Arrow Bamboo, is it better?

[Eric Krewson]

I have started making a few cane arrows with good results so far. I would like a more consistent sizing end to end than my local cane and have read that Japanese arrow bamboo( Pseudosasa japonica ) may be better in this respect. There are several  nurseries that carry this bamboo and I was thinking about planting some for future arrows.

For those who have used this bamboo for arrows, is it superior to river cane?

[Hillbilly]

IMO, no. Does it make good arrows? Yes. Maybe we just have good cane here, but I rate our local native stuff better than Japanese bamboo, and I like the Japanese bamboo a lot. The Japanese bamboo will have a bit of taper just like the best cane, which I see as an advantage, not a disadvantage. Same result as those high-dollar tapered shafts. I too dislike cane that has a large amount of taper from end to end, but I wouldn't want it without any taper at all.

[mullet]

 Personally, I like it, it doesn't have as much of a flat spot as cane and I believe it's a little tougher. But being thicker also makes it a little bit heavier, which I like in hunting arrows.

[Mechslasher]

i've made dozens out of each and i rank cane in this order of my favorite to least:

sasa bamboo
japanese arrow bamboo
tonkin
rivercane

all make excellent arrows, but rivercane has more of a sulcus than the others.  this makes getting a uniform spine a bit trickier.  if you're extremely picky during harvesting, you can find some good rivercane without much of a sulcus.  i prefer sasa to all other because it is the most durable and easiest to straighten.

[billy]

Alright Mechslasher....enough with the technical jargon....what the hell is a sulcus??   

[Hillbilly]

Billy, it's the flat/dished-out divots in the stalk above the nodes- a culm with dished-out spots is called sulcate. And if you're picky cutting it, you can find river cane that isn't very sulcate. Hill cane has almost no sulcus.

[mullet]

  I just got 6 shafts of Hill Cane from Art. It is almost perfectly round.

 You know what's funny Steve about Chris' study of cane?,  The best I have cut was behind his farm in that creek hollow, when we were being so picky cutting the good stuff out of that big patch.

[Hillbilly]

Yeah, Chris has some great cane-I made some of the best arrows I've got from that batch. We were picky cutting like you said, that's what you have to do with river cane to get good round stuff.

[Pat B]

Eddie the hill cane from Art is probably from my driveway. 

[mullet]

 Yep, Pat. My shafts say, "Pat's hill cane" on them.

[Eric Krewson]

I searched all over the south east to find a place that had arrow bamboo. I found 5 or 6 places within a hundred miles or so from the house, then I found a web site under construction for a place not 10 miles from the house, they had arrow bamboo. The owner said if i bought some roots I could cut all the cane I wanted off his patch while I was establishing my own patch,JACKPOT!

[scattershot]

Way cool, Eric. I'd like to see some pics when you get some cut.