers of archers are interested.

L-R:  Socketed two-blade, tanged two-blade, socketed triangular and tanged three-blade.  Personally I like the tanged two-blade best, but that may be because it's by far the easiest to make in wax.  I imagine it would also be the easiest to cast.

As always, send feedback to xerxesmillion@yahoo.com.  Thanks for your interest.