Foreshaft

A mark A formed handle without a guard Rare short and heavy pointed We long to touch the hidden parts The foreshaft is the same barbed Watch for the additional impulse ❋ Lemon Hound (2008)

The foreshaft was made of heavier wood, frequently mountain mahogany. ❋ Saxton Pope (1900)

Japanese bamboo five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter, having a foreshaft of birch the same diameter and four inches long. ❋ Saxton Pope (1900)

The larger end was now bound with a buckskin thong and drilled out for the depth of an inch and a half to receive the end of the foreshaft. ❋ Saxton Pope (1900)

Drawn to the full length of an arrow, which was about twenty-six inches, exclusive of the foreshaft, his bow bent in a perfect arc slightly flattened at the handle. ❋ Saxton Pope (1900)

All of the joints or areas on the shaft, foreshaft, and fletching that could spilt have to be reinforced with cordage or animal sinew. ❋ Rawles James Wesley (2010)

Once assembled, the foreshaft is jammed into a joint or hole on the "front" end of the shaft (opposite the fletching). ❋ Rawles James Wesley (2010)

This replacement technology allows for the need to make and carry only a few shafts, which are labor intensive to make, while having multiple foreshaft sections to reload with. ❋ Rawles James Wesley (2010)

The foreshaft (made of a short 3-4 inch piece of shaped hard wood) is attached to the stone or metal point with glue (or tree sap) and sinew. ❋ Rawles James Wesley (2010)

The other benefit of the foreshaft is that upon impact with the prey, it separates from the shaft leaving the sharp metal or stone point and 3 or so inches of foreshaft embedded where it causes massive internal bleeding as the prey's muscles contract and expand while running. ❋ Rawles James Wesley (2010)

The shaft can then be retrieved and reloaded with another foreshaft armed with a point. ❋ Rawles James Wesley (2010)

A dart can be made in three parts: a foreshaft, a shaft, and fletching. ❋ Rawles James Wesley (2010)

A blunt dart shaft or foreshaft can be used to stun or kill small birds and prey with just a fire-hardened wood tip ❋ Rawles James Wesley (2010)