Spear with iron binding to retain head

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by kronckew

Also, the wire wrap near the butt is not of the same high calibre as the rest, may have been added later by who-knows-who along with the weight and small spear-ish spike. Appears there are some stress cracks from the insertion of the spike tang there. Normally the wood would taper up wider at the butt so as to keep your hand from sliding up, as in my examples below (which have been cleaned and oiled).

Yes, the wire at the base was clearly not of the same calibre as the rest. I hadn't thought about the spike being a later addition, but it makes sense.