Can you grapple with an arrow?

Finally got chance to test this trope properly with a custom arrow! Might try it later with some modern rope for comparison.
Huge thanks to Jim ‪@chokecherryforge‬ for making this!
And as always, massive thanks to all my Patrons! If you like these videos and want to support them, please consider subscribing:
www.patreon.com/Blumineck?utm...
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0:00 About the Grappling Arrow
2:37 Range Test & Troubleshooting
5:08 Adding the Rope
9:01 Physics Interlude
9:40 Tree Tests
11:47 Moment of Truth

[@wanderingspark]

"I am a wuss" says the man who can fling himself at a pole while holding a Medieval war bow, catch himself with his thighs, and then fire the war bow while hanging from the pole.

[@chrisvickers7928]

The man who probably weighs 50 kg less than me and would beat me in an arm wrestle.

[@wolf1066]

I feel aches and pains just watching him.

[@thatboringone7851]

That first test shot was like rolling a nat 1 for a bow attack in real life. I can practically hear the DM: "You notch and draw your bow, preparing to take down the target with deadly force - you release! Aaand you watch as the arrow disintegrates right in front of your eyes, splintering into a million pieces along with your resolve."

[@KassFireborn]

The way you said "because of... Tumblr" killed me. Certain AIs who were unwisely trained on AO3 can also teach people about the danger of such terminology in the modern internet.

[@1224chrisng]

I can't imagine what horrors "Urban Dictionary AI" could bring us

[@pandoratheclay]

that and the info-hazards some “communities” have for fandom specific lingo is devastating

[@Nemokiddy]

Can someone explain what he meant? I don't know tumblr...

[@KassFireborn]

@@Nemokiddy Google omegaverse fanlore, and then abandon hope all ye who enter here. You could also look up the omegaverse lawsuit, and apparently it's huge in many Asian countries now. I feel an obscure urge to apologize even though I wasn't anywhere near the bits of fandom that caused this.

[@sylvastreak]

@@Nemokiddy Tumblr is the monsterfucking website and every time someone mentions a knot, it summons a certain meme.

[@Calpaleo]

“…so I put out a call to some blacksmiths” How dare you be so cool

[@bossyboots5000]

I'm both shocked and excited that blacksmiths exist. And now I'm trying to think of anything I could get made by a blacksmith. Also, the fact that he said "blacksmiths" - plural - makes him extra cool.

[@Lord-Regent-of-the-Imperium]

There are ways around the grip problem with climbing nylon rope when you cant dead lift climb. You wrap it around your wrist and then pull yourself up and repeat. You can hold the bottom of the rope and wrap lengths of it around your foot to sort of stand on as you climb. You can wrap it around your butt and sort of turn yourself into a human pulley system by tieing a specific knott in the rope and pulling. There are a few ways to climb with nylon.

[@pattheplanter]

Hemp rope has better grip as well. Using mediæval steel tech for a lighter grappling hook and half the diameter of hemp rope would save so much that it could go farther than throwing it and be impressive.

[@blumineck]

@@pattheplanteryou still need the hook to be heavy or it won't pull the rope! It needs some inertia!

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

Could also just tie loops (or knots if the rope is thick enough to grip a knot) into it at whatever interval suits you, which gives you something to grip as you climb and can let the rope be really uncomfortably thin - might cut into your shoe a fair bit and still won't be a nice to climb as a thicker rope but it works.

[@puffyhowler615]

​@@foldionepapyrus3441who said something about gripping knots?

[@Cat-but-a-little-gay]

@@puffyhowler615 this is why he avoided saying knot. Because of you specifically

[@kacheek9101]

Love how you reached out to blacksmiths about this. Also, I think between the two, bouldering is for true badasses. I once went with a friend of mine who did it competitively and she was literally on the ceiling and I noped out of there... I want ropes as a nice safety clutch since I don't trust my pathetic excuse for muscles

[@konekoray9323]

People who trust their bodies _MORE_ than they trust rope as thick as their wrists are _NOT_ wusses.

[@mcmonkey26]

well between trusting myself versus trusting myself, my belayer, the rope, the clips, the gym taking care of the clips, and the grigri, ill take the first option

[@imjodanc]

Now I want to see a version with modern bows and materials to see how far this can go.

