Arrow Made with Stone Tools

[JackCrafty]

Recently I was asked to show pics of my stone tools for making bows but since Rick has already done a stone age bow build-a-long (Stone Age Witch Hazel) I guess I'll do a stone age arrow build-a-long.  I don't really have a set of stone tools for making bows anyway.....I just use whatever rock chips will work.  Arrow making is a bit more detail oriented and I do have a few specialized arrow tools in my stone-age toolbox.

So, without further ado (and since I don't have anything else on my plate right now ....  ), here goes:

Here are my tools.



The tools are fire, chert scrapers (Georgetown flint in this case), mulberry arrow straighteners, buckskin strips (for wrapping scrapers), and sandstone polishers/shapers.  I didn't show the fire-making kit or the hammersones/pressure flakers because they are only indirectly involved.  Besides, my fire maker is a Bick lighter. 

(NOTE: I took over three hundred pictures this weekend and I won't be able to post this whole build-along today.  I'll post as many pics as my lunch breaks allow.)

Privet shoot.
The bark has been scraped off and it has been seasoned for several months and is completely dry.
That's important because the scraping and sanding does not work well with a green shoot (except for the removal of the bark).
There's still a little bark left on the ends, to help prevent checking, and there's several knots.
The shaft has no drastic bends...only gentle curves.  That's also important: less chance of breakage while straightening.

I do not pre-straighten my shoots and I do not tie them in bundles while they are drying.
They are air-dried in a dark place.....laying down.
If space is limited, I will stack them on top of eachother.
In my experience, it has been a waste of time to mess with the shoots before they are completely dry.











Straightening the privet shaft.
I don't use any grease.....just plain and dry.
If I scorch the wood, then I know that I'm applying too much heat.
I heat the convex side of the curves.

[JackCrafty]

For those who hate to be kept in suspense, here is the finished arrow:









I'll be posting the rest of the pics all this week as time allows.

[n2everythg]

AWWW Man u mean I gotta wait.. ..
Nice arrow.... I want more.... right now!
Cant wait to see the rest. thanks for the build along.
N1

[Timo]

That's some real sweet work.What did you set the point with?

[JackCrafty]

Choosing a good scraper.
The best scrapers have a 90^o edge.
The really thin edges become jagged an leave striations on the wood (not good).
A 90^o edge is very strong and holds up well even when scraping very hard wood.








Once a good scraper is found, I wrap with buckskin to protect my hand from sharp edges.
It also helps to reduce fatigue and finger cramp.







I scrape off the remaining bark and smooth down the knots.











Sanding down the knots gives the best results but it's slow.
So I cut the remaining bumps off with a sharp chip.







A view of the remaining knots.





After cutting a few, you can see the wear on the side of the stone chip.



Then the cuts are sanded smooth.




There is a bit of tearing of the wood with the stone cutter, so the sanding can't smooth it down completely.  That's why sanding alone is better.

[JackCrafty]

Thanks N2.

Timo, the point is set with pine pitch (brewer's pitch) and wraped with deer sinew.

[JackCrafty]

I guess this is a good time to describe a tool I copied from several references I've seen on Native American arrow "smoothers".
It is made of two pieces of sandstone with a channel down the centerline of each piece.
It is assumed that the arrow shoot was sanded smooth with this tool.
From my experience, this tool is better used as a "small bump and ridge remover".
Sanding the shoot with this tool is painfully slow.....and it quickly gets the wood too hot and gets clogged up with the heated dust.
It is great as a final finish tool but not very useful in the initial stages.
I find it easier to sand down knots with the rounded back of this tool than with the channel down the middle.






That slight depression on the edge of one of the pieces is for sanding the nock.....which I'll show later.

[ricktrojanowski]

Pat-  Great buildalong. It makes me want to get working on the Stone age bow again.  Thanks for sharing.

[JackCrafty]

Cool!  Can't wait to see more of that bow Rick.... 

[JackCrafty]

Next I prep a flat sanding stone by producing a layer of grit on the surface.
I rub a smaller piece of sandstone over the whole surface.







I taper the front (first 5" or so) of the arrow slightly.
I apply gentle pressure and rub diagonally in relation to the arrow shaft.
If I rub so that the scratches are in line with the shaft, it takes too long.
If I rub perpendicular to the shaft, it's faster, but the scratch marks are hard to remove.








I round off the tip with a rough piece of sandstone.





Then I flatten the nock end by using a circular motion on a flat, rough stone.

[JackCrafty]

Next, I shape the nock.  It will be a "swallowtail" type nock.
I am using the same stone that I used to remove the knot bumps on the shaft.













Now I switch back to scraping.....tapering the shaft toward the nock.








The first scraper is getting dull.....so I switch to a sharper stone flake for more aggressive wood removal.







Then back to sanding for final shaping.







Inspection and more shaping/tapering....






Then some sanding with the "smoother".







Then sanding the nock.
I roll the shaft against my leg to spin the shaft as I shape it.




The nock is placed into the depression on the side of the smoother.

[Kitsu]

man, wish i could find some flint around my house >.> all i can find is crappy shale, broken bottles and empty bags, i live next to an eroding hill, but i got a creek down there and a river that the creek flows into  

Good job man, wish i had that kind of talent

[JackCrafty]

Hawkeyes, the broken glass works well for scrapers.  And you can use pieces of concrete instead of sandstone.

[JackCrafty]

Cutting the nock.
First with a piece of chert.
Then with piece of sandstone.















Then shaping the sides of the nock with the flat part of the sandstone chip.

[JackCrafty]

Installing the arrowhead.








I switch to chert for final shaping of the arrowhead socket.
The shaping is more "carving" than sanding...being very carful not to split the wood or break the thin edge of the chert.






The socket is then coated with melted pine pitch and the arrowhead inserted.
Excess pitch is removed and the entire tip is heated slightly over the fire to spread the pitch evenly.
Care must be taken as the stone gets hot pretty quick (and stays hot).
It's easy to lose the arrowhead in the fire....