Though from the title you may assume we’re talking lock picking, it’s actually the company name. This is all about the pointy/stabby. Mad Duo

Review: Sparrows Lock Picks – HALO Points

Apocalypse Josh

Among other pointy things I like I also enjoy archery, though I have not done much for some time. My first bow was a bushman-style I picked up while living in Gabon, west Africa, with gut string, bamboo arrows and iron arrow tips. After many sticks and twine attempts I bought my first proper bow, a 30-35lb pull composite recurve, which I got primarily for target shooting at home.

That said, when I first saw the HALO POINTS hybrid arrowheads from Sparrows Lock Picks on Soldier Systems, I had to get and review some. Far easier than knapping my own from flint, that’s for sure.

From left to right these are the Sykes Head, the Step Head, the 5-Hour Point, the Single Gear Head and the single-edged Jungle Head.

Sparrows first developed three of these blades in a limited production run and offered a few for public sale. But due to their popularity and new machining capabilities they have not only added them permanently to their lineup, but have expanded the line to these five designs.

The HALO points are built to be pinched with your fingers or tied onto an object. With a mix of holes and notches, there are a number of different ways they can be gripped or mounted. The small design lets you covertly carry and store them. The Full Halo set comes with a small survival tin, but are also available individually. The blades average a length of 2.5″ and are made from a black stonewashed 440C steel. They ship factory sharp, which is goodly sharp enough for me.

BBC readers get 20% off non-sale/closeout Flagrant Beard items with code: bbcflagrant20

To review them as arrowheads I found some local bamboo shafts and let them age a little in my shower (that’s an old kendo trick) before forming them into arrows. I split the ends of the shafts and worked a couple of the heads in. The Step Head was excellent and really easy to lace it in, even in a quick job like this.

I’d never actually mounted a traditional non-threaded arrowhead myself, but I’ve seen several. I’ve also mounted a knife to a pole to fashion a spear, as well as fitting a Ontario Black Wind sword to a pole to make a naginata for my polearm-wielding sister for her 21st birthday (another tradition of ours). So with some cross-lashing and securing of the split a bit further, as well as trimming down the pointy end, I expect I could make some pretty good field-expedient arrows with the HALOs.

I tried a similar binding on the Single Gear Head, which worked really nicely as well. These are well-made blades with elegant lines and no frills.

Obviously, they would not the the first choice in blades to have at your hip if you were out bush-bashing. But as with many of the knives I collect and cover, they are unobtrusive, easy to store and conceal and capable of doing a lot of jobs.

Cleaning small game, performing campsite tasks, opening bags and boxes, and even minor medical procedures could all be achieved with the HALO points. All that capability in a small blade which can be stored in a survival tin, behind a belt buckle, or in the tongue of a boot. I enjoyed working with these pieces While small in the hand, they have a sincerity to them that comes from good design.

Available in Singles or as a Full Set from Sparrows Lock Picks, the HALO points are well worth adding to a bug-out bag, SERE kit or just having handy when you need a little blade.

-AJ

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

Comms Plan

Primary: Subscribe to our newsletter here, get the RSS feed and support us on Patreon right here.

Alternate: Join us on Facebook here or check us out on Instagram here.

Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.

Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by ’til we come get you.

About the Author: Josh Orth is a second generation expat currently dwelling in the arguably civilized outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. He’s lived in deserts, jungles and urban sprawls around the world and traveled/adventured into assorted inhospitable places around the world and has a keen sense of the speed with which the trappings of ‘civilized Western life’ can disappear. This has led him to begin writing about his interests and observations when it comes to the gear, skills and other necessities of self reliance of being equipped for whatever a capricious, occasionally indurate life might throw at him. This isn’t by any means to say our eccentric friend truly experiences genuine vorfreude about dystopian life, but if he had to he might not complain. Read more by Josh at Apocalypse Equipped.

Grunts: vorfreude.

We’re not saying Josh flies a PL-12 Airtruk. We’re just saying this guy and Josh have never been seen in the same room together at the same time.