[@ppeppe]

3mm UHMWPE cord very light and plenty strong, but extremely hard to climb

[@doomforzombies]

@@ppeppeI’d be more curious about a more modern arrowhead

[@TheDevilWAH]

the bow he is shooting it far more powerfull than most moden bows. Most recurve / compound bows are only up to 60-70lb, And most hunting bow are 80-90lb (the heviest weight compound producting bow is ~90lb) a traditional style war bow maybe 100-160lb and is at the limit of what most archers can draw. I have heard him say before that he has a 160lb bow (not sure if he is using that one in this video). But the point is that the best moden bow is no more powerful that a traditional bow. If im shooting my 40lb recurve next to a guy with his 40lb traditional longbow and his wife with her 40lb compound bow. The arrows all leave the bows with the same power behind them. you cant get more power from nothing you pull back on the string with 40lbs that all you have. So for the best chance you want to get some one like Joe Gibbs with his 200+lb longbow, because short of using a crossbow (which can be much more powerful) that is pretty much the max power you can get and they where using these in battles in 1066. the advancement in moden bows is not in there power, but there refinment in how they release it, giving a smoother and more blanaced release, which make them more accurate. The only way to really improve it is to make the arrow lighter, more streamline as it flys (fold out grapple maybe) and lighter rope, although even something like fishing line causes a significent amount of drag and adds its own weight that unlike an arrow that is accelerating while its incontact with the bow string, the following line is having to be accelerated by drawing energy from the arrows in flight. It is quick shocking how quickly and drasticly it shortens and arrows flight.

[@SocksAndPuppets]

Mythbusters 86 (which is 16 years old now) show a "modern" grapple device used by special forces, but it fires from a mortar rather than a bow. I'm sure the tech has improved considerably since 2007.

[@Validole]

​@@TheDevilWAHI believe Shad (of Shadiversity) showed that poundage isn't everything, with modern bows being able to "move faster" and thus able to shoot further with a lighter arrow, where a warbow would burn much of the stored energy just moving it's own wood (almost like dry firing). But a heavier arrow does mitigate that effect. What would be a big advantage is a composite grappling hook.

[@Thirty9Trails]

Growing up, every time we had to trim trees, my dad would tie a light line to an arrow (like a 100 lb test fishing line), maybe 50-100ft long, that would be anchored to a heavier rope. My job was to get the arrow over the limbs we needed to cut. We’d then retrieve the arrow and pull the lighter line until the heavy was over the limb. Anchor done, long arm cutter and we’d pull the limb away from the house as it fell.

[@CaseyKonstanz]

Yep, did something similar with what was essentially thick fishing line. Not as quick and cinematic but definitely effective.

[@readwrecks]

There’s a guy on KZbin and TikTok making homesteading videos. He made a video where he went out with professional tree trimmers. They did pretty much the same thing, but they used a slingshot.

[@Thirty9Trails]

@@readwrecks but you look way cooler with a bow. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤣

[@readwrecks]

@@Thirty9Trails oh, no doubt. I was just pointing out that there are professionals that use the exact technique you described. Even if one of the tools involved is a little different. I imagine the pros use a slingshot because it’s easier to pack and unpack, and easier and cheaper to replace when it gets damaged, than a bow.

[@hujan1744]

"you can see i avoid saying knot because of...Tumbrl" Yeah i get why you'd wanna do that...

[@joda7697]

I don't, actually, could you explain that part?

[@Wolfgang9Hype]

The simple answer is... furries. I would say google from there but... that's dangerous and NSFW.

[@rain_of_parsley]

​@@joda7697Pro tip, you do not want to know lol. Trust us.

[@thephantomspectator407]

@@joda7697 Google "knots, furry" 😉

[@FirebladesSong]

@@joda7697 Let's just say it's a sexual trope in werewolf fiction and leave the details at that.

[@wallywallace2184]

"See how I'm avoiding using the word knot because of … Tumblr" very valid man.

[@The_Game_Professor]

In addition to a modern lighter weight rope there's also the modern superhero version of this used by archers like Green Arrow and Hawkeye where the head is more aerodynamic until it's fired and then the head expands at some point in the arrow's arc. I wonder if that would effect the range too. Sorry if that's brought up in the science section my headphones are still charging.

