The Most Sophisticated and Effective Speartip in the Ocean

The “Triple T” Speartip (Terry’s Tuna Tip) was designed and created by SPEARIT to provide serious spearfishermen with the most advanced speartip in the world. Produced at the request of Terry Maas, to meet his design criteria, the tip is similar in appearance to one of the tips featured in Terry’s first book “Blue Water Hunting and Freediving”. The concepts integrated into this tip represent input from Terry Maas, Gary Thompson, Gerald Lim, and Steve Alexander from the US, and Greg Pickering, Andy Rudduck, and Rob Torelli from “down under”, as well as other expert big game spearfishermen from around the world.  No other tip incorporates all the features included here to assure the capture of large pelagic species.

Triple T SpearTip and Spear Shaft Adapter

This breakaway spear tip represents the most sophisticated design in big game spearfishing tips. The “Triple T” has several unique features. Produced on 4 axis CNC machine tools, the tip overcomes many earlier spear tip design deficiencies. The most obvious feature is the recessed placement of the barbs (and cable) to be flush with the outer diameter of the tip to remove the leading edges.

The benefit of this design is threefold:
1.  Faster travel through the water
2.  Better penetration of the fish
3.  Less damage or tearing of the fish (cleaner insertion)

Another feature is the hollow ground point. This also provides three benefits:
4.  Better penetration of the fish
5.  Less damage or tearing of the fish (cleaner insertion)
6.  Easier sharpening due to minimized surface area
The two barbs on the tip provide insurance that the fish will be held with minimum penetration. If the shot fails to penetrate far enough to toggle the whole tip (e.g., only the first barb gets behind the gill plate) there is still an excellent chance to hold the fish.
The “ball and cone” breakaway adapter design provides a secure support with absolutely no wobble. The tip falls off the adapter under its own weight when held at slightly more than a horizontal position.
Inside the tip there is a stainless steel set screw that is “tuned” to provide the critical combination of support and freedom for the adapter. The set screw can be readjusted as required to keep the interface between the tip and adapter perfectly tuned.

The “TRIPLE T” is 7 1/2” long and 7/16” in diameter. The tip and adapter are manufactured from 17-4 stainless steel ground stock, tumbled in ceramic to remove burrs, and then hardened to Rockwell 40C. Each tip is provided with two “unsharpened” barbs so the expert spearfisherman can provide his final touch to this most serious of spear tips. The tip is designed for 3/32” cable but can be adapted to larger diameter cable if desired. The adapter is threaded with a 5/16 - 24 thread for standard shafts.

The “TRIPLE T” tip is designed and intended for use only by expert spearfishermen in the pursuit of large pelagic game fish.
While the tip’s manufacture has ceased for an indefinite period (due to the very few spearfishermen who really need one), hopefully this article provides a detailed description of its design features and information for rigging, sharpening, and customizing techniques that might be useful to any serious bluewater hunter.
The following discussion and suggestions are provided to help maximize the performance of the “Triple T” tip:
1.  Each tip is provided with two “unsharpened” barbs so the expert spearfisherman can “tune” the barbs for his particular needs and preferences. 
Both barbs have been previously adjusted to rotate away from their recesses with minimal force. You will notice, however, that as the angle between the barb and the tip increases, the barbs pivot less easily. Finally, toward the end of their rotational travel, the barbs actually tend to “jam” in the open position. The ease of the initial opening and eventual automatic jamming are intended to insure two things:
•  The barbs catch in the fish tissue quickly upon backward movement of the tip.
•    Once opened, the barbs will not close easily and even if the tip extends into a body cavity or beyond the fish, the barbs will remain open. Then, as the tip is pulled back against the fish the barbs will not need to “re-catch” to be re-opened.
This adjustment is critical and care should be taken to maintain it when modifying the shape of the barbs as well as to restore it, as necessary, after landing a fish.

2.  Bending and filing (grinding) the barbs and/or grinding the sides of the relief’s
The two barbs on the tip provide insurance that the fish will be held with minimum penetration. The barbs are designed to provide retention of the fish when the tip has not entered the fish far enough to allow full toggling. If the shot fails to penetrate far enough to toggle the whole tip there is still an excellent chance to hold the fish as the barbs catch in the tissue or behind bony structures.
Some hunters prefer a pointed barb with a curve at its tail to help it lift up into the body of the fish. Others prefer to leave the tail flat and rely on the side surfaces of the barb for the lifting action. Still others use a little of both techniques to insure the barb will lift prior to backing out of the fish.
As mentioned previously, the Triple T tips are normally provided with the barbs laying flush in their recesses. To bend up the trailing barb edge to form a pointed tip, grasp the last 3/8” of the barb with a pair of needle nose pliers parallel to the shaft and bend up and away to about 20 or 30 degrees. The natural taper of the barb will tend to force a smooth curve in the barb as you bend it. Be careful to not overbend or crimp the barb. Once the barb has been curved, it can be filed or ground to create a point. Refer to the illustrations in this document for an example of a typical barb preparation. You may prefer more or less curve depending on the type of fish you are attempting to capture. Tough skinned, firm-meat fish will require less curve to lift the barb. These types of fish will also be penetrated more easily with less curve of the barbs.
If you prefer to rely on the edges of the barbs for lift it will be necessary to bevel the edges of the barb recesses on the body of the spear tip. Since the Triple T is hardened to Rockwell 40C, it will be necessary to use a grinder to bevel the edges of the recess.

