Sig Item

[Zixx]

I knap flint as a hobby and make arrowheads / spearpoints / tomahawks. I use authentic tools to make them (deer antler, hammerstones etc.) I'm a part time cacher I get out mabe once a month to a cache. I was wondering what everyone thought about using my arrowheads as a sig item? Since they can be sharp, would these be considered contraban in caches? Along the same lines as knifes?

 

-Zixx

[+lefty2448]

I knap flint as a hobby and make arrowheads / spearpoints / tomahawks. I use authentic tools to make them (deer antler, hammerstones etc.) I'm a part time cacher I get out mabe once a month to a cache. I was wondering what everyone thought about using my arrowheads as a sig item? Since they can be sharp, would these be considered contraban in caches? Along the same lines as knifes?

 

-Zixx

I personally would love to find something hand made like that. But I am a relative noobie to caching and think some folks will consider it a weapon. I dont and would love to see pics of your work. Is it possible to post a pic?

[+wimseyguy]

I think it sounds like a neat idea. Since you said "can be" sharp, why not make ones that are not sharp for your sig item? Maybe put it in a bag with info on how you make them, and where to get supplies, and if someone wants to join your other hobby they can sharpen it themselves.

[+The red-haired witch]

AFAIK, you can't really sharpen those things once their finished. Well, you could try, but the stone might break if you are not an expert.

 

They would be legal (within guidelines) in my opininon, as they are only considered rocks and not weapons, as long as you don't tie them to a stick (turning the arrowhear into an arrow, the spearpoint into a spear, and so on).

 

You should definitively wrap them in something, though, maybe even put them a small box. Those things can be sharper than razor blades! You wouldn't want someone to reach in the cache and end up needing stitches...

[+briansnat]

Personally I'd love to find one. I guess technically they are weapons, but kind of useles unless they're at the end of a spear or arrow.

[+Renegade Knight]

Do it.

[+Yamahammer]

I don't see a problem, IMHO.

 

[+reveritt]

That's an awesome personal sig item...I would love to find one.

[+StarBrand]

....paper holds the potential for paper cuts........

 

 

seriously - sounds like a neat item - go for it.

[+BilboB]

I am of the Renegade Knight opionion...

 

DO IT!

[PCFrog]

If you made a sharp one then just wrap in a small box or holder so those fumbling through a cache would not get a nasty surprise.

[+Criminal]

Has the whole world become so pussified they have forgotten how to handle sharp objects?!? Is it really necessary to wrap them or otherwise protect yourself from them?

 

To answer the original question, no, they are not weapons any more than the pencil inside the cache is a weapon. It sounds like an incredible sig item, go for it. Disregard the hand-wringers and namby-pambys who feel they must sanitize the world for all of us they consider less intelligent than themselves.

[+KKTH3]

I have found arrowheads in caches before - never even crossed my mind that they might be considered a weapon.

[+Team Red Oak]

If it's a sharp item, then I think it would be necessary to take precautions. Suppose someone finds an ammo box full of stuff and puts their hand in it and starts to move things around and can't see the arrowhead. Or they do the cache at night and they don't have the best light source. I doubt anyone will lose a limb from an arrowhead cut, but it could put a damper on the day.

 

Most people know how to handle sharp objects when they can see them. Putting it in a bag would be sufficient. Besides if it is hand made I bet people would want to know more about it, I would. If it's in a bag then the maker can add a note or card telling about the arrowhead. I would love to find a handmade arrowhead and a multi tool (reference to another thread).

[+danewillow]

I generally look in a cache before I jam my hand into it. I could poke my finger on a pin someone has put in there not knowing it was covered in flesh-eating bacteria! I guess as a kid I just witnessed the beginning of contaminated Halloween candy and cyanide laced Tylenol. I'm a little more cautious when reaching into the container that someone I don't know placed in the middle of nowhere and that has been visited by many other people I don't know. Put the arrowhead in there! We can only hope that natural selection will, via flesh-eating bacteria, weed out those who would sue you for their own stupidity.

 

Julie

[+tirediron]

What Criminal said!