[@pattheplanter]

Making a reliable sprung hinge that could take a human's weight would be tricky.

[@nctpti2073]

Many of the super hero versions also literally spin out a line behind them made chemically (with super science, of course), too

[@frozenheart7133]

Even just using carbon fiber might help significantly.

[@gamecavalier3230]

2:28 He really is a D&D character, he even has 50ft of Hempin Rope.

[@fable-like-hero]

Wait I've always thought this was a fake thing. That's actually really cool !

[@globalincident694]

Well, as demonstrated here, it is mostly a fake thing, in that you could just throw the grappling hook.

[@fable-like-hero]

@@globalincident694 Yeah, I guess you're right.

[@Amaranthyne]

You must be new here. You should check out some of his other work if you haven’t already. Archery myth-busting and some nice acrobatic kind of stuff.

[@Amaranthyne]

@@globalincident694I don’t know. I imagine as a novice with a weaker bow and bad throwing skills, I’d probably be more effective with the bow.

[@fable-like-hero]

@@Amaranthyne Yeah I'm kinda new haha. I discovered his channel last week.

[@thijmstickman8349]

Imagine walking in the woods and you see this guy

[@timschommer8548]

One variant I've read in a bit of fiction is to have a bit of really light cord looped through the hole, the light chord trails out with the arrow. Once the hook is set you pull the light chord through and use it to pull the heavier chord into place. Of course, you'd need a bigger hole than the one you have on this arrow head.

[@keephurn1159]

Thank you for not getting hurt in pursuit of this trope.

[@shadowlink3339]

I love how knowledgeable and brave you are! It does take a bit of physics to implement the grapple hook! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@blumineck]

You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@CyreneDuVent]

“See how I’m avoiding saying knot, because of Tumblr” Me, here from Tumblr: *snickers when I hear knot* Yeah that’s fair. Also, thanks for the subtitles! I know they’re more of a thing on vertical video anyway, but it’s always nice to see built in ones in other stuff because the KZbin ones are kinda janky on mobile

[@SubacaiDarkwing]

It is always a pleasure to see the sheer joy you have in your craft. The fact that these things _work_ (albeit with a minor hitch via broken arrow this time) is absolutely amazing. ❤ ETA: Praising the hook for having a good try sounded so sincere. It made me grin and giggle. 😸😹

[@UnderSampled]

In order to use the thick hemp rope with a small eye, consider trying a back splice!

[@rabidsamfan]

Seconded!

[@scylla1772]

That hook is terrifyingly small for securing on to things. Beautiful work by the forger and you :0

[@garthvanheerden7166]

Rope management is a thing. Having the rope just sitting on the ground will add to drag. A proper coil that it can spool off of would help some. Also, a lighter rope would change it a lot... see if you can change out the tie off point for a one way pulley or the mechanism of an ascender. You would be able to pull the hemp rope up to the hook to climb it...

[@Fang1241]

Kevlar twine can hold hundreds of pounds at the thickness of kite string

[@croianimris]

Have a light line thread the hook eye. After the shot, use the line to pull a climbing rope up. You might need a bigger ring size though.

[@Orynae]

It depends which scenario he's trying to reenact. Here he obviously tried hooking a branch straight above him, so that would work. But he also mentioned scaling a wall or crossing a gap; if it's a scenario like that, where you can't access the end of the line once thrown, then what's attached to the arrowhead is all you're gonna get.

[@croianimris]

@@Orynae sorry, I mean that you have a thin line go through the eye and back again, so you hold onto both ends once shot. Tie one end to a thicker rope, pull the other, bobs your uncle. It does double the weight, but what can you do?

[@Orynae]

@@croianimris oh that makes sense, ty for explaining!

[@croianimris]

@@Orynae np! :)

[@JamesonHuddle]

I think you would need a thin cord and a mechanical accender, probably a much lighter grapple hook as well in order for it to be more effective than swinging and throwing the hook with your arm. Really interesting attempt, really fun that a smith made that arrowhead for you!

