[Dan Kary]

Hi everybody,

I'm wondering if anybody could point me in two directions.

First is just a decent beginner's resource for ball clubs (those used by the Huron and Iroquois in particular). I'm mainly looking for information on different designs, materials/decoration used, symbology, etc.

Second is about replicas. There seem to be two hurdles here - they seem to be either extremely expensive (like Albion sword expensive...for a wooden club), or cheap (and often made out of crappy wood). Is there no middle ground here?

Thanks!

Dan

[Mike West]

Corey Boise is a Non-Native Nashville based artisan specializing in 18th Century contemporary Items. His facebook page is called Woodland Warclubs. He makes many of his clubs with hand tools from Locust wood root burls, and trunks.

woodlandwarclubs@gmail.com is his published email.

I have a carved wood Iroquois club from him that he carved from a maple blank. I came unfinished and un-sanded, and was less than $100. His finished clubs from the burls are more expensive, but not as much as some I've seen on ebay. Another source is a tiger maple gunstock maker, who carves various types of ball clubs. https://gunstockwood.com

Wayne Van Horne also did an academic on native American warclubs that has been published on academia.org and can be downloaded.

[Gregg Sobocinski]

I second Corey Boise at Woodland Warclubs.
I also shopped The Wandering Bull, but have no personal experience with them.

https://wanderingbull.com/product-category/home-camp/tomahawks/

[Dan Kary]

That's really great information guys.

I did see the wandering bull stuff already but I wasn't sure about it being any good. I notice that, in regards to the wandering bull, ash, maple, and walnut are all options for blanks - which is an intriguing prospect. Would anybody be able to comment on whether there any functional difference between these and which is more historically typical?

The diversity in the tiger-maple blanks is outstanding...spoiled for choice really. I don't even know where to begin! Maybe with that dissertation from Wayne Van Horne. I have downloaded it.

I'll also check out Woodland Warclubs. This is all exactly what I wanted! Thank you so much. I am excited to have a look.

[Elnathan Barnett]

Sources not yet mentioned:
Jim Dresslar's article "Ball-Headed Club of the North American Indian" is available here: https://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/articles/

Look under "Bulletin Number 59 (Fall, 1988.)"

"Markes Upon their Clubhamers," by Scott Meachum, found on pages 67-74 of Three Centuries of Woodlands Indian Art, edited by King and Feest ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/3981162005/?coliid=I38MCDT21LQ3YM&colid=10OERFA3SD0O1&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it ) has little on the actual clubs but a lot of info on what various marks found on clubs meant. Mostly the nations you are interested in, too.

I'll add more later regarding wood.

[Elnathan Barnett]

Regarding wood:

I am by no means an expert on the subject, but I'm pretty sure originally serious clubs, not ones made as ceremonial regalia, had balls made from burlwood, mostly from root burls. The use of burlwood made for a denser ball, plus the interlocking grain is, I think, much more resistant to splitting - a ball made from straight-grained wood has a lot of short grain along the sides of the ball which would be prone to splitting off (source: refinishing a table with turned legs as a kid....) and I've never seen an original club with a flat spot along the side. A couple years ago I had the opportunity to handle a replica of a ball-headed club belonging to a noted collector of 17th and 18th century that I am pretty sure was made of the correct material, and it was surprising heavy despite not having a terribly large head, quite different from the ones made from standard maple such as Tiger-Hunt's offerings linked above. If you want an actual weapon, burl wood is the one you want, I think.

I've wanted to make a ball-headed club for many, many years now, and have had quite a bit of difficulty locating a decent piece of wood. To make one require a root burl (not every tree species form them) and a trunk offset and curved in the right way, and long enough to make a handle from. Also, thick - to make a 2.5-3 in ball requires a chunk of wood at least that thick at the burl part. That isn't something you are likely to find at the local lumber yard, and while I've never tried it I suspect that getting a tree removal guy to understand what you need and then take the time to cut a tree to get such a piece of wood would be really difficult unless he is a fellow enthusiast.

A while back I found a possible candidate - a wild cherry about 10 inches at the base that was growing out a of stream bed in my parent's back lot - and cut it down myself last winter, cutting the trunk about four feet off the ground and then digging up the root ball (all with hand tools - whew!). After a lot of work to debark, split it in half, and trim it down, it is now seasoning away and should be ready to use in oh, about a decade at the current rate. I need to trim a lot more off, but I'm worried about drying splits going too deep and need to enough wood to be able to cut those away - drying green wood is an art that I'm still not very proficient in!

So there is your answer as to why they are so expensive - there is a considerable amount of work involved in procuring the wood, and even after that there is no guarantee that a bad split won't spoil it while it is drying or that there isn't a void full of rocks and dirt hidden inside the burl. With this tree I don't even know for sure that there is a burl there, for that matter! I need to find some other candidates to add to the pile, I think. There is a locust tree out there that might work too, if I can get to it before the sap starts running this spring....

[Dan Kary]

Thanks for the post Elnathan. That's all really informative. I think it sounds like the way to go might be with Woodland Warclubs. I believe root burls are used. I have already been in contact with Corey. Much of what you said was echoed. The business is seasonal because it is all about getting the right wood. Hopefully he'll get started on something for me in the summer. I just need to figure out, more specifically, what I'm looking for - but various resources have come to my attention and some ideas are forming...

[Gregg Sobocinski]

Some thoughts:
A burl club will definitely cost more. It is not easy to find and shape one. One shortcut is to use a certain branching log instead.
A well made solid wood ball club is plenty for anything you want to hit. Choosing the starter wood and shaping these also takes skill. I have a maple blank, and that sucker is hard.

When I visited historic Jamestown, VA, I held one of the reenactor’s club, and was surprised how balanced and comfortable it felt. When I purchased a blank based on the shape I prefer, the 24” length and nearly 3” ball doesn’t have that. Take my advice and stay closer to the 18-20” range with a 2.5-2.75” ball end.

I read that Great Lakes area tribes would seek the correct sapling growing out of a healthy stream bank. The constant source of water allowed for a stronger wood grain, and coming out of the bank and curving upward made for a natural club shape. Even then, you can imagine the amount of skill, patience, and trial and error that was involved.

Good luck finding a club which calls to you. Expect minor imperfections. That’s character.

[Dan Kary]

Thanks for that post Gregg, especially about size. That was something I was wondering about. I wonder if some it has to do with the size of the person, as well as strength and general preferences. I imagine there isn't one size that is optimal (or repeatable! It seems like you go with what nature gives you when it comes to ball clubs).

[Gregg Sobocinski]

It all depends on how you plan to use it. The one I held from a reenactor could have been carried as a side arm. Many historical clubs and maces were 18-22 inches long for a reason. My 1960’s American oak police baton is 1 1/4” diameter and 23” long, and is not a nimble weapon.

[Dan Kary]

Yeah I have communicated to Corey that I basically want a classic Iroquois war club that is plausibly pre-European contact. I sent him some examples of his own work and some from the Smithsonian with some features I found attractive (aesthetically and otherwise). He communicated that his and my tastes seem to line up and he knows exactly what I am looking for. So, I think it should turn out to be awesome indeed. I just have to wait (thankfully, I have contacted him early enough to be a the front of the line)...I've got some books on the way to tide me over...