newbie arrow question.

[triggerfinger]

Hey guys,  ive been lurking here a while and finally decided i need to get in on this deal.  It sounds like a lot of fun.  The question is coming but first a little lead in.  My wife is in the air force and we currently live in biloxi ms, but are moving to valdosta ga in 45 days.  On a recent trip to valdosta i noticed that I didnt see much cane in the ditches so I thought i might should cut a supply here for shaft making and possibly for trade fodder.  I read that you should use a 3/8 wrench to gauge the size of the shaft at the fat end,  but what about the skinny end?  The stuff im cutting tapers fairly quickly and will be signifigantly smaller at one end than the other.  Like a 16th or so,   Also I dont thnk its river cane, id post a pic but cant with my ipad.  It seems to be somewhat shorter, skinnier, and has different sort of branches on the second year stalks.  There are leaves or whatever you would call them that wrap around the shaft and cover most of the inter nodule area, the are brown and dry and you can rotate them  around the shaft to break them free, then slide them off the end.  I think it is japaneese arrow bamboo but could be mistaken.  Whatever it is is grows everywere down here,  i know of about 20 stands of it and cut 6 dozen shafts yesterday.  So the question would be what should the min diameter at he skinny end be and min length as well

[triggerfinger]

after more research I am 95 percent sure itis japanese arrow bamboo.

[markinengland]

Yes, sounds like Japanese Arrow Bamboo.

You need 2nd year growth so avoid the new stuff.

This bamboo grows at different rates. Quicker growth equals weaker stems. Ideally you'll have 3 or 4 nodes in about 30 inches of shaft. If you have fewer you may need thicker shafts, more and you could get away with thinner shafts. I think the only way to find out might be to cut a whole load of stuff that looks about arrow size, dry it and seem what you end up with.

Mark in England

[triggerfinger]

i cut about another 100 shafts today.    looks like great stuff, super straight for naturally occurring material.  im hesitant to cut it to length til i know how short to cut it.  Any help would be appreciated.


on another note there is a HUGE stand of this stuff close to my house.  maybe an acre or so, so if there are some south ms guys on here ill be glad to point it out.

[jham]

It may take a little looking around but you shouldnt have any trouble finding some cane in Valdosta, I live a couple of hrs away from there in Brunswick. Around here all you have to do is find some wet swampy areas that havent been clearcut (thats the hardest part) and you should find plenty.

[jturkey]

trigger i try to keep my nock end right at a 1/4in dia. and usually righ tafter a node for self nocks then i cut to length of abotu 34 to 40 inches  it usually ends up right at 3/8 in dia at tthat point but i have used up to 1/2in dia at the point to get the same dia nocking point. they shoot the same to me i am from north ms and we have the stuff around here as well and your right they are straight as all heck but