[@abigailbaldwin4224]

So, while technically doable, it looks like it would be far more effective to just carry a grappling hook and a good length of rope and just spin and throw it instead of trying to shoot it

[@superbaas8822]

He addresses it in a short, there can be some effective timed to use this, such as on a narrow ledge where swing room is not applicable, or when you need to toss the rope while suspended (Such as shooting it from the top of a tree to a high cliff ledge.) Basically, it just makes more angles possible.

[@BoazvanderVorm]

We need more long form videos man! Especially because this is day 5 of asking for a tutorial/training series with tips on how to get into speedshooting and stuff like that!

[@SocksAndPuppets]

There's an old episode of mythbusters (one of the earlier series) where they do a bunch of experiments to make a portable grapling hook canon that you can strap on your arm and then winch yourself up the side of a building (like in the batman movies) - and... it's juuust about possible. They also demo some special forces style hooks that fire from a mortar, then fold out when they get close to their target, which is super cool. It'd possibly be possible to design a fantasy-steampunk arrowhead that you loose and it "deploys" the hook in mid air (a spring loaded release on a clockwork timer, for example) - but it'd require a LOT of clever engineering to get right.

[@HeavensNight2k4]

An archer in my D&D campaign uses a compound bow so I'd love to see you do a video showcasing one of them.

[@chervbs]

That "I'm in a tree" fed my soul

[@Tobbzn]

To improve the range you can throw the coil of the rope ahead of where you're launching from, and only retain the tail. Should lead to less friction and less pulling force colinear to the direction of the arrow. Might trade some aim for reach.

[@jasonking3466]

Somebody put this guy in a movie. He is excellent sidekick material.

[@purpleghost106]

He's got enough charisma for protag, let him shine! Especially if he's playing a character with Robin Hood tropes, he'd rock that!

[@missbeans]

They've just announced a live action Zelda movie. He needs to play Link!

[@bossyboots5000]

Sidekick??! How dare you, sir! Blum is straight up superhero status. Def leading protagonist material.

[@Ganmue]

LITERALLY my childhood dream! Thank you so much for doing this!

[@xYuki91x]

Others: that shit would hurt blumineck: you'll be very sad that you've been hit

[@PhoenixVic21]

Are you becoming the Myth Buster for arrows? Maybe. And I'm here for it! I just hope your neighbors are ok with you shooting and climbing about in your garden 😅 Wife just looking out the window and says "there he goes again" 😂

[@JHaven-lg7lj]

100% agreement about sound effects being compulsory, they make everything better

[@RosaFriend]

Need to make this an item for me D&D players! Brilliant video!

[@rayaronitwitchybrow9127]

I can see this working extremely well with a crossbow and bolt set up.

[@jeremyslagle489]

SO EFFING AWESOME!! Seriously cool and thank you so much for this sweet video!!

[@pipers_river]

Love the longer format video!!! This was fascinating. 🏹🏹

[@AndyBarkerBass]

If it shoots further than you can conceivably throw the hook then it's a win in my opinion

[@dinosaurs_rule]

This is so unbelievably awesome! I love your content

[@THEBAGGINS97]

"I've got a tree and a can-do attitude" sounds like Pippins inner monologue when he told Treebeard to head towards Isengard.

[@bossyboots5000]

😂

[@tarnishedhunter318]

Just because some people on tumblr have certain reactions to large knots doesn't mean we all do 🐺 Great video as always! (and I'm with you on the "limbs yes, equipment no" trust in climbing)

[@daigozidashi4376]

The upside-down Spider-Man swing was awesome! I love your videos. You're so fun and entertaining and informative, and I absolutely love it! Thank you so much for what you do!

[@ShadowFoxSF]

4:00 So I know the natural way and arrow flies involves the shaft doing a funny wobble dance through the air. That shot was pretty good but I'm laughing because that arrow fishtailed harder than cars in winter.

[@chiarardn2401]

Awesome! I love your longer videos!

[@halapenopepper]

the joke at 6:25 caught me so off guard I started wheezing

[@TheLeastOfficialOfBros]

I love your enthusiasm dude

[@calvinpittser2975]

So much added respect that he tests this. BAREFOOT

[@yuelianghaizi9276]

I have an idea you could try. What if rather than using an arrow slider, you simply take the arrow and push it through the middle of the rope? I mean it may get rid of the fletchings but for a short distance it should not matter much. As such, by doing so it should fly smoother, and have more power as well as accuracy. After all if you shoot it the way you are, I would think it puts too much of a tension and movement on the arrow. Also, in addition to that I would recommend the entire arrow & grappling hock being one solid piece being made of metal (or something equally strong) but that might be heavier so it is up to you. Would love to see you try these ideas out but up to you.