[+deimos444]

Go for it!

[Huaso]

I'd sure like to find something like that in a cache. Here's a suggestion - just place the finished arrowhead in a small ziplock bag and add a printed card with your caching name, perhaps your avatar and a description about making the arrowhead yourself. I do that with some small fossil snails I use as a signature item. It doesn't really cost that much to put together and adds collectability to the signature item, because it identifies and associates you with it. It's protected better from rough handling (which is really the bigger problem for a knapped arrowhead) and gives the added benefit of protecting cachers from possible cuts.

[+joefrog]

Has the whole world become so pussified they have forgotten how to handle sharp objects?!? Is it really necessary to wrap them or otherwise protect yourself from them?

 

To answer the original question, no, they are not weapons any more than the pencil inside the cache is a weapon. It sounds like an incredible sig item, go for it. Disregard the hand-wringers and namby-pambys who feel they must sanitize the world for all of us they consider less intelligent than themselves.

 

Hoo! Thanks, I needed that -- and I agree! (I just couldn't say it quite as, er, "eloquently" as Criminal)

[+reveritt]

Has the whole world become so pussified ...

Yes.

 

I got my first pocketknife when I was about 8 or 9 years old. It was an official Cub Scout knife, and I carried it everywhere--including to school. When it was given to me, I also received a brief talk about using it responsibly. Imagine doing that now! Both child and parent would probably be arrested.

[+GrizzlyJohn]

Has the whole world become so pussified they have forgotten how to handle sharp objects?!? Is it really necessary to wrap them or otherwise protect yourself from them?

 

Yes, of course they have, you know as well as anybody that society has gotten to the point that we expect everyone else to be responsible for all of our dumb actions. But I would say to wrap it up if only to protect it from being broken, that would be a shame if it happened.

 

....paper holds the potential for paper cuts........

 

Let's see --

scissors beats paper

paper beats rock

rock beats scissors

 

So yes paper is more dangerous that arrowheads.

[+soreyes]

I recently found a cache that was hidden near a blackberry bush. Some of the thorns had made their way into the cache. Imagine if a child was to find that! They might use it to cut thier arm off or worse cut the head off of another person! Luckilly, I was the one who found it so I was able to remove it safely and burn it until it was just an ash. The worst part was walking back to the car from the cache with that thorn - talk about dangerous. You know what they say about running with thorns!

I still have the ashes of the thorn and I was thinking of returning them to the cache. Would that be safe?

[+Cryptid]

I have made Wooden and Knapped arrowheads and placed both in Caches.

The wooden ones are my Sig item, the knapped are 1st to find prizes.

I've had no problems with them. So go ahead and do it.

 

Knapped arrowheads

 

Wooden Arrowheads

Edited September 2, 2005 by Cruiserdude

[+Criminal]

... snip...Luckilly, I was the one who found it so I was able to remove it safely and burn it until it was just an ash. ...snip...

Oh right! Thanks for the global warming!

 

No, seriously, I'm not looking forward to winter.

[+KoosKoos]

ABSOLUTELY, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THESE TYPE OF SIGNATURE ITEMS BE PLACED INTO A CACHE!!!

 

Unless it's one of the caches I own or is near enough that I know I could go trade for it before someone else could get to it!!!!

 

This is a really cool idea!!!

[+Camo-crazed]

....paper holds the potential for paper cuts........

(snip) they are (snip) weapons (snip) the pencil inside the cache is a weapon. (snip)

 

ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH, NOOOOOOOOO

We must immediately outlaw logbooks and pencils inside caches, and replace them with blunt, broken crayons and toilet paper. The very idea of pointy things and paper cuts gives me the shudders!

 

This heavily edited, sarcastic post is brought to you by (insert drum roll here) Camo-crazed!

 

Seriously, go for it

[+The Jester]

Are you planning a trip out to the great NW? Bring a carload of those items, I'm sure we'd all like to find one.

[+Cool Librarian]

Yes.

