stone, bone, antler,horn, and wood arrow making tools.

[riverrat]

 in my quest of making totally primitive arrows i want to be able to do it with nothing but neolithic type  tools.i have a few stone/bone/antler/ect. tools i use as well as some steel ones right now. but hopefully if we all share some knowledge of what we use i might get some great ideas for other tools i could make. if you have some non metallic or modern tools you use for making arrows, please share. share a picture. share some knowledge, share what kind of shafts your using, points, fletches, ect. share the wealth of info! ive found a piece of flint with a half circle flaked out the center makes for a great bark removal tool for shoot shafts. ill share a picture of that here. also have a chunk of sand stone its oblong, with a long groove in it to sand/shape shoot shafts, have a couple wood arrow shaft wrenches. use my antler billet/flaker tool {yea its both} to burnish my shafts. have stone shaft burnishers too.have flint scraper type flakes to use to cut down fletches {i use a two whole feather fletch mostly secondary feathers on larger birds } but will use what i have at hand and the best way to utilize it if need be.what i personally need to make to help me work shoots into arrows is a way to cut the nocks out for the string and for points. i have used flakes of flint for this, but i want something fool proof. thatll work easily. mine, aint so easy so for the time being files and hack saw blades work better. so i need to see your ideas. Tony

[Spotted Dog]

One thing I use is a buff rib bone with a hole in it to size my arrows and aid in straightening.
A serrated piece of flint works for cutting knocks. Make sure you wrap the hand you hold the
shoot with leather so not to say sh......  Deer leg bones for tools etc. I'll get a pic of my stuff.

[bowandarrow473]

I use turkey primaries or secondaries for three fletch and tail feathers for two fletches. I use my fingernail to scrape the bark when cut in the summer and a razor blade when cut in the winter (sorry not primitive, I don't have access to any flint). Straighten with my hand over hot coals, I then tie the fletches on with sinew or  sometimes b-50 ( sorry not primitive again )  I will then seal the sinew with hide glue and glue the fletches down with hide glue as well, after that I either cut them with scissors or slice them with a razor blade (I'm really racking up those non-primitive sins aren't i) after that I either use a bone point or a saw blade point that has been heat treated.
Also, I did the math and you can get more three fletches out of three secondaries than you can eastern woodlands two feather fletch or whole feather fletch, the latter only gives you one arrow while the former gives you two as you can split the quill with three fletches but not with eastern woodlands two fletch, I'm sure you know this already though. Happy arrow making

[jeffp51]

Pics?

[Dakota Kid]

Polished rib bone is also excellent for burnishing. If you buy a burnishing tool from a craft supplier it's more than likely a rib bone.

My arrow straightener is a piece of oak that had a hollow knot hole and I cut around it and formed a handle. It has the shape of one half of a pair of scissors. The hole got nice and toasted on my first run of arrows due to the friction. It does a decent job of burnishing while you're straightening.

[AndrewS]

You can use horsetail for soft sanding.

[AndrewS]

I think the nocks in mesolithic times aren't saw or filed in. The nocks may be break in....

also the feathers don't need to glue on. I have made arrows in a native way, only with two/three windings of sinew or plant fiber....

[Dakota Kid]

I just came across a whole patch of horsetail a couple days ago. I guess the fibers actually contain silica crystals. Who needs Lowes and WalMart when you know your plants and rocks.

[Jodocus]

I think the nocks in mesolithic times aren't saw or filed in. The nocks may be break in....

also the feathers don't need to glue on. I have made arrows in a native way, only with two/three windings of sinew or plant fiber....

Strong feathers like turkey or goose will hold up easily with no glue and wrapping only on the ends, just leave the quill strong. weaker stuff needs winding.

[Spotted Dog]

Part of my primitive tool kit. Polished rib/sizer.  Caribou antler for multi tasks,  pitch  , flakes for scraping and cutting knocks.

Dog

[Chief RID]

Never too early to start gathering stuff. I hate to think of the stuff I discarded just last weekend. Not this weekend. I am picking up as much stuff as I can haul. Rock on riverrat!

[Spotted Dog]

I got out and cut red osier dogwood and honey suckle the last two days. Raining today. Nice and cool.

[nclonghunter]

Spotted dog, I am wondering what the honeysuckle is for?

[riverrat]

used a flint tipped foreshaft from a old atlatl dart i made a long time ago to cut some indigo bush shoots a few days ago.i need a new longer thin bladed knife. i had a flint knife but lost it in a move 6 years ago.scraped them with a flint shaft scraper i made.tied them in a bundle with some of the longer strips of bark i stripped off.also processed some other indigo shoots i had already dried by heating them over hot coals, straightened them. sanded them with sand stone. burnished them with a smooth rock and later with a deer tine and some deer fat.cut the nock with that atlatl point.sanded the nock with the sand stone.now to spine them out. im useing two Y sticks aprox. 26 inches apart. i took a arrow that shoots great off my bow, tied a loop in a piece of cordage.tied a rock to one end of the cordage. slid loop over arrow to center. placed arrow on sticks with a even amount over hanging both sides of Y sticks where the bottom of the rock was hanging i pushed a twig in the ground till it barely touched the rock. now to spine the rest out to match this.might have to use that sand stone to reduce diam. on a few shafts. im off today so ill get some pics
Tony

[Spotted Dog]

indigo bush. I have never heard of it.