The Hobbit: Black Arrow replica

[iceman49bg]

Having a REALLY hard time finding ANYTHING on black arrow specs. If anyone has made any i certainly cant find it.

Here are some super quick and dirty screenshots to get the ball rolling.

As far as i can tell it looks entirely steel made save the fletching.

Any input would be appreciated

 

[Wreckhur]

I used a pair of calipers to measure the width of his hand in the pic and it was about .430" I am a large guy and putting my hand in the same position, I measured at just a little over 4". So I think if you used a 1:11 scale, your numbers appear to be correct in the far right pic (between 10"-12") where you showed 72" and then 82"-84". I know those aren't measurements like you wanted, however after searching for nearly two hours I think you are right that there is nothing out there. As far as the material used I would think they used something lightweight like aluminum, maybe plastic. However it has the appearance of forged iron or steel. I know this isn't much, but I hope it helps. Are you going to make one?

 

[N2darkness]

Great idea and I'd love to see one, but I think if you wait UC will make a replica of it for the next movie as it will be an important plot piece.

 

[iceman49bg]

Any input is great. I'm glad my initial numbers make sense. What do you think about diameter of the shaft?The actor who plays Bard is 6'0" and the shot of him with it at his side i'm assuming its resting on the dock so overall height seems correct. Yea i was very surprised to not find anything online. The all powerful google images procured zip. i even resorted to bing just to be sure. Definitely going to make some. I have access to a metal shop, welder, torch, anvil and would love to have it / a few done by the time the next movie comes out. the split / twisted arrowhead will be somewhat tricky, but theres only one way to find out.

 

[iceman49bg]

Yea i was looking at UC for my next hobbit/lotr weapon and as always i was thinking whats really cool and simple thats not being sold yet?... bingo, black arrow. very simple (except the fancy tip) and it seems nobody has even tried to make one yet. I figure once i dial in my technique I can have a bunch made by the time the next movie comes out and before UC has theirs made so they'll fetch a pretty penny if i decide to sell them. If not they will make a pretty awesome pot rack for the kitchen.

 

[Wreckhur]

I would say the main part of the shaft is under 1.25", most likely .75" or a little bigger, .90" maybe? If you are making some, I would think choosing a mild steel, heating it and hammering it out on an anvil would be the best way to go, especially for that look in the pics. But that's my 2 cents. Good luck with it, if you do build them. I am sure I would probably buy one for my wife.

 

[tk1055]

I am talking with a blacksmith friend of mine to see if he can build the tip for me.

 

[iceman49bg]

Cool. I probably dont stand a chance against a pro blacksmith. I'll keep posting screenshots under the main post for everyones reference.

 

[iceman49bg]

I modeled it in 3d and somewhere between .75 and .9 looks about right, good eye. It looks like tk1055 is working on it too so there goes my my monopoly :darnkids haha. hopefully i can beet him to market.

 

[Wreckhur]

I modeled it in 3d and somewhere between .75 and .9 looks about right, good eye. It looks like tk1055 is working on it too so there goes my my monopoly :darnkids haha. hopefully i can beet him to market.

Thanks, I'm used to people asking me to make something for them based off a screencap. I think you could do a pretty good job with a hammer, a torch and an anvil. And tk1055, looks like he's doing it just for personal use. Plus a blacksmith isn't gonna do it for very cheap. 7 feet of steel, yikes that would be spendy. Do you have somewhere to get the metal?

 

[iceman49bg]

7 ft of 'scrap' mild steel at my local steel yard would be pretty cheap actually. I'm also getting a quote from a local blacksmith to see how much it would cost to have it done as a price comparison.

 

[iceman49bg]

Plus a blacksmith isn't gonna do it for very cheap. 7 feet of steel, yikes that would be spendy.

well i keep forgetting people gotta make money - blacksmith just quoted me about 3x what i was expecting. i'll grab some steel this weekend and get a hammering

 

[Wreckhur]

Haha, yep. Money. Any kind of metal work is usually 3 times more expensive than most people think. That's why there are so few metal workers around, a lot of them can't pay the bills, because no one want's to spend the money.

Plus doing it yourself is a lot more fun. I don't know if you've done something like this before, if you have any questions I would be glad to help if I can. I'm really looking forward to seeing this.

 

[iceman49bg]

Plus doing it yourself is a lot more fun. I don't know if you've done something like this before, if you have any questions I would be glad to help if I can. I'm really looking forward to seeing this.

Havent dealt with hand smithing steel before on such a large scale before. But ive done a fair amount of MIG welding, plasma cutting, and general machining so it probably wont be such a daunting task. the only three things that needs forethought, as far as i can tell, is the concave triangular cross section of the separate arrow tip halves, the twisting of the two itself, and the prcoess of getting those two halves to meet in a flush manner to create the actual point of the arrow.

all managable, but all far from my core competencies. Any advice on any of the three?

i figure for the concave triangle bit i can get 2 sections of tool steel rod to hit the flat triangle into with something like a ball peen hammer.

for joining the two idk... never joined steel to steel without welding it. dont know the method needed to do it with just heat and force (google)

the twist i think can be done last, with minimal effort (but some trial and error) supposing i can hold it in the appropriate manner.

next step is a trip to the steel yard and grab some stock...

 

[tk1055]

Oh no, Mine will be for personal use, No way would I ask him to do a run of them...as he does a lot for the Civil War Reenactment community. However if he is interested in doing commissions on them I will let folks know.

 

[iceman49bg]

Oh no, Mine will be for personal use, No way would I ask him to do a run of them...as he does a lot for the Civil War Reenactment community. However if he is interested in doing commissions on them I will let folks know.

yea another price point for a full arrow would just be good to know. as i said the blacksmith i talked to quoted me about 2.5x what i was expecting.

 

[Wreckhur]

That's good news that you have experience with metalworking, we can skip a lot of stuff that way.

So the concave is usually done by heating the steel (duh) and pounding it while it rests on a rounded surface that fits the profile. So maybe securing a 3/4" rod to an anvil, then laying the flat stock on top and hammering it into the 3/4" bar. Putting more force on the outside of the material you are working will help shape it better. It appears that both sides have the concave profile, so hammering the outside edges, then flipping it and repeating should give you that effect.

Joining them is just like welding, get em hot enough and hammer them and they will weld together.

The twist you need to heat a small section at a time. With one end secured in an anvil or lathe maybe, grip the other end and apply sufficient force, before doing the next section, make sure to cool the previous one in water/oil, whatever you are using. Thinking more on this, if you have a lathe... You could make a clamping fixture for your tailstock and chuck up the other end, drop the rpm to 70 or lower, heat a section and bump the power. That would twist it really well!

What do you think of that?

 

[iceman49bg]

All god stuff Wreckhur!

I was thinking just that when it came to doing the bent tip halves. I've got access to a lathe and do plan on making use of it just like you suggested.

with any luck i'll have a prototype of the top done by next week. after i've got that down the rest will be quite easy.

 

[Wreckhur]

All god stuff Wreckhur!

I was thinking just that when it came to doing the bent tip halves. I've got access to a lathe and do plan on making use of it just like you suggested.

with any luck i'll have a prototype of the top done by next week. after i've got that down the rest will be quite easy.

Great minds think alike haha.

 

[iceman49bg]

Next question: What is the fletching???