Wouldn’t that be just like a pin prick to a whale?
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The classical harpoon with a rope attached is just the initial harpoon. It is intended to lodge itself in the blubber, under the skin and prevent the whale from diving or swimming away from the ship. When the whale tried it would just tire itself out. The ships crew would then board smaller boats that could row up to the whale and use spears to kill it by hitting weak spots to bleed it out and finally get through to its brain killing it. Another common picture of whaling is the whaler sitting on top of the whale with a spear in his hands. This is from the later stages of the fight.
There were a few improvements to the harpoon to help in the later stages as well, not just the initial capture. There were longer thinner harpoons that would go deeper into the whale but not stick so well to it. But the most spectacular projectile were the grenade which would go into the blubber and then explode. This would open up a wound in the whale as well as create shocks that might cause concussions in the whale.
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