 

I got my first pocketknife when I was about 8 or 9 years old. It was an official Cub Scout knife, and I carried it everywhere--including to school. When it was given to me, I also received a brief talk about using it responsibly. Imagine doing that now! Both child and parent would probably be arrested. laugh.gif

 

Reveritt, this brought up a nice memory for me. I was 9 when I got my first pocket knife from a family friend. He taught me how to use it on a bar of soap. I loved that knife....

[Pto]

Yes, do IT!!!

 

As another kid who got his first boy scout knife, and was also properly trained to use it - I say YES !

 

My uncle used to polish stones, and do some carvings and things- very cool stuff!

I still hit the Rock Show when it comes to the small town near my cabin- they often have many of the same kind of things- but I never thought to buy some for swag -

but now I will (The show is coming in mid Sept)

 

Oh, and come to MN, and drop some of these!

[+Team Neos]

Yes.

 

I got my first pocketknife when I was about 8 or 9 years old. It was an official Cub Scout knife, and I carried it everywhere--including to school. When it was given to me, I also received a brief talk about using it responsibly. Imagine doing that now! Both child and parent would probably be arrested. laugh.gif

 

Reveritt, this brought up a nice memory for me. I was 9 when I got my first pocket knife from a family friend. He taught me how to use it on a bar of soap. I loved that knife....

Funny memory here, too. My Girls Scout troop was camping for the weekend, and had lots of activities planned. One of the activites was knife safety, and each of them was to get a brand new knife--they were about 8 or 9 then--but only after they passed the safety test. They decided that they would wait until every single one of them had passed, so they could all have their knives at the same time.

 

Two of the girls kept forgetting one rule or another, and the group kept begging for "just one more chance" to pass the test. Try as they might, though, all they were getting was frustrated. I finally convinced them to go on to some other activity with the promise that we would try again the next day. We did that other activity, had a snack, a night hike, and then showers and lights out.

 

My co-leader and I woke in the middle of the night to the sounds and sights of girls quietly and determinedly practising knife safety drills using paper knives by flashlight. The co-leader and I didn't think the girls would appreciate our seeing their extra effort to drill the team into perfection, and we had to almost chew our own hands off trying not to laugh out loud!

 

The girls were dressed and waiting for us to wake up in the morning and asked immediately for another chance to pass the test. They received their knives before breakfast!

[+reveritt]

...

The girls were dressed and waiting for us to wake up in the morning and asked immediately for another chance to pass the test. They received their knives before breakfast!

What a great story! Of course, what you describe is far different from leaving a knife in a cache for some kid to find. The leaving of knives in caches should be subject to common sense. If the cache is hidden someplace that no unsupervised kid is gonna find it, then I see no problem wiith it.

 

As for the handmade arrowheads, they are appropriate for any cache, but I agree that they should be packaged to prevent their being damaged. A card with the URL of a web site providing information about how the arrowheads are made would be a great addition.

[+OHMIKY]

Wow, I am amazed that there isn't a lot of whining about what might happen to little fingers. I'd love to find something like this in a cache! Do it!

[+joefrog]

I just don't see the big deal with an arrowhead... after all, I'm the guy who leaves GUNS in the caches!

[Shoobie & the Sand Crabs]

Anything can be a weapon in the hands of an idiot even a McDonald's toy

do it

[+trail hound]

Wanna trade sig items????????

[+lefty2448]

Please move to Maine and pm me 24 hours before you put out an arrow head. Nothing wrong with your idea.

[+Bob Blaylock]

  If these arrowheads are sharp enough to cut things, then it seems obvious to me that they ought to be considered the same as knives with regard to the appropriateness of leaving them in caches.  I understand that properly-chipped obsidian can yield a sharper edge than Mankind has ever figured out how to put on a steel blade.

[+briansnat]

Suppose someone finds an ammo box full of stuff and puts their hand in it and starts to move things around and can't see the arrowhead. Or they do the cache at night and they don't have the best light source. I doubt anyone will lose a limb from an arrowhead cut, but it could put a damper on the day.

 

In the event this happens, there is an amazing new invention that will take care of it.

[+Snoogans]

I'd sure like to find something like that in a cache.

