I have a question about lance construction. I am looking for suggestions about the most common types of wood corrently used. I am an SCA equestrian and under the current regulations of my kingdom, we can only use pultruded fiberglass or rattan which frankly, stinks. Hardwood lance consideration has been approved and I would like to make one that would pass with flying colors and be much more correct than what is currently used.

A few I've talked to say they use #2 pine and carve it down for current full contact tournaments. (No scoring added.)

This might be a good question for the HorseGuild forum as well.

Brenna: Here's the URL for a page I threw together on lances, I hope it is at least of some help:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Cyprus/7530/Lance/

Now, as to how to build the shaped variety, I'm really not sure... If you want a really nice one the way to go might be to get a good woodworker; a REALLY good one could probably do it without a lathe. Groups I've seen who do this usually have a very few of these, with removable/replaceable ends for the "shatter effect" during passes without destroying what is a very labour-intensive product. If you're not doing actual contact passes, but instead are riding at the quintain, etc. a 'real' one would be a very nice investment indeed (one I intend to make one day as well ).

Now, if you're wanting to go for an earlier look, a straight pole with a metal vambrace would be fine. Any good armourer (actually, any mediocre one) should be able to make a basic vamplate for any size pole.

As for what we usually use in the joust troupe I'm in, it's **cough** closet rod **cough** with fancy vamplates put on it to make it more presentable. Obviously, these are available at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. 10' to 12' seems to be the optimum length for us, though I've read sources putting them even longer, rarely shorter.

As always, what you want will ultimately depend on exactly what you plan on doing with it. If I can be of any further assistance, I'll do my best! Contact me via my personal email or here, where all can share!

This much I am sure of regarding construction. The shaping would have been done with draw knives, and most medieval carpenters considered planes and small axes to be identical tools in use (roughing out the shape.

For an A&S project, I would go with ash.

I have already looked at the Lance construction site, that's what prompted my posting. I am actually going for the earlier period look so the I don't think carving, etc will really come into it. When I ride in SCA Emprises, I ride as a 13th century squire (which I am in the SCA) OR for other types of competitions where we're not going for the high pageant look, I ride as a bad girl Cavalier in slops (which is actually my persona.)

The lance I currently use for emprises which we do quintain and mock knight jousting is a 10' pultruded fiberglass pole with an old trombone bell as a vamplate. I'm still waiting on the real one promised to me... Following the 10 ft rule, it doesn't look bad but the vibration after strikes is kind of weird and I'm having a hard time getting it properly counter-weighted. My horse LOVES quintain and getting him stopped before we hit a barrier while wrestling to get my lance back into the upright position gets REALLY intersting...

I doubt that a wooden lance will be any lighter, unless it it tapered from grip to point. When I practice quintain, I use an old SCA spear (ick) and it's lighter than any wood lance I've seen. Counter weighting is the key with any non-tapered lance.