harvesting cane?

[deersled]

I am brand new to this sight. Don't know jack-diddly! But, man this stuff is COOOOL!!! I now know what "river" cane is. I've found plenty of it on my hunting club here in Georgia.  Can ya'll give a run down of the do's/don'ts of harvesting river cane?

What's the diff. b/w immature and mature,  best time of year to cut it, etc? I'm working on straightening some and man......it is not as easy as you guys make it sound!

Any info. is greatly appreciated.

Kevin

[n2everythg]

There are others here who have more experience than I and will chime in. I probably dont go about it in the most efficient mode but it works for me.

Some guys say cut in the winter. I harvest it any time I need arrows and havnt noticed much difference. Maybe it drys a bit faster in the winter.

cut it long. that way you can take the section that bends the best (spine) for your bow. I usually cut it approx 4 feet long. It will become apparent quickly when you have too big or way to small diameter.
after a bit you can tell approx how much diameter works the best.

Either straighten a bit every few days while drying or wait til it drys out. Usually takes least a month for mine to dry completely.

I use a heat gun that concentrates the heat while straightening. many other methods of heat will work as well.

here is a pretty good link to get you started.
http://groups.msn.com/ferretsarcherywebpage/rivercanearrows.msnw

when the cane is completely dry it is easy to straighten using heat. when you have the heat just right the cane sweats and smells nice.
N2

[JackCrafty]

I know Jack Diddly...cool guy.

Anyway, good advice so far.  Cane is really good stuff....and if you're having a hard time straightening the cane, try working with the straightest ones first.  Also, try to be picky when harvesting.  As far as drying time, you can speed things up by drying them in your car....and don't try drying them next to a fire....they may snap-crackle-pop and become useless.

[Hillbilly]

What's already been said, plus avoid the immature flimsy ones with the papery sheaths still adhering to te nodes. Any time of year is fine. Cut them just a bit bigger than you think, because they'll shrink a little as they dry-about 3/8" at the fat end is about right. Be picky and try to get ones that have long internodes-the fewer nodes in a shaft, the better. Avoid the bushy ones with lots of low branches, because they'll have the big flat divots behind the nodes and it's hard to get the shaft straight if they are too offset and flat. Just keep pluggin' at it-when you get the hang of it with some practice, you can straighten one in 5-10 minutes or less.