arrow hafting

[riverrat]

i know a lot of folks use sinew. so do i when i have it. its glue and cordage all in one. however , theres times i dont have any. i still want to use something natural i could find and process on my own. at times i use plant fibers. such as nettle.i use a 2 ply string. use the thinnest fibers to make it. now i know you can wrap and tie this. which is good but if you use your hand for a shelf you have to be real careful you get it flat as possible. it will cut you eventually.ive figured out a better way . lol, for me anyhow. i noticed that if i soak that string, itll get real limp.it will go on in such a manner that you can flatten it out. kind of like sinew. problem was, its hard to tie and keep tight like that. soooo, on with the experiment. so i thought hmmm, kind of like sinew when wet. needs glue.so i made up some watery hide glue. soaked it in that. just wraped, smushed flat. let dry.then using a finger and thumb smoothed on some glue water over it once more when it dried.works great! i have some elm cambium i made thin flat strips of cordage from. seems pretty tuff. going to try this soon with some new arrows im making.will post how it works out and some pictures in the near future. Tony

[1442]

I've used elm cambium strips and it worked great.
I used yucca cordage too like you metioned from really fine fibers.
I seal it all with super glue.

[mullet]

I've used horse hair and glue, also.

[riverrat]

thats awesome. i figured if you could use fine fibers of sinew in bundles dipped in hide glue to back a bow you could do something similar to wrap a arrow.i will post some pics later of some arrows i made using different types plant fiber cordage.one of the things about primitive archery ive always liked is using what you have at hand.being adaptable. making the best of what is available. Tony

[Pelo]

I make my primitive fishing lines from milkweed. Mixed with pitch I'm sure it would do a great job. Just be sure to plant more than you use to help out the butterflies.

[riverrat]

PELO tell me more of these fishing lines..... im making, or at least contemplating, some fishing arrows. want a primitive arrow but with modern innovation such as a sliding string on the arrow so it can slide from the front of the arrow shaft to the rear so you never have one run out of line and T W A N G  come back at ya point first.Tony

[1442]

I'd like to know more about the fishing line too Pelo.
I've been trying to make dependable small diameter line from yucca fibers, but have too many weak spots in it to be dependable fishing line once it dries out. Seems plenty strong when first made though.
Mixing with pitch may be the missing link as well as the milkweed.
If it's good enough for fishing line then it's really good for hafting. ( just trying to stay on topic with that last comment, but fishing line is pretty important stuff when you want to catch a fish)