My last tutorial was for a ten-minute aztec inspired atlatl, made from a mexican fan palm petiole. This tutorial is for an atlatl which can be quickly made in the field from things found in the field. In this case the atlatl is made from a mullein (Verbascum thapsus) stalk, but could easily be made from yucca or agave flower stalks. Agave and yucca stalks don't have a central pith cavity, so they would be a little more time consuming to hollow out. Other than that, they're very similar. All tools used to make the atlatl were stone flaked with stone or cane shaped with stone-no metal touched this atlatl or any of it's components. Finger loops and bindings are made of split yucca (Yucca filamentosa) leaves. no knots or adhesives of any kind were used, affixment is by pulling taght and tucking ends. Total time to construct (including collection of tools/parts) was perhaps an hour. I tested the atlatl and it throws fine. In a survival setting I think many among us would just go for a quick and dirty "no-nonsense" hammer-held atlatl, but if you're used to throwing split-grip with loops, by gosh, go for loops-it's better to take the time to make something you're used to using than esentially having to learn a new skill in the field! The american west is littered with yucca and agave, and the east is full of yucca and mullein. I'm interested to see how my version shrinks as it dries (it may well fall apart) but right now it's servicable, and if I had made it from pre-seasoned (read that "standing dead") material, it would proably be stable for a long time.
I hope you enjoy this tutorial as much as I enjoyed making it.
