Arrow Made with Stone Tools

[JackCrafty]

Wrapping the point with sinew & fish glue.

[JackCrafty]

The feathers.
Wild turkey...."jake" tails.






I used a split limb of juniper for a cutting board, bark removed, of course.






Splitting the feathers.
















Shaving down the quill.







Sanding down high spots.






Cutting the vanes.
This requires some finesse and is harder than it looks.
(It's a two handed operation but I'm using my left hand to hold the camera.)
With my left index finger, I hold down each segment as I cut.





Repeat.

[billy]

Great build along!  Great pictures too!  Love it!

[Staver]

Excellent Build-a-Long!!   Beautiful arrows and your stone-age tools are great.  How did you make your "smoother"?  Thanks for sharing your incredible knowledge and talent.  Joe H

[JackCrafty]

Thanks Billy.

Thanks Staver.  I made the smoother out of two slabs of sandstone.  It's easy to break the sandstone and shape it with a hammerstone....kinda like knapping.  After I got the rough shape, I ground them down by rubbing them on the concrete pad next to my workshop.

I made the grove down the center with a spall of agate.....by scraping and scraping until the channel was shaped like a "V".  Then I used a piece of sanstone to make the channel "U" shaped.

It took me about 1-1/2" hours (and a lot of elbow grease) to make the two pieces.

[Buffalogobbler]

WOW!!!
Thanks for the build along!
I found it very informative and entertaining, the pics were great.
I was especially impressed with the job you did straightening the shaft.
The final result was a work of art!
Kevin

[JackCrafty]

Thanks Buffalogobbler.

Painting the shafts.
I cut a pampas grass stalk and split it into quarters.
The pith was thick and spongy....so I knew it work work well for a paintbrush.







I used homemade watercolors made with fish glue mixed with natural pigments (red & yellow ochre and lamp black).








I painted both the front and rear of the shaft with the same design.






Then I cut three shaft grooves using an arrowhead preform.
Perhaps in ancient times the grooves were made with a "special" stone point for good luck?
Anyway, this was perhaps the hardest part of the contruction process....I definitely need to find an easier way to do this.




Smoothing with my fingernail.


Then with the smoother.


And finally with an antler burnisher followed by rubbing with buckskin.





Then a coat of pine pitch...heated and spread evenly.

[madcrow]

NIce job.  You probably got one done before I could using a drill, sandpaper, rasps, heat gun, etc.

[JackCrafty]

Thanks...    but I'm not that fast.  It took me all day to make that arrow.  I guess it would be faster if I made several at a time....but I don't think I could make more than 3 in an 8 hour period.

[Staver]

Outstanding Job with your arrows!!   I really like the finish with the pine pitch.  What are your steps in preparing and applying the pitch?  Thanks a million for sharing your work!!  Simply outastanding!!  Joe H

[JackCrafty]

Thanks Joe.  I should have taken more pictures of the process of applying the pine pitch (brewer's pitch)....but I didn't want to get the camera sticky by accident (it's a real hassle to remove).

If you set the pitch close to the fire, it melts and gets runny.  I just grab some with a stick and dab it over the paint.  It's not pretty...the pitch cools fast and gets stringy....it's kinda like working with a combination of spider webs and maple syrup.  Anyway, once I get some on the shaft, I just hold it close to the heat and when it gets runny again, I roll the shaft until the pitch covers the paint completely.  I use the stick to spread the pitch around or blow on the pitch to spread it, if needed.

The only thing I don't like about pitch is that it picks up dirt really quick (not to mention hairs, dust, and small insects).  This one is a wall hanger, so it doesn't matter....but if I were to make an arrow for hunting I would probably put beeswax over the paint.  It doesn't look as nice as the pitch, though.

I need to try using animal fat.   I've been hesitating because I'm afraid the fat might work its way into the sinew wrappings and loosen them. 

[Staver]

Thanks jackcrafty!

[JackCrafty]

Fletching.
I soaked the feathers while I was painting the shaft.
After applying the pitch, and letting it cool, the arrow is ready for the fletching.
Without the pitch, water from the feathers would make the paint run.



The rear ends of the feathers are trimmed back about 1/2".


Then fastened with a wrapping of deer sinew & fish glue.


Then folded forward.


The front of the feathers are wrapped, fletching pulled tight, and finished off with a little more sinew.






Then the feathers are smoothed back into shape using a little heat from the fire and more water.
The stiffer the feather, the longer this takes.  Soft feathers are shaped easily....that's why I usually use tail feathers.




Then I burn the feathers to shape with a hot stick.
I keep the end glowing hot by blowing on it....if there is no wind.












The End.

[DanaM]

Awesome build along Patrick, so do you need my address

One question why soak the feathers? I asume its to soften the quaill?

Thanks for taking the time to do this but next time take a few more pictures eh

[JackCrafty]

 

Thanks Dana.

I soak the feathers for two reasons: to soften the quill so it becomes more flexible, and to expand the feather to its greatest size.  As the feather dries it shrinks....and pulls itself tight against the shaft.  Of course, if you glue the feathers down you don't need to worry about any of this.