I would like to show everyone some new tech I've developed.
It involves using a spring to help cushion a spear's blow.
A video showing the spear's build is linked below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB2SfEWz_ew
The spring helps to soften the spear's blow by adding distance over which the spear decelerates when it strikes a target. Because it takes more pressure to depress the spring than the foam it helps the transition when the foam in the spear head fully compresses and force is moved into the spear pole so you don't feel as much of the spear's punch.
I've already built a spear on this setup with the spring in the spear's head and it works well. Over the winter I'll be building another with the spring on the pommel end.
The spring has a rate of approximately 25 lbs. Initially, I thought the spring would be too stiff; however, it bottoms out on the high end of a medium stab. I added the spring to the spear to make it hit more safely on hard stabs because I know it can be uncomfortable to be on the receiving end of one. It was a very interesting project; by having something to measure how the spears hit, I was surprised to discover how hard normal stabs have become in this sport.