Forum Overview :: Site Comments :: Anyone ever made a caltrop?

[quote name="Tansin A. Darcos (TDARCOS)"]Caltrops were a medieval anti-personnel and anti-cavalry weapon. You take a ball of something that can hold things together, like mud, or if needed, you bent sticks and tied them together. You use 4 sharp, pointy objects into the ball: sticks, sharpened bamboo, or anything else which will cause the intended target to "get the point" and to make it correctly, each point is inserted at a 45-degree angle from all the others. Or you can tie together two sticks which have been bent at a 45-degree angle. What you end up with is a device which has 3 legs and a standing point. No matter how you drop it, one point is always standing up. This is a nasty weapon. Step on it barefoot and you'll notice, and even if you're wearing shoes they won't help if it's hard enough and sharp. Rows of them will take out horses. Made of steel, like the picture above, and you take out most vehicles with tires, too. Cover the points with shit, when a victim steps on it, not only do you put a real shit load of pain on the recipient, you also give them a literal shit load of infection, too. Became less effective in warfare with the development of the tank, but were still used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. To see why they work you can make a caltrop with four toothpicks and Play Doh or clay, and notice that if you make it correctly with the 45 degree angle, no matter how you drop it, one end always points up. [/quote]