Atlatl Dart “Cups” or “Nocks”

Question from a reader:

In all of the pics I’ve seen of darts around the net – I have not seen a pic of the nock end as seen from behind…Usually you see the feathers and the shaft sticks a little further out and is cropped by the edge of the photo…

The atlatl has a point which is used to hold the dart and project it…sooo the question is – how do you construct the very end of the nock? Do you leave it flat and the way you hold the dart keeps it in place by compression? Do you cup the end so it has a little better hold?

Here is a picture of an atlatl dart cup:

And here is a picture of an atlatl spur:

And this is this is what happens when an atlatl spur and a dart cup get together:

This atlatl and dart were made for each other … when I stand the spear straight up, the atlatl hangs perfectly in the cup:

Atlatl darts have a hole in the end of the dart into which the spur tip of the atlatl is inserted. It’s not a tight fit. A good spur tip is rounded, not pointed. Think, “ball and socket,” like a knee or an elbow.

The idea is for the top of the spur to easily rotate into and out of the cup (the hole in the rear of the dart).

The cup on aluminum darts is just a regular arrow insert, just like the one in front of the dart that a field point is screwed into. The hole in the end of the arrow insert is just big enough to allow the narrow rounded tip of the atlatl spur to sit just a little ways inside.

The way I make my cup in bamboo and river cane darts is to cut the cane shaft off at a node. River Cane and Bamboo is hollow except at the nodes which are solid dividers between cane sections. After I cut the node, I use a 2-inch-wide spade bit which has a V-shaped starter tip about 1/4-inch-wide at its widest point. I then push the tip of spade bit into the center of the node divider at the end of the cane shaft and start hand twisting the spade bit until I have made a cone shaped “cup” in the end of the dart about 1/4-inch deep by 1/4-inch wide at the widest point.

Important point: Before doing the “cup,” I reinforce the rear end of the dart by using PC-7 glue and wrapping string around the dart for about 1 1/2 inches in from and to the rear of the dart. Wrap a strip of duct tape or any tape about 1 1/2 inches from the rear of the dart. Put PC-7 glue on between the duct tape and the rear of the dart. Wrap string around and into the glue. Put more glue on. Then spin the glued area into a folded paper towel to smooth thing out. Remove the tape in about six hours. In about 12 hours, you can make the cup with the spade bit.

Other people I know make the cup by twisting a knife point or a Phillip’s screwdriver into the rear of the cane shaft. Whatever works is fine by me!! The purpose is to make a cone shaped “cup” in the end of the dart that the tip of the atlatl spur can ball and socket into and out of.

It is therefore necessary to give some consideration to the coordinating the size of the cup hole and the size of the tip of the atlatl spur.

I use a “Y” shaped dart rest on the front of my atlatl which has rough leather strips glued into the “V” of the “Y” which keeps the dart from slipping off the spur. No finger(s) needed to hold the dart in place on the atlatl. I hold the atlatl, the atlatl holds the dart, we don’t get in each other’s way.

For people who don’t use a dart rest, it is necessary to devote one or more fingers to holding and pushing the dart back on to the atlatl spur, and devote the rest of the fingers and hand to holding the atlatl handle, prior to the throwing motion. A lot of bad throws happen because people hold onto the dart too long or fumble around trying to re-grip the atlatl handle in the middle of the throw. Think fumble, wobble, oops.

Some atlatlists use a “U” shaped dart rest that requires one finger to hold the dart in place. Many times I see people just hang their finger over the top of the dart shaft like a saddle blanket and when they start the throwing motion, the finger stays too long and the dart bends at the finger which finally releases with a “sproingy sproing” reaction that causes the dart to everywhere except to the target.

The trick with atlatls that do not have a dart rest is to pinch the dart between the tips of the thumb and one finger and release at the very start of the throwing motion. The trick with the U-shaped dart rest is to not drape the finger over the dart like a saddle blanket but to just hold the dart in place with the tippy tip of the finger tip and get that finger out of there at the very start of the throwing motion.

When it comes to using bamboo or river cane darts I frown on sharp pointy atlatl spurs or long narrow spur tips that dig into the inside of the dart wall (sharp pointy spur tips) or otherwise do not easily rotate into and out of the cup (long narrow spur tips) as these sharp pointy/long narrow spur tips get trapped inside the dart shaft and cause misfires and/or otherwise rip the rear end of the dart apart.

The only time I have seen sharp pointy or long narrow spur tips work at all is with solid wood darts for which the cup is just a very shallow indentation at the rear of the dart and the wood is tough enough to resist the digging of the sharp pointy spur tip.

I hope this information is helpful to you in making your first atlatl.