{"id":564,"date":"2022-12-17T14:48:37","date_gmt":"2022-12-17T14:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/?p=564"},"modified":"2022-12-17T14:48:37","modified_gmt":"2022-12-17T14:48:37","slug":"these-welders-make-killer-ice-fishing-spears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/?p=564","title":{"rendered":"These Welders Make Killer Ice Fishing Spears"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The distance between a Minnesota spear fisherman and a singer from the Metropolitan Opera in New York City can\u2019t be measured by time zones, but rather by the singular devotion to craft.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s as good a way as any to describe Minnesota spear-forgers Loren Hjelle and his son Scott. The pair call themselves welders, but that doesn\u2019t fully describe their fine artisan talents. But first, Met contra-alto\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cA fellow came in here one day from over by Sunberg, a recently retired opera singer,\u201d Loren says, leaning into his chair, surrounded by the soot-covered tools of the metal trade. \u201cThis guy had his father\u2019s old spear in his hand, and he wanted to see if I could make one just like it. He was going spearing for pike, and didn\u2019t want to take a chance on losing that heirloom piece.\u201d It was destined to be a forever wall-hanger. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat old spear was built using tines from an old pitchfork,\u201d Loren Hjelle says. Hjelle (pronounced JELLY, like in peanut butter and\u2026) took on the task.<\/p>\n

After building that spear, pitchfork tines became Hjelle\u2019s new medium. He started seeking out old pitchforks, and his signature spears started showing up in spearing shacks all through the northern-tier of North America. They\u2019re used for spearing northern pike<\/a>, a pursuit that seems to be growing more popular each winter. Soon, stacks of pitchforks and old silage forks littered a back room, waiting for their new lives on the ice to begin.<\/p>\n

Loren and Scott with some of their recent creations. Mitch Kezar<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cPitchfork tines,\u201d Loren says, \u201care not round, they\u2019re elliptically shaped \u2014 like an egg. They\u2019re more oblong. We cut the tines off and rotate them, so they\u2019re strong and long, and some we make with multiple barbs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loren remembered a conversation with a fellow spearer, who marveled at his creation. \u201cHow come your tines are so long?\u201d he asked. \u201cHow come you want your tines to only go part way through a fish?\u201d came Loren\u2019s answer. End of discussion.<\/p>\n

The elder Hjelle graduated from welding school in 1971, and was asked by an older friend if he\u2019d ever made a spear. He made that first one from some material found on century-old railroad parts, back when rail gangs gas-welded the rails. After that first effort, a few more friends came around asking for or bartering for spears. Hjelle was hooked.<\/p>\n

He took his early spears to a few decoy shows and only sold a couple of them. Looking over at his and Scotts\u2019 modern creations, he laughs, \u201cThey didn\u2019t look anything like this. Many of those [early spears] were made from garage-door springs we had to straighten and weld. Some of those guys would give our spears names like \u2018Widow Maker,\u2019 \u2018Death Wish,\u2019 stuff like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Old pitchforks ready to be made into spears. Mitch Kezar<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But that\u2019s no longer the case, Hjelle modern spears are pure functional art.<\/p>\n

Scott, 34, made a few spears as a young lad for 4-H projects and for an advanced metal class. Early in his career he was tasked with straightening out those garage door springs for his dad. Now he\u2019s an integral partner in the spear making art \u2014 a spear-making artist in residence.<\/p>\n

Scott put pictures of his first efforts on a Facebook page called \u201cFear the Spear\u201d and that\u2019s when their business blew up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI joined because I grew up spearing, and I wanted to see what else I could learn from like-minded sportsmen,\u201d he says. He put photos of his dad\u2019s best spears on the site, which garnered even more interest. He then made his own Facebook page, and now the Hjelles have as many orders as they can fill, with more than 3,000 followers watching their endeavors online.<\/p>\n

\"Ice
Loren heats part of a spear. Mitch Kezar<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe number one custom option is twisted square tines from silage forks,\u201d Scott says. \u201cThose square tines are ideal for strength and flexibility. They maintain rigidness all the way around, but that\u2019s not why I think people want them. People like our twisted tines, which need to start with a square stock. And our spears are truly balanced because, like a throwing dart, they\u2019re end-heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome folks want special twists, reverse twists,\u201d Loren says. \u201cAnd all that cool stuff takes way more time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

READ NEXT: This Wood Carver Is Making the Most Realistic (and Deadly) Fish Decoys You\u2019ve Ever Seen<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The wishbone look, where the main shaft of the spear splits then comes back together near the business end of things, is unique to a Hjelle spear. No other maker has that feature.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love metal art,\u201d Loren says. \u201cI teach welding at a local college and my students are making a full-size German shepherd metal dog in class for the police department in Willmar. It will be displayed in their lobby as a permanent fixture. That\u2019s part of thing we like to teach at school \u2014 creativity. When welding gets combined with art\u2026 well, boy. I\u2019m there, I just love this stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Scott came back to the business his father started, it changed his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Scott hones a spear. Mitch Kezar<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis spear making blew my mind. I get to use my hands and be creative,\u201d Scott says. \u201cWhen I was in school, I couldn\u2019t paint or draw. Art did not register with me. These spears opened up a part of my brain that never surfaced before. Now, I learn all these new things. We have a new laser engraver, and right now we can put almost anything you want written or drawn on your spear. It\u2019s gonna open up a lot of customization we never thought of before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rocking back in his chair, Loren says, \u201cThe coolest thing about this spear making is that without intention, Scott can have this business for the rest of his career and \u2014 like decoy making \u2014 it can be lucrative if you work at it. It\u2019s turned into something I can leave my family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But no good spear story can end without a fish tale, and Loren has plenty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ice
The final product. Mitch Kezar<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSo, I was way up on a northern Minnesota lake, and this 24-odd pound fish \u2013 which looked big as a railroad tie \u2014 floated in beneath me, paralleling my decoy. I thought, \u2018Please turn, please turn!\u2019 And like a battleship that old fish took forever to get turned. He slides back in. I had my spear in my hand, and he was coming right in beneath me. I\u2019ve never had buck fever, but right then I sure got a bad case of big fish fever. I threw that spear so hard \u2014 I missed him. Gone!\u00a0 I just couldn\u2019t believe it. I guess I\u2019m a better spear builder than I am a spearer!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n