[@bossyboots5000]

I cannot imagine the sheer strength needed to draw a bow with that much weight. And you did it over and over. No wonder you can punch through a watermelon. 😲 This video made me actually lol so many times. But I think "I'm in a tree!!!" was the best. 😂 I love that you share your process, including the failures and monkey wrenches, instead of just editing together all the successful parts to look easy. It means we get to go on a journey of discovery with you, and get as excited when things work as planned. 😊 For the record, I never doubted you could do this, bc you are an otherwordly superhero elf dancer who can do anything, but I wanted to see how you got there.

[@JaySwag77]

This video is fantastic! So much fun.

[@ImusNoxa]

Just the fact that this works *at all* is amazing. I'm sure there's ways you could do this better. But from a purely non-magical irl definitely not fantasy perspective, I feel like it's worth reiterating that it is REALLY COOL that it works at all! Also, hello from tumblr :D

[@ChrisM-xx6cf]

Your level of insanity is most entertaining! Please, keep with it! :D

[@Draconicrose]

Well that's just delightful sciencing!

[@TheSinrai]

Consider me hooked!

[@cineck]

Awesome as always!

[@sinimeg]

Your videos are so cool, I love them

[@fullmentaljacket4159]

Very cool. Clearly not as practical as other options, but a fun way to test out the concept.

[@arrayknight9691]

This man is legit proving or disproving a lot of archer tropes and I love it!

[@2sacsorawkidneybeans272]

5:39 the captions are craaaazy here

[@felixheitzer2262]

Really cool, thx for all the work😊

[@devinayaz9210]

this was definitely worth the long watch

[@ids1024]

For dealing with the weight of the rope, it could have a thin chord (like fishing line) looped through the hook, which you could then pull a thicker rope up to the hook with once it's hooked onto a branch. If you had some mechanism at the end of the rope to attach to the hook once it gets there. Then make the hook as lightweight as possible, I guess with some titanium alloy? (In fantasy, you can assume an unrealistically strong and light material). I can imagine a very well engineered version of this being... a fair bit more effective than this. If only for very limited potential uses.

[@epincion]

Totally engaging thanks

[@dolphin64575]

Hey, thank you for the captions!

[@breadbread4226]

Well, one idea for getting this to a point where it is more viable is to put the rope in front of you instead of behind you, so that it drags less

[@Geheme45]

You magnificent bastard, you did it! You can be proud of yourself

[@elizabethclaiborne6461]

Damn! This is really impressive.

[@CookieMonster-nt8hh]

Mans concerned saying "knot" but puts "double C um" in the subtitles

[@erinkarp]

So cool!

[@catboxcleaner3532]

Epic, David!

[@matesafranka6110]

"See how I avoid saying 'knot', because of... _[pause for traumatized despondence]_ tumblr"

[@cryptid_deity]

Really cool stuff!!!

[@altodee9257]

Amazing!!!

[@UnchainedEruption]

Wow. This was really cool.

[@ladyfoxytales]

A tree and a can-do attitude. What more do you need?

[@Validole]

That moment of "Oof, yeah" when during the first shot it does exactly what you thought it would, given that archer's paradox is a thing...

[@Validole]

Honestly surprised that it was a fluke.

[@emperordraygon]

6:22 "I'm avoiding saying 'knot' because of Tumblr" Subtitles at 5:38:

[@ludditzthrell2061]

There's some interesting stuff here, mun. A part of me wonders if a heavy crossbow of the time wouldn't do better, but then the shorter bolts and rope would definitely affect the aerodynamics... yeah, I don't know. With period technology, it seems doable, but it'd be bloody hard, and you'd need likely one of the most swole archers ever to exist, along with a bow that could handle him. Honestly, I can't see it going better than the way you did it, and it seems just fine. Good on ya, mun, hope ya have a good day and don't brain anyone with that thing. Like as not it'd be a better mace than arrow!

