<raises hand> I have . . . a few years back I spent a couple of afternoons with some feathers, fish hooks, small counterweights, and superglue. I actually did make some working shuriken, but they're only about 1/4 to 1/6 scale because the only feathers that flew properly were pretty small. And yes, they do stick into things . . . but they lack the mass to penetrate more than oh, a millimeter. I was just stoked that they worked!
The key to making a working shuriken out of an actual feather is to start with a flight feather--wing or tail--where both sides of the vane are perfectly symmetric, and the shaft doesn't curve. There really aren't very many feathers on a bird that meet those criteria. If you've got a feather and you're not sure about it, try throwing it. If it curves off to one side, the vane is unbalanced. I haven't experimented with trimming the vanes.
These are the ones I made. These are goose wing feathers ( that we make the arrows from). I found them to be incredibly light. As bardwing says, they don't have the mass to penetrate, be accurate or to go very far. They would have to be significantly weightier to do all that which would compromise how many you can carry and where you keep them !
The funny thing is, when CD and I were in San Diego for Comic Con last year we went to the Wild Animal Park. There we saw a real California condor, and they had a sample of its feath. The real condor's feather was longer than my arm!!! Can you imagine Joe carrying arou nd feathers that are long enough to be spears?
These are the ones I made. These are goose wing feathers ( that we make the arrows from). I found them to be incredibly light. As bardwing says, they don't have the mass to penetrate, be accurate or to go very far. They would have to be significantly weightier to do all that which would compromise how many you can carry and where you keep them !
I would sat the ones the team has would have metal shafts in the middle to give it weight.
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Ebony I think Veritas' do have metal shafts at the end anyways. Seeing these I could actually imagine inserting a metal rod up the shaft partly to straighten it and partly to give the shuriken some weight - instead of just on the end, like it looks like Veritas' are.
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This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by clouddancer on 30-04-2009 at 13:16.
30-04-2009 13:15
Firebird
Princess Firebird..... Goddess of Swannie Fics
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Veritas they look good.
CD I think you're right it would certainly give it the added weight needed, wonder if it would work?
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Originally posted by Springie
Baardwing, that's really impressive! I'd love to see them, if you have pics!
Oh boy . . . now where did I put them when we moved? If I can find them, I'll get some photos . . . assuming the bugs didn't find them first. I always worry about that with the feathers . . . .
LOL Barrwing, Joe was one of the moving guys, (racing doesn't pay as much as it used to) when saw them in a box he just figured they were his... I think you'll have to take it up with the Condor to get em back....
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02-05-2009 09:49
Firebird
Princess Firebird..... Goddess of Swannie Fics
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I am sure there are a few people who woul like to negotiate with the condor
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Originally posted by Ebonyswanne
LOL Barrwing, Joe was one of the moving guys, (racing doesn't pay as much as it used to) when saw them in a box he just figured they were his... I think you'll have to take it up with the Condor to get em back....
I can see it now.... "UMM Joe, Those feathers belong to me"
Joe looks down at the feather he had hanging from his teeth. Noticing they made his own shurikens looks out of date he tried his best to keep them.
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"Barrwing...darling" The Condor's half smile with the feathers still hanging out of his mouth turns cheeky. "Wanna fight me for em...I promise it'll be worth your while...."
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Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up- Pablo Picasso.
This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by Ebonyswanne on 11-05-2009 at 12:27.
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