Basketmaker II

Here’s another 3 piece takedown atlatl dart, this time made from natural materials rather than dowels/plastic. It’s similar in concept to the 3 piece takedowns of the archaic Great Basin, but laid out differently. The use of composite sections (Reed/wood) allows quick and easy construction from very small sections of wood and cane.

A video about proper form in atlatlry. Obviously different situations lead to variations (As in how far the body must be stooped etc) but this should give a fair overview to the beginner.

Answering a question about what woods to use for atlatls (Really, you can use just about any wood!) and how to perform heat-bending on an atlatl. The technique demonstrated is the simplest-using an open heat source. Generally this works well-it does lead to some discoloration of the wood if you let it, but that should sand off easily if you don’t totally char it.

A video I made a couple of years ago about how to attach traditional atlatl weights which lack a mounting groove.

A little instructional video I made abut 2 years ago about balancing finicky truncated handled atlatls. Apologies for the sound quality, it jumps around in volume a bit. I hope this is helpful to anyone wanting to delve into these types of traditional atlatls.

Won’t you join me as I address the idea that atlatl darts function as energy storage devices, pushing themselves away from atlatls at high speeds?

A little off-the-cuff discussion video. Lots of archeologic atlatls have an upward curvature. The distal end of the ventral surface is often elevated relative to the proximal end. (The spur end is higher than the handle end). Why? Pretty simple, really, and (spoiler) it’s not to make the atlatl work as a spring. Apologies if this info is way too basic for everyone, but it is a question that comes up kind of a lot, so I thought it worth discussing.