Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: criverkat on September 29, 2009, 09:49:05 pm
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i would like to know how good of a arrow material red osier is i found a web sight that sells seedlings and according to the zone chart it should grow here in east Texas
if so what is the seasoning procedure
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Ask DanaM....he likes it for Arrows....grows wild all over The Upper Peninsula of Michigan
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It's a pretty good arrow shaft material. I usually cut any dogwood and leave the bark on for a month or two-it's bad to split and check if you peel it immediately. You should have rough-twig dogwood (Cornus drummondii) in east TX, and maybe silky dogwood as well (C. amomum.) Both are very similar and closely related to red osier dogwood and were used by tribes in the areas they grow in. I think the Comanches used rough-leaf dogwood a lot.
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Red osier makes great arrows...and nice landscape plants. What could be better than having a few specimen plants that need pruning every year and you can make your arrows with what you cut off.
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pat---hillbilly thanks i will buy some red and look for rough twig
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Red osier is pretty good, Hillbilly I debark asap and never had any splitting problems. I like to cut my shoot shafts
so the fat end is around 1/2" diameter as it will shrink as it dries and so I have extra wood so I can reduce it to the
desired spine.
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crivercat,have you tried switchcane yet? Once you do ,you'll never build arrows from anything else.It's incredible ;),and all over our part of the country.You can finds heaps of it in the sulfur or sabine river bottoms. God Bless
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Criverkat, Take highway 82 East of TK and you'll find a lifetimes supply of rivercane growing along the highway. Take Interstate 30 toward Little Rock and you'll find switchcane growing along the highway. Rivercane and switchcane are the premier arrow shafting materials. .. Everything considered they are the best materials that can be had and you are living in the center of the best places I know to collect it.
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how far out on 82 and on 30 and do you live around here or do you travel this area do you have pics to show difference between the two
THANKS DAVID
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On I-30 not far past Red River going toward Little Rock. It's grows on the Northbound and south bound sides of the road. On highway 82 east go until it starts to drop into the Red River flood plane. I gueuess its about 5 miles from the city limits, that's just a guess.. It also grows all along the rier in the flood plane. My family is from Stamps and I grew up in Haynesville, La. Now live in Sherman, Tx. Pass by all this cane coming back for visits. It is by far the best shafting material on the planet. It is far superior to red ossier. I wouldn't even bother with the red ossier with all the good stuff you've got growing there already. You're in a great place for bow material and shafting material and Novaculite is just north of you.
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Switch cane grows to about 6' on average and has an average base diameter of about 1/2" or less. River cane, on the other hand can grow to 12" to 15" with an average base size of 3/4" or less but can be larger.
I'd have to respectfully disagree with Xin about the red osier. It makes great shafting and if available is worth messing with. I have hill cane growing along my driveway and make arrows with it but I also make arrows with sourwood, red osier, silky dogwood, viburnum and other hardwood shoots. Knowing how to make arrows with any of these materials is worthwhile and not at all a waste of time. Knowledge is power! ;)
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ive used red osier,cane,and some type of rose i got in a trade
liked them all
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thanks pat i guess i have been cutting switch cane how long does it take to seasone my cane is bundled and has been cut about two months
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It should be ready to work. As you heat to straighten and again to temper you will drive out any residual moisture. I've made good arrows with cane that was cut a month or 2 before.
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Red Ossier doesn't grow around our friend in Texarkana. Switch cane and river cane grows in abundance all around there. You should begin to feel more empowered at any moment now.
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That's a constant with me, Xin! ;D
My point was if there are other natural shafting materials, they should also be utilized or at least studied. I'm sure switch cane or river cane are not the only local shafting materials. Criverkat was asking specifically about red osier dogwood for arrows so I gave him my opinion of it for arrows. I'm sure he could grow red osier or silky dogwood or one of the other dogwoods in Texas. I don't know what grows locally for Criverkat but a search with the State University or Dept of Ag will get a list of shrub type plants that would potentially make good arrows. That's where the fun begins. Red osier was one of the major Plains Indian shafting materials if I'm not mistaken.
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Just for fun and goofing off I made a dozen willow arrows out of shoots I made along the tracks here in Alaska. I shot them out of bows in the 70 lbs range. Was really impressed I brought some cane back from Texas two years ago (over 200 shafts), broke so many of them straightening them I threw the hole bunch in the fire. I am used to working with hickory, Maybe cane doesn't suit my personality. Everyone is going to have their own personal preferences but you can't know till you try!