Hello, I am solobo's Little brother. I just made a blowgun and the hole is about 1 and 1 half centameters in diameter. I made it out of a piece of bamboo about 37 inches long. I was wondering if any of you guys knew how to make darts for my blowgun. Thanks!

this link is great for illustrating the preoccess for making darts:

http://www.geocities.com/blowgunhunter/

instead of using dowels, one may try
-bamboo skewers, a little on the light side, but still pretty effective
-bike spokes, if you can find them, you can sharpen the tips on a file, or pound them out into spear tips
-for "stun darts" you can stick a toothpic into a cotton ball, and glue them in or tie them on with some thread
-i have read an account where some people used clay or play dough plugs for a nighttime hunt of eachother

you don't need to soak the cones in super glue, either, you can just tape them on with scotch tape or clear packing tape.  this is what i do, as i act as though i will only be using my basic darts once or twice, and then possibly losing them during a hunt.  for my hunting darts, i do the super glue soaky thingie, and tie a bit of red yarn around the shaft to make them easier to locate, and so i can easily identify wich kind of dart i am taking from my quiver(a papertowel tube with a bit of a cereal box taped to the bottom).  exacto blades can get pricy, so what i do sometimes is get little picture hanging nails that are laying around and pound them out, then sharpen them with a file.

;) You don't need that expensive blade for broadheads. Just snap a section of an ordinary blade cutter half to a diamond shape. ;)

ah ha!  what a good idea!  as  i understand it, you mean the blades that come in "utility knives", that snap off to reveal a fresh, sharper section of blade.  that is genius!  i never though of using those far less expensive, but just as good blades for this purpose.

well either way, i previously only used blades that were too dull for real use anymore, but those could still easily tear through flesh.  from now on, i will use this method.

wrote on Apr 23^rd, 2006 at 12:21am:

ah ha!  what a good idea!  as  i understand it, you mean the blades that come in "utility knives", that snap off to reveal a fresh, sharper section of blade.  that is genius!  i never though of using those far less expensive, but just as good blades for this purpose

Are the types that just snap off large enough though? A more traditional 'box cutter' blade would probably be perfect...

Also, wouldn't those blades be in the shape of a parallelogram (shown below):

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 /                                                                                                                           /
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So wouldn't you have to somehow cut them or saw them or break them diagonally to get two triangular dart tips?

http://www.polar-electric.com/Blowgun/Darts/BroadheadMake.html

That's it! ;D Another good website on blowgun darts. ;D

You can also snap off a little bit off its back so that it will fit more securely on your bamboo/wooden shaft. And the head doesn't need to be beautiful. ;D

But what I worry is that it may scratch the pipe inside, especially those made of PVC.

Altay, I'm fairly sure that you could just snap them with pliers... no saws necesary.

The best dart site,

http://www.geezers-corner.com/GeezersCorner/Universityx.html
And your blowgun sounds a bit small

Bookmark!!!!! :o ;D

I just take a bamboo skewer cut it to the right lenght, and rough the blunt end using some sandpaper so it will catch the cotton ball better. I take the cotton ball, unroll it, and then wind the cotton strip around the end of the skewer until it meets the diametre of the blowgun bore I'm using. I sometimes clip the sharp end off the point and use very small obsidian flakes to make arrowheads which I attack to a slit in the end of the dart. I once blew a dart through both sides of a one gallon plastic milk jug with my first obsidian dart head. Other times, for target darts, I just clip the sharp point of the skewer that is too thin to be usefull and put my own blunter, but stronger tip on there by using fine grain sandpaper.
So, the walkthrough is.
1. Cut skewer to right length (about 10" or 25 cm)
2. Roughen end of skewer (blunt end)
3. Unroll a cotton ball and wind the wider cotton strip onto the rough end of the skewer to meet the diametre of the gun bore. Be sure to compress it slightly to make it more durable.
4. Clip the point and make it stronger and then, Fire Away!
Oh yes, and wire coat hanger sections also make terrific darts and hold a point very well!

Hello.
I use PVC pipes ( 16mm and 20mm. 16mm is put inside
the 20mm) as a blowgun.
For darts I use mostly bamboo skewer with a paper cone. For making the paper cone stiffer I normaly put
white glue all around the cone.
For making hunting broadheads I normaly use old
screws that I warm read hot (or yellow) and hammer flat. Shape it with a file and attach to the bamboo skewer.
You can also use a coat hanger and just hammer the tip of the hanger flat and then grind (file) it. :)

Ok my gf is poking me to go get pizzia, but this is exciting I've  made 3 blowguns recently and am expirementing with other designes. OkI HAVE TO GO she's pOking me.

-unsapien

Pizza boxes with newspaper folded up in them make great blowgun targets, just so you know.

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I forgot who posted this in the ratkill forum very long ago. I did not know how to post before. Now I decided to share it.

when i was 8, i made a blowgun with ammo of sewing needles and wool; i took a needle and put wool through the hole at the end of the needle and took strings of wool wich I lay down on the needle and wrapped the wool around it, so that you have strings that are under the wrappings. and then put as many strings in it untill you have a perfect fit in your blowgun. and you have a sharp needle too.
I used them for paperbox-shooting, i think you could use it for hunting with a good poison... but Ill think that the needle just aint big enough to hold much poison.

Another type of dart that I found out about recently is made from the rubber end of a pencil, wool and a pin with a big head. Pull the rubber and the metal bit around it off the end of a pencil. There will be a bit of rubber sticking out of one end and the other end will be hollow where it fitted on the pencil. Stick the pin through the middle of six or more pieces of wool about 8 centimetres long and pull the wool up to the pinhead. Push the sharp end of the pin lengthwise through the rubber from the hollow end and pull it the whole way through so that it sticks out the end. The wool at the non-pointy end should be folded and pushed together inside the metal tube, forming a tail at the back of the dart. Trim the "tail" then fluff it out a bit. These darts are good for a pipe about 1 1/2 cm wide. The blowgun needs to be long for decent range.

A pic. These are some of the first I made, hence the unimpressive appearance. I haven't yet fired them at anything living, and I don't think I ever will.

---

Fluffy darts are not so efficient. Too much drag.... I can now make paper cones quite quickly, and the cones fit in my pipe near perfect. :D But now, I've given up on blowguns, I stick to slingshots.

I'll use the blowgun for home defense(if in case and if possible ::) ) I made a few very sharp coat hanger darts for it. I'm now tired of blowing.....

LKH9 wrote on Dec 22^nd, 2006 at 8:40pm:

Fluffy darts are not so efficient. Too much drag.... I can now make paper cones quite quickly, and the cones fit in my pipe near perfect. :D But now, I've given up on blowguns, I stick to slingshots. I'll use the blowgun for home defense(if in case and if possible ::) ) I made a few very sharp coat hanger darts for it. I'm now tired of blowing.....

that slingshot would be better for SD as far as the two go, but really, you'd be much much better off with a hatchet, knife, nunchaku etc.

I know that I wouldn't trust my life to something for killing squirrels  :-/

Oh yeah, a little tips for making cone darts. Roll a small cotton ball at the end of the dart shaft to retain the cone. This is very consistent and there is no need for superglue. Superglue is expensive and difficult to use.

Squirrels are cute.

That 1-metre UPVC pipe is so rigid that it can be used for thrusting and beating. the reason why I want a long weapon is because I have no fighting experience and if the attacker comes with a mechete, then I'm finished. Just shoot in the eye and the neck. ::)

I hear what you're saying... That being the case, be sure to look up Irish stick fighting :)

Just looked it up. That stick is very short... I'd better make a sharpened bamboo pole. But the family will say I'm crazy and will not allow me to do that. Oh, make a detachable bayonet for my pipe! I'm now figuring how to make one using a pvc coupler and a metal spike.  ::)