Phase 01 — First days: water, fire, shelter / About year 1
01.18
Pronged fish spear
for shallows and the fish trap
AWhat it needs
Needs 7 other products in all, 2 of them directly.
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- 01.18 Pronged fish spearFood Year 1 needs 7 products
- 01.05 Twisted plant-fibre cordMaking Year 1 needs 2 products
- 01.03 Sharp stone flakeMaking Year 1 needs 1 product
- 01.02 HammerstoneMaking Year 1 raw materials only
- 01.15 Fire-hardened spear ⚠Making Year 1 needs 6 products
- 01.03 Sharp stone flakeshown above ↑← shown at left
- 01.08 First fire and stone hearthMaking Year 1 needs 5 products
- 01.06 Tinder and kindling storeMaking Year 1 raw materials only
- 01.07 Bow-drill fire setMaking Year 1 needs 3 products
Open a box to see what it needs. A dashed box is a product already drawn in full: click it to jump there. In the org chart, drag to move around.
BWhy
A single point slides off a wet fish. Four springy points spread like fingers pin it from several sides at once, and forgive a poor aim.
CYou need
DSteps
- Bind the shaft tightly with cord, ten turns, a hand-span and a half from the thick end. This stops the splits running too far.
- Split the end down to the binding: press a flake into the end grain and rock it, then work the split down by twisting. Make a second split across the first, so the end is in four.
- Push one twig crosswise into the first split, right down against the binding. Push the second twig into the other split, on top of the first. The four prongs spread apart.
- Bind over the twigs so they cannot fall out.
- Shave each prong to a point on its inner side, so the four tips lean slightly outward.
- Cut one small notch on the inside of each prong, a thumb-width back from the tip, slanting backward, as a barb.
- Dry and harden the tips over the coals, turning them, until golden brown. Sharpen them again on a rough rock.
- To use: wade in slowly with the sun in front of you, so your shadow falls behind. Hold the tips just under the surface and wait.
- Water bends the light, so the fish looks higher than it is. Aim below it.
- Strike straight down and pin the fish to the bottom. Hold it there and take it with the other hand. Do not lift it out on the prongs.
EIt worked if
- The four tips sit about three fingers apart and spring back when squeezed together.
- A pinned fish stays pinned while you reach for it.
FWhat goes wrong
- A prong snaps off. The split wandered, or the wood was dry. Use green wood and keep the splits in the middle.
- The fish slips off. It was lifted. Pin it and grab it.
- Every strike misses high. The bending of light. Aim a hand lower than seems right.
- The splits run up the shaft. The binding is loose. Re-bind it wet and let the cord dry tight.
GIn the story
Tane makes his in the time it takes the others to finish eating, and stands in the shallows like a heron. Kofi, who has never fished in his life, misses eleven times, and Tane counts them out loud for the whole beach to hear.
HFigures