ME TOO!!!

[+Mastifflover]

I think that they would be great for a cache! By the way I just love the way I've been using Criminal's new word all night. It just rolls off the tongue.

[+ibycus]

I love the idea. Depending on the size of them, you may be able to get some little cheap vinyl holders for them from your local coin store (I'm thinking of the kind of thing a lot of people have geocoins in).

Then:

 

1) You satisfy the people who are scarred of sharp objects

2) You can put a little note in with it, with your name on it

3) Less likely to just fall to the bottom of the cache and be damaged.

[+deimos444]

 

In the event this happens, there is an amazing new invention that will take care of it.

Those are cool but I like the Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck band aids.

[+danewillow]

QUOTE 

Suppose someone finds an ammo box full of stuff and puts their hand in it and starts to move things around and can't see the arrowhead. Or they do the cache at night and they don't have the best light source. I doubt anyone will lose a limb from an arrowhead cut, but it could put a damper on the day.

 

 

In the event this happens, there is an amazing new invention that will take care of it.

 

Another good invention... a flashlight. I've never done night caching but if you're caching at night, how do you find a box in the woods without a good light source??

[+Criminal]

You wouldn't want someone to reach in the cache and end up needing stitches...

 

…so those fumbling through a cache would not get a nasty surprise

 

…someone finds an ammo box full of stuff and puts their hand in it and starts to move things around…blah blah blah…

 

These types of responses really frost me. The people who use that as an excuse are quite sure of themselves, insofar as they would never do something so dumb as blindly rummaging through an ammo can, or mishandling a glass container, but the rest of us might. This attitude smacks of elitism that says to the world, “Please thank me for looking out for all you simpletons”. Well, from all of us simpletons, here’s a bonus sized can of shut the hell up, we don’t need you to mother the rest of us. Life is an adventure, get used to it.

 

NOTE: I’m not singling out the particular posters in the above quotes, only the prevalent “PC” attitude that wants to dumb everything down to the single digit IQ level.

[+deimos444]

I'll put another supersized can on that.

[PyroDave]

I say do it but I also think they should be packaged in some way not as much for the adults as for kids that may be there I know when I thake my daughter cacheing shes just sticks her hands in and rumages around and theres no way to stop her from doing it shes to exsited with the find.

[bogleman]

Wow is all I can say, It must take some time to chip those out. They are very nice, and I would love to find one someday. As for being a weapon it's not like the cache is going into a secured area (just ask TSA). As others have mentioned anything can be used as a weapon depending on how you use what you have at hand, just look at those lovely hiking staffs - a good whack and you are down for the count. If you are concerned about someone getting cut digging into a cache with your sig item just post a note about it on the cache page and I am sure someone will come by in a day or so and remove it and make everyone feel all warm and snuggly again, you encounter more dangers just getting to the cache location than getting hurt on something inside the cache container unless the lid falls on your little finger. Mommy can always kiss it and make it feel better.

[+Fergus]

Hand made sig items are always best.

[+JanniCash]

Yes.

 

I got my first pocketknife when I was about 8 or 9 years old. It was an official Cub Scout knife, and I carried it everywhere--including to school. When it was given to me, I also received a brief talk about using it responsibly. Imagine doing that now! Both child and parent would probably be arrested. laugh.gif

 

Reveritt, this brought up a nice memory for me. I was 9 when I got my first pocket knife from a family friend. He taught me how to use it on a bar of soap. I loved that knife....

When I was a boy that age ... man is that long ago ... you wouldn't go into the woods without a knife. No knife and surrounded by a gazillion sticks whispering "carve me" ... shudder.

 

I guess for those, sticking their hands into a cache container without visual contact, a loaded mouse trap (which is clearly not a weapon) would be a good lesson.

 

Jan

[+Criminal]

Well, I can’t remember how I came to get my first pocketknife, but I got one at a young age, I think I was 7 years old. The first time I poked a tree with it the blade closed on my finger and cut me. I learned a valuable life lesson. Then, I put a freaking Band-Aid on it and I was fine. Sheesh.