In my experiences, I've been in a home devoid of firearms or other specialized killing implements. Therefore, in my time and using creative thought and energy, I design and create homemade weapons. Most of these 'designs' will never be more than a diagram on a sheet of paper, but some have materialized into fantastic creations. Creations that, for one reason or another, though amazing in their creation, are flawed.

This article came into mind when I noticed something odd about my homemade axe. In the short period of time i had used it to chop some wood earlier in the day, I noticed something that I should have thought of when picking the materials:it was bending. I began to realize that, when it gets down to the grim and gritty of a world without rule of law, people will need to, in some cases, create their own weapons and tools. When one thinks of this, any number of things can pop up. In this article, I present 3 types of homemade weapons, an axe, a spear/giant claw hammer or sorts, and a crossbow. May I also say that these are all my own personal creations, and I know that all three are flawed(otherwise, I wouldn't be writing this).



I created this axe using bolts, a dremel, a power drill, and a broken pair of shears. Pretty simple. It was hard work to drill through the steel head and neck on the two occasions, but besides that it is near fool proof. The grip remains secured because I rubbed gorilla glue in the inside and let it dry. I even carved in it the name "Sovietta". But, there are minor discrepancies that make this unreliable in the long run.

The body/arm is an aluminum shaft. I actually have just noticed this problem, that it has been bent. This is from approximately 40 hard hits on a thick dead and dried up rubber tree log.I laid out a piece of straight wood underneath it in the left picture To show you the curvature. Here I stress selection of materials. Steel will definitely stand stronger against the same or even harsher punishment, depending on the grade of steel. You want something solid, and probably thicker than 1/16 inch of aluminum. my point here is.. be wary of what you use.. especially when it comes to old tools.

Next, we want to look at how we are directing the energy of the weapon. I have both an axe blade(of sorts) and a bludgeoning "triangle". The strength of the design is also its weakness. The positions of the parts are directly held in place by bolts and washers, which, aren't exactly matching each other, nor are they matching the hold they are using to remain in place.The main bolt that attaches the axe blade to the body is, but the other two aren't. I worry not about the axe blade EVER coming off from the body, because 1) I would hear/feel the rattling of loose parts and 2) look at the left picture: I bolted the axe head to the body, and the drill hole is so tight that I can't pull that bolt out if I tried.
This weapon is perfectly balanced, might I add.. at least for me. Even though the head is heavier than the shaft(please be mature on how you take these words) I can swing the axe in any direction, even spinning it like an acrobat.

The final point I want to bring out about the axe is the red shade going on with it.. that is rust. AKA iron oxide. Exposing unfinished metal that is not stainless will definitely create rust. Most of the time it hangs on my wall in my room, and yet both the engraving and the axehead have excessive rusting. Though this doesn't exactly affect your combat effectiveness(unless it rusts extremely bad), it can be an eyesore. .






Next, standing at 39 inches tall, made almost entirely of steel, is the extremely imbalanced REAPER beheadal system. This was once my prodigal idea of a homemade zombie killing system, but instead, it failed. I wanted to make a longer, spearlike instrument with claws or a blade, like a scythe. Instead, I wasted about twenty bucks and cut up a good piece of steel 'cubetube'.

Considering its length, it was difficult to photgraph using a webcam on a kitchen floor, however, as you can see, the left picture gives you an idea of what I wanted. The right picture is the other half. The left was supposed to have a three spiked system. I could never find a lawn mower blade that would fit in the .75 inch diameter of the tube, but if i had, there are two bolts that I could have secured it to.

The right picture needs explaining.. and a bit of cocrete filling.. I wanted a balanced opposite that could be used as a backup blugeoning end. However, the left is rather heavy due to the thick angle pieces I installed. The right end is a feather compared to the left. This project is on permahold, but it demonstrates the need to balance out a melee weapon.




Ah, finally, something more complicated! A projectile weapon. No, it is not a rifle, nor is it finished... it is an experimental mechanism and crossbow body.. without the crossbow. This is also on permahold, just so everybody knows. It is over 41 inches long, and cost me about thirty bucks(this is the 3rd mechanism I've built). I made it resemble a rifle, but in reality, this thing is hardly even worth imaginary fighting. The far right picture is a good example of the "sight picture" the shooter would get. And to the left of that, the mechanism.

The philosophy of the mechanism is that you can have a rail guided mechanism to pull the bowstring back(there is no bow attached at the moment), pull back, lock the mechanism in position, load, take aim, and release that little golden latch on picture 3. The problem, from what I've Identified in my work, is not the mechanism, but the rail. Due to a lack of cash, I cannot correct this, and do not wish to waste any more money on it. However, Given enough time and a bit of skill, I or anyone else could replicate, surpass, and manufacture better crossbow-rifles. Another problem i noticed is balance. The bolt-action-like thing to the right in picture 4 was something of a way to draw the mechanism back comfortably, but, in reality, I presume that you would need a large handle perfectly balanced to draw the mechanism straight back. At one point, I did actually incorporate iron sights into an older and slammer design, but it did not work out so well..

Anyway, this was a presentation of my top three creations, and a lesson in homemade devices. Should you ever need to make your own tools or weapons in a WROL/SHTF/apocalypse environment, please find a creative machinist instead, unless you are one. It takes skill to know how to work well with metal and other materials. It takes patience, creativity, and purpose.

I encourage anyone that may try their own designs at home to always wear proper eye, ear, and hand protection, especially when dealing with power tools. I also enocurage anyone interested in becoming an engineer or machinist to seriously look into the art of metalworking.. it is quite interesting, though, I have chosen to give it up for my own reasons, I hope that you learned something from this.

[oh and as a last tip about the third example, you might want to make a normal bow with arrows before tackling a crossbow. But even then, it takes certain materials, certain means to process the materials, and an idea of bow construction].