Simple hunting set "Wicahcala Kin Itazipa Ehake"

[half eye]

Bayou B, I gave away my NA books to a member on the site so I'm sorry I cant post a picture. I do believe that the inner bark (cane would be the thin "rind" or hard outer cover. That was stripped off in long strips and then wet like doing cane backed chairs. That way ya can "wrap tie the string" to form a knot, The ones I had pics of the "string was 2 ply (2 strips) back to back and was not twisted. Also the bows they were on did not have string knocks either as the string was simply tied to a sharp tapered bow tip. The same type of string can be made out of basswood inner bark in that case the outer bark was beaten with a stick while it was still on the tree. Then the bark was pealed  off. Most of the time the inner bark stays on the tree and peals off easily....it is realy suple and strong and can be used "flat" or twisted like a hide string.

About the bow weight, the same book related an early report to the Smithsonian where "a well ossified" buffalo vertebra was found with a "hoop iron arrow point" the bone had been completely penetrated. When you analyze that the arrow would have to have penetrated the buffalo's tough hide, then about a foot of heavy muscle and then the bone....that means the bows were indeed heavy weight.

Oglala, I'm satisfied that the limb will not be a problem again . There was no movement at all after the repair....just like it never happened. Also the hide glued sinew wouldn't allow the split to go past it  So I dont believe that it is not as strong as it ever was. I pulled a chest muscle stringing this beast so I'm all done with it ...you can pull these babies all day long  so have some fun with her....and thank you for your friendship and knowledge sir.
rich

[simson]

Thanks again Rich for that super interesting post.
I've learned a lot from you over the last years!

Oh, and the bow and the other stuff looks just great, like fresh from ancient natives.

[DC]

Very good post. One question, can a rawhide string be adjusted for length by twisting after it has dried?

[half eye]

DC,
    Yes they can be twisted when dry....but only to a certain extent. What I mean by that is a double ply twist string can be twisted a little (maybe one or two revolutions and then they will try to knot-up. A single ply string can be turned more than a 2 ply but still not a whole lot. When I get the new string stretched out on the braced bow I will only twist it if it is still close to proper, if not I will re-tie the lower knot to get the proper brace height (or at least close enough that a twist or two will do).
Simson,
     I dont believe that I have anything to teach professional bow builders sir, but thanks for the sentiment.
rich

[burchett.donald]

    Wow Rich...!  80 @ 25 on a 48" bow is an amazing accomplishment...All the profiles are excellent on that 5 curve...Full draw on the floor looks even and balanced...Beautiful job on the skins, handle, knife and the whole kit...Superb all natural build brother...I really enjoyed this build along, thank you...
                                                                                          Don

[half eye]

Mr. Burchett,
     The balance will have to be commented on by Joe. But I am pleased with it for sure. This last build would not have been possible without you and Trapper Rob. Trapper gave me the coon hide and of course you supplied the rawhide, that beautiful cane break not mention the encouragement to do "one more". Your a good friend sir.
     I will be posting up the "prep" of the rawhide string just to cover that base though. Probably not necessary to post about the arrows....guess everybody on the site knows how to do that already. Hell of a ride for a dime though.
rich 

[Bayou Ben]

Thanks for the explanation.  I have some dried river cane I'll try and strip a few of the ones not suitable for arrows just to get a feel for the process.
Amazing about the arrow head found in the vertebra... 

[half eye]

Ben, you can do an internet search of South American bows and I'm sure they will have a couple of pictures that might help. By the way the South Eastern tribes have some connection to those tribes and the "mound builder culture" which spread as far north as southern Michigan. This was in the prehistoric time frame of course. A little side note....by the time the Spanish came in through Florida the Native Americans made them very afraid because it seems that they would use a cane shaft with no head....just split the cane shaft forward section and lightly wrap with sinew....when they hit their chain male the shaft splintered and penetrated between the rings....a week or two in the high humidity and heat and when they died it was not too pretty.
rich

[half eye]

Here are some pics of how I tie the "loop" end of the string. I first cut the knot off of the "lower end" and then pass the string through the small loop that was formed when I tied the wet rawhide around the nail for twisting. Make this formed circle loop about how large you want your upper loop to be....then add 1" more for binding. I took a flat piece of 3/8 rawhide left over from the quiver cord, soaked it and then split lengthwise into 2 roughly 3/16 rawhide "strings".

Pass the end of the "lace" through the same loop as ya did with the main string about an inch or so. Now take the skinny rawhide and pass a wrap or 2 around the bow string just below the small loop and then commence to wrap up over the small loop and up the main loop until your bow string loop is the proper size. Next you keep winding but back down your initial  wrapping until you are back down over the small loop about 3 turns, then secure with 2 half hitches.
    When you do the wrapping put a lot of pressure on the wrap cord (dont break the wet rawide) now you need to set it aside to dry. When the wrap is dry (or very nearly so) and coat generously with "thick hide glue. One note: when you are done wrapping the bowstring loop it will be somewhat "miss-shaped"....so make sure you get the loop in direct line with the bow string.
    Here are pics hope the idea is clear enough, if not please advise.
rich

[helmet]

Thank you half eye, that was fantastic.

[upstatenybowyer]

Incredible fix half eye and a beautiful bow. 

I am beside myself at the sheer force necessary to lodge an arrowhead into a Bison spine. 

We are discussing NA history in my 5th grade social studies class and we're just about to move from Paleo into Archaic (the period in which the bow and arrow first appeared). I'm really trying to stress how the people used the materials they had available. Hope it's cool if I use this thread as a reference. 

[half eye]

Thanks Helmet

Upstate, you are welcome to use or lose any of the post you see fit. I'm glad to see somebody teaching some respect for just how ingenious these people are/were. Especially how good their equipment (clothing to housing to weapons to food gathering etc.) was. No fiberglass, carbon fiber, epoxy etc etc necessary, and especially not an electronic device or computer in sight Thank you for keeping "primitive" alive sir.
rich

[Trapper Rob]

Rich it turned out really nice.

[Morgan]

Rich, I like everything about that.

[---GUTSHOT--->]

Rich, I’ve been watching and really enjoyed this thread. The set came out really nice.  Made me go down and look at the otter set you made me along with the BL bow. For those of us Lucky fellows that have received a Half-Eye bow or set can call our selves extremely lucky. Rich you truly are a Master of your trade weather it’s bows, guns, or carvings.