Pig Sticking on horseback is not for the faint of heart. During just one afternoon hunt I read about, the participants suffered a broken collar bone, limb fractures, and disemboweled horses. I have always wanted to own a real Manton Pig Sticking lance, but after years of searching for one, the closest I came was locating four 150-year-old Manton lance heads. Not finding any complete lances for sale, I decided to use those lance heads as a starting point to craft my own. As with our Tigrero Spear, we wanted our versions to honor the originals while taking some artistic license to make them even more appealing.

This project began by purchasing several books on the subject and an original Manton catalog from that era to learn how to craft an authentic Pig Lance. The original versions were 9' overall, and our longer versions are approximately one foot shorter so they are easier to admire and display.

Someone once shared with me that the easiest job in the world is the one you are not doing. Crafting an authentic Pig Sticking lance proved that adage true, as it turned out to be far more complicated than simply sticking a spear head on a piece of bamboo. Each lance takes 4–12 hours to craft and goes through up to 100 labor-intensive steps that must be completed in a specific sequence before the lance is finished.

Bamboo Shafts

We start with hand-selected pieces of bamboo and offer two types. We scrap more than half of them due to cracks and lack of straightness.

Calcutta Bamboo was the same species used during colonial-era hunts. It is the strongest bamboo that exists, even before it is flame treated to increase its strength, and is the same kind used for reel-less fishing poles to hoist 100-pound tuna on board commercial boats. While most bamboo has thin walls, this species is almost completely solid.

Lengths vary for each model as the lance and palm protector need to be positioned at specific points in relation to the nodal rings, which are the raised areas that separate each section. If you select the Commercially Produced lance head, due to the smaller socket size, it goes on a smaller and thinner 6' shaft. If you select the XL Forged in Fire or one of the original Manton lance heads, they are mounted to a thicker 8' Calcutta bamboo shaft.

Yellow Bamboo offers more contrast than Calcutta bamboo but has a thinner wall thickness. We offer these on the Turnbull XL Forged in Fire lance heads in both 6' ± 6" (shorter jobbing spear for use on the ground) and 7' ± 6" lengths. The shoots where the new growth occurs are cut off but remain very sharp, so it takes almost a full day to deburr them so you can run your hand down the shaft without injury.

We then fill those depressed cavities where the shoots grow from with black epoxy. Since placement of the cavities varies, we fill them one cavity at a time to avoid having the epoxy run, and this takes approximately one week to complete. We think the Turnbull color case hardened lance head and the yellow bamboo accented with the black epoxy makes for a stunning combination.

Leather Palm Protector

This filled, thick leather piece was designed after one that we saw in a museum that was 150 years old. It is secured to the shaft with 84" of strong black cord wrapped in an elegant fashion. Expert Pig Stickers would drive the spear home on a running boar by pushing against the end of the lance, and this leather piece was designed to cushion the impact against the palm.

Lance Heads

The different types of lance heads we offer are based on a Manton design that was produced in Calcutta, India during the late 1800s. Manton was a British gun maker that opened a branch in India when hunting tigers and elephants was still a popular pursuit. They produced many different models of lance heads, but all our offerings are most similar to their most popular one, the ornate four-bladed “Deccan Hunt” model.

Commercially Produced Lance

This is a much sleeker, simpler, and smaller three-blade design. The overall lance head length is 12 1/4", with a 5 1/2" blade, a 7/8" socket, and it weighs 1/2 pound.

The Calcutta bamboo shaft is sanded, varnished, and then has the tip hand-contoured to friction fit into the socket. The lance head is then compressed onto the bamboo shaft and secured with a 1/8" stainless steel pin. The fat end of the lance has a leather palm protector elegantly tied to it. This model goes on a shorter and smaller diameter shaft and produces a lance with an overall length of approximately 7' ± 6". It weighs just two pounds and is perfectly balanced.

Forged in Fire Polished Steel XL

This is a much beefier version of the one above and is considerably larger than the original Manton version. It is expertly crafted by a Forged in Fire Champion out of 4140 high carbon steel. Due to the intricate nature of this four-bladed design, the first few custom knife makers we contacted passed on this project.

Items with one dimension are relatively easy, two-dimensional ones are harder, and crafting this lance, which has four different symmetrical raised cutting blades, requires a PhD in forging. Overall length of the lance head is 12 1/16", with a 5 3/4" blade, a 1 1/8" socket, and it weighs 1 pound.

The Calcutta bamboo shaft is sanded, varnished, and then has the tip hand-contoured to friction fit into the socket. The lance head is then compressed onto the bamboo shaft and secured with a 1/8" stainless steel pin. The final step is elegantly securing the custom-made leather palm protector onto the fat end. This produces a lance with an overall length of approximately 8' ± 6". This model is perfectly balanced and weighs approximately 3 pounds, as the head is heavier and it uses the longest and thickest piece of Calcutta bamboo.

Turnbull Forged in Fire XL

This is the same lance as the one above, but it has been beautifully color case hardened by Turnbull Restorations. Both lengths are affixed to yellow bamboo, and the shaft cavities that are part of this species are then filled with black epoxy. This produces a lance with an overall length of approximately 6' or 7' ± 6", depending on the model you select. The fat end of the lance has a leather palm protector elegantly tied to it. The 7' model weighs approximately 2 pounds and is perfectly balanced.

Original 1800s Manton Deccan Hunt Lance Head

We only have four of these available, and they are stamped “MANTON & CO.” on the lance socket. They were in storage for over a century, so we buffed them on a cotton wheel to restore them to as close to new condition as possible, but they do have some surface imperfections, as is to be expected from something this old.

Overall length of the lance head is 10 1/4", with a 5" blade, a 7/8" socket, and they weigh 1/2 pound. The process to craft this one-of-a-kind lance is the same as what we use for the XL model. The fat end of the lance has a leather palm protector elegantly tied to it. This produces a lance with an overall length of approximately 8' ± 6". This model weighs approximately 2 1/2 pounds and is perfectly balanced.

We hope you are as excited about these Pig Sticking lances as we are. We only had our blacksmith craft a dozen XL versions, and two of those were color case hardened. Two owners of Tigrero Spears have already purchased two of the 4140 XL models sight unseen. Get yours today and start your collection, as we are already researching our next spear project.

Lance Head Options

• Commercially Produced – $899
• Polished Steel XL – $1,499
• Turnbull XL 6' Model – $2,199
• Turnbull XL 8' Model – $2,199
• Manton Original – $2,499 (only four available)

These lances ship fully assembled and insured in a rigid PVC tube at 10% of invoice. Prices start at $899.

Disclaimer: Hunting hogs on foot with a lance is extremely dangerous. Hunting hogs on horseback with a lance is even more dangerous and can result in severe injuries, paralysis, death of the horse, and/or the death of the rider. For these reasons, these lances are intended for display purposes only, and you agree to assume any and all liability for any injuries and/or damages arising from their use.