3.  The proper adjustment of the set screw for the ball and conical seat
Inside the tip there is a stainless steel set screw (10-24 by 3/8”) that is “tuned” to provide the critical combination of support and freedom for the adapter. When installed, the set screw was coated with wax to prevent corrosion (even though the tip and set screw are both stainless steel, they are different types of stainless, so they have a tendency to react in the salt water environment. If the set screw is ever removed or replaced, the new screw should also be coated with an appropriate protectant.
The set screw can be readjusted (using a 3/32” allen wrench) as required to keep the interface between the tip and adapter perfectly tuned. When the tip is received the set screw will have been adjusted to allow the cone of the adapter to “just” seat against the internal cone of the tip. In this way the set screw prevents over engagement of the adapter and tip upon impact which could cause jamming and prevent breakaway. Over time and with use, the set screw might need to be readjusted to renew this critical positioning. To achieve the optimum adjustment first back out the set screw a turn or so to where the cones of the adapter and tip do not engage and a slight wobble is felt with side pressure on the tip. Gradually (a quarter turn or less at a time) screw in the set screw until the wobble just stops. Do not turn the set screw any farther or it will not support the tip of the ball and could allow over engagement of the adapter upon impact.

4.  The grinding (modification) of the tail barb to allow quicker toggling
The “ball and cone” breakaway adapter design provides a secure support with absolutely no wobble. The tip falls off the adapter under its own weight when held at slightly more than a horizontal position. If the hunter desires a more radical breakaway, the back (fixed) barb of the tip can be modified to allow a quicker toggle. Care must be taken when performing this modification to avoid ruining the tip. To allow a quicker toggle, grind away the longer of the two fixed barbs down to the edge of the internal cone. Leave the shorter fixed barb intact and do not grind into the cone area or you will create a permanent wobble that cannot be repaired. If you have any doubts about this operation, please contact me prior to attempting this modification.

5.  The sharpening of the hollow ground tip
The tip is designed to be used on open ocean (pelagic) species so generally it would not be dulled by striking objects such as rocks. If, however, the tip needs sharpening its surfaces and point can be renewed by using a fine whet stone with oil as a lubricant. Carefully hold each of the three flats successively against the stone and move in a circular or figure 8 motion until all the burrs or damage has been removed. Since the tri-cut flats are hollow ground, you will notice that the tip can be restored with much less effort than would be required for a standard tri-cut tip.

6.  The attachment of the cable and slide ring
The tip is designed for 3/32” (0.090”) cable but can be adapted to larger diameter cable if desired. The hole drilled in the tip for the cable has been drilled with a 3/32” drill so the fit of the cable will be tight. If you desire more freedom for the cable, you can drill out the hole to 0.100” using a standard high speed drill (which will have a tendency to become disposable) or a hardened drill designed for harder materials. Use care to avoid thinning the wall of the cable keeper structure which could cause failure.
A short loop of cable should be attached to the tip with an appropriate size crimp. One crimp, properly attached will provide plenty of strength to hold the cable firmly. Place the crimp as close to the keeper structure as is possible to allow the crimp to reside in the recess on the tip shaft which was designed for that pupose. A standard slide ring sized for your shaft should be attached to the other end of the cable behind the tip adapter.

7.  Attachment of the breakaway adapter to the spear shaft
The adapter is fitted with a 5/16-24 thread for attachment to standard spear shafts. The use of dental floss, pipe tape, or threadlock is strongly recommended to avoid having the adapter spin free at an inappropriate time. Inspection of the shaft threads and full engagement of the adapter to the shaft will insure the strongest possible connection of the adapter to the spear shaft.

Terry Maas shot and killed an 18 foot, 1100 pound Tiger Shark in self defense at the Revillagigedo Archipelagos (~250 miles south of Cabo San Lucas). The Triple T Tip could be seen partially exposed in the exit wound. Terry was hunting 300+ pound Yellow Fin Tuna when the Tiger invited himself for dinner. Terry told me he didn’t think most tips wound have penetrated the shark enough to have provided this fortunate result.


Rob Torelli, Australian champion and expert spearfishing guide, first tried his Triple T tip on a magnificent Dog Tooth Tuna.

Greg Pickering shot his worldrecord Yellow Fin Tuna with this tip.

Photo’s of Terry, Rob, and the Triple T Tip are posted on this site for your viewing.

WARNING: Spearfishing can be a dangerous sport, especially when hunting larger species. Novice and intermediate divers should pursue guidance from thoroughly experienced large-game hunters prior to attempting to use this, or any, tip to hunt pelagic game fish.