Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: huntandgather on September 23, 2011, 08:25:29 pm
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Hi. My name is Ben. I used to take archery lessons when I was younger and I want to get back into it now... but take a more primitive aproach. I was wondering what kind of wood is best used to arrow shafts and what kind of material is best used for arrow heads. Any help would be much appreciated. thanks
ben
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First off where you at if your not worryed about useing only local woods. WITH A SCREEN NAME LIKE THAT SEAMS LIKE IT MATTER TO YOU. There's lots of shoots that make good arrows just do a little research. DOGWOOD,WILD ROSE,VIBURUM which is just a few different kinds. Although I never used it SOURWOODS is surpose to be right up there. HICKORY,POPULAR,CHERRY just to name a others.
As far as heads go knapped heads of osidin or different cherts we don't have flint in the US. All the stuff you see in the US people call flint is chert lots of different kinds or trade points they can be made of any steel mostly saw blades. hese are slf enough to work but still have some temper in them. I like to aneel (solfen) make my points then reharden then temper. TO ME SEEING A GLUE ON STORE BOUGHT HEAD ON A SHOOT ARROW just don't look right. It's like seeing someone with a selfbow with a release straped on his arm. JUST DOS'NT GO THERE.
YOUR SURE STARTING OUT THE HARD WAY. The route ( WAY) most people take. PM me if I can help you out I will.
GOOD LUCK
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Hey Ben, Welcome, crooketarrow is leading you the right direction. Spend a little time reviewing past posts, there's like 93+ pages just on arrows here. All the info there is good. You may want to keep a note pad by ya, there's a lot of info there. I have a file in my pictures that I somtimes save pertinant info in just so I can reread it w/o having to find it again.
You came to the right spot!! ;D
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And don't assume that ALL primitive arrows were made just from shoots! The Cherokee and many others made split hardwood shafts from hickory and cedar. These woods naturally grew very straight and were fairly easy to split. By carefully choosing your boards from the lumberyard, you can split then down to 1/2 inch squares and with a small hand plane you can turn the 4 sided shaft into an 8 sided shaft and then to a 16 sided shaft and then all you need to do is sand them round! Or a little cheating and ordering premade shafts from any number of reputable dealers won't break too many of our hearts!
If your goal is to do the whole shebang from scratch the very first time out of the gate you are in for a lot of hard work and probably more than a few disappointments. Starting with making your arrows first or making your bow first and using storebought for the rest is quite ok, too. Whatever you chose to do, we can all pitch in with helpful pointers, tips, and experience. There's LOTS of that around here to spare!
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dont forget about bamboo/cane for arrow shafts. its all i use. you can buy bamboo in 6 foot stakes at home depot. good to get started on these cheap materials
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dont forget about bamboo/cane for arrow shafts. its all i use. you can buy bamboo in 6 foot stakes at home depot. good to get started on these cheap materials
X2
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If we're sticking with shoots, depending on the area of the US you live in, crepe myrtle shoots grow pretty darned straight naturally...and they're almost everywhere in Texas.
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Most any of the hardwood shoos will work as will wild rose. Info on my site. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/