Greenland Throwing-Board
(Inuit Norsaq)


This is based on one I bought from Superior Kayaks in Wisconsin. It is very close in form to historical ones.

The throwing boards from Greenland (called a norsaq by the Inuits) are fairly unique among spearthrowers. Instead of having either a male OR female peg, they have two holes drilled into the body of the spearthrower, which correspond to two pegs attached to the shaft of the harpoon. This means you would not have to hold the dart at all to keep it steady on the throwing board, and would mean a different throwing technique as well (I haven't had a chance to actually throw a dart with one of these, so I can't tell you HOW it's different).

Material:
Wood, 18" x 3 1/2" x 1/2"

Construction:

• Taper both sides in so that it is 1 3/4" wide at the tip.
  
  
• Cut out the finger and thumb grips.
  
  
  
  Starting 2 3/4" from the end on the thumb side of the board (decide for yourself which side this will be), carve out the thumb grip. It should run for 1 1/4" and should be about 1/4" deep in the middle. On the other side, starting 1 1/4" from the end carve out the finger grips. They should run for about 4" total.
  
  
• Cut out the groove. It is about 1" wide, but very shallow (only about 1/8" deep in the center). It starts in the center of the tip, but shifts over to the thumb side a little, with the edge 1" from the thumb side.
  
  
  Handle End View of Groove
  
  
• Slope the sides of the top down about 1/8" on the edges.
  
  
  
  
• Round the bottom up to meet the sides.
  
  
  
  
• Drill the 1/4" pilot holes (to make an authentic one). The handle hole is in the center of the groove, located 1 5/8" from the end and drilled straight through. The one at the tip is in the center of the groove, starting about 1/2" from the end and slanting back at a 45 degree angle to the bottom.
  
  
  
  
• Round off all edges and sand it smooth.
  
  
  
  

The one I bought was one of their deluxe versions, with delrin used to simulate ivory. At the tip, there is a large wedge of it inserted (because wood will split, ivory won't). There is also a plate of it across the bottom of the handle end and inside the hole by the handle. These were fastened in place by drilling small holes in from the side, then gluing in a piece of dowel, cutting it off, and sanding it smooth. There are 6 dowels holding in the tip wedge (3 on each side) and 3 across the bottom plate.

If you want one you can throw your normal darts with, though (as opposed to making up harpoons with holding pegs), you can convert it. Below are pictures of the boards I've made from this design with the top one having the pilot holes. The bottom, though, is a chimera. I stole the peg idea from the Unalashkan design from Alaska and made a separate peg for the end.




This one was made by Greg Miller, who sent me a picture of his design. His comments:
"I simulated bone/ivory with PVC. I heated it until it got soft then pressed it into place. After it cooled I trimed around the impression and voila. I’ve also had success using dominoes as fake ivory."

Looks great to me! Thanks for sending the picture, Greg!

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