[@URvlogger5098]

All the likes and all the respect. Thank you gor making all our dreams come true 👍👍👍

[@RaccoonIdk]

Bloody terrifying for sure, but it definitely makes ya look cool!

[@DarianRamkissoon]

That poor tree trying so hard just for you to say "that's not a branch"

[@NaNa-rb7ou]

There’s a tool for every job. The bow probably good at shooting an arrow with a leading line across opened gap that your buddy already there , the line can be tied to a rope by your end later which allow your buddy to drag said robe across the valley with supplies tied to it

[@YB-dh1fu]

The pause at 6:23 just killed me

[@SomeoneBeginingWithI]

Pausing at 2:56 you've done a few experiments now which have involved heavier than normal things in place of the arrowhead, where the arrow has splintered. Would you consider wearing eye protection for future experiments of this nature? I know you might worry that would look "silly" but loosing the sight in one eye is a very difficult thing to go through, and might be worth taking steps to avoid. Any reasonable person would respect you for taking reasonable precautions.

[@catocall7323]

Yes please, I know a guy who lost an eye to a wood splinter and this guy could easily have been in the same situation from that arrow.

[@gweltazlemartret6760]

Thanks for the whole video with full tries, including failed ones. They are much entertaining (albeit disappointing for you, but optimism, yay!)

[@AriaAsacura]

genuinely choked laughing at the knot bit. you just had to not say it. but now its there.

[@trikepilot101]

I think I f you want more range you need to shoot a light line that has been doubled. After the hook is set in the tree (or whatever) you tie on the heavier rope that has a metal clip of some kind that will latch into the loop on the hook. I admit there is a lot of hand waving in the "some kind of metal clip" bit. : )

[@gizmonomono]

Damn! Seeing the arrow explode on release gave me anxiety 😂 Had this happen to me once, and I was licky I only got away with a scratch 😁 You got some balls on you, man!

[@bardyn1]

“But you’d be very sad that you’d been hit”. Nice.

[@michaelbaker7499]

A potential solution regarding attaching the rope to the arrow. Tie a smaller rope to the arrow and then splice it into the thicker rope, be more aerodynamic. Alternatively, get a thinner hemp rope

[@macyfloof64]

When I saw the title, my first thought was 'grapple' in terms of hand-to-hand combat. Whoopsie!

[@oron61]

Arrows breaking: 1 is an anomaly, 2 is a trend.

[@kktallman6257]

A way I can see of overcoming the grip issues with lighter ropes is to thread similarly light weight objecys along it's length (maybe bamboo beads?) or perhapse tying knots in it in 1ft invervals.

[@UnstableJess]

If I had an arrow fail on the bow like that, I can't say I'd have the courage to shoot the same arrow again! At least not without goggles and leather sleeves!

[@gullinvarg]

Try eye splices instead for less bulk in the rope. You could untwist the end of the big rope, retwist however many strands will fit though the grappling hook, then retwist all the strands for a short bit before weaving them in for the eye splice. Alternatively, you could take a piece of narrower rope that fits through the grappling hook, eye splice one end with an eye a little bigger than the bigger rope, put the unspliced end through the grappling hook then eye splice it, eye splice the big rope with a loop big enough to pass the 2 loops in the little rope through, put the loops of the little rope through the one in the big rope then put the end of the big rope that's not spliced through both loops in the little rope. Adding another option, take the thinner rope through the grappling hook, splice it to itself in a loop (creating a circle), pull that through an eye splice in the thick rope then pull the unspliced end of the thick rope through the loop that's sticking through the eye splice. I think that may be the least bulky option using 2 ropes.

[@Fang1241]

Or just use kevlar twine and a couple line grips

[@ThatExplo]

5:32 Ah yes the double C.. um.. ofcourse

[@Validole]

This feels like it would be more feasible (over just tossing the bloody thing) with 1. A ballista, or 2. Using modern materials and tools: composite bow, composite grapple, modern paracord with an ascender for gripping it while climbing.

[@Fang1241]

Personally, I'd opt for kevlar twine

[@screenaholic]

You could abandon the thicker rope entirely by tying hand/foot loops spaced throughout the length of the thin rope, forming a light-weight rope ladder.