How can I represent 'multiple barbed' spears ?

[chicklewis]

Hi, clever friends, I have a lot of Inuit painted up with open mittens, not yet holding spears.  Copplestone's supplied barbed spears unfortunately look like fence poles in scale, much too THICK for my eye.  Also, I have Eureka Hawaiians painted up, similarly with no good spears for them to hold.  Hawaiian combat spears were made of single pieces of heavy wood, with two or three barbed blades, (one in front of another with gaps in between) carved at the 'business ends'. 

I have tried filing grooves in florist's wire with zero success.  Could you please give me some ideas of other ways to represent barbed heads on thin, more-in-scale spears?

I will be grateful. 

Chick

[WuZhuiQiu]

Here are some ideas to consider:

Straightened, dulled fish hooks;

Brass rod;

Plastic rod.

[Conquistador]

Here are some ideas to consider:

Straightened, dulled fish hooks;

Brass rod;

Plastic rod.

Yes, the first might be most realistic (unsure of the actual barb designs) but dulling those babies would be very difficult I would think.

Brass rod easy but adding barbs would be time consuming.  Ditto Plastic.

Good ideas but quite an unusual task.

Looking forward to see what works.

Gracias,

Glenn

[6milPhil]

How about twisting three very thin wires together? You could fill the shafts to look more wood like and then have three prongs. 

[chicklewis]

I have had good success, but not with the nice suggestions here. 

Used commercially available 'smashed wire' spears and clipped them along the sides of the flattened blades with the tip of pair of very-high-quality wire-cutters.  Sometimes the 'nip' just took out a little divot, sometimes it made a groove and a barb which extends beyond the previous edge of the blade.  I'll post photos when I get home from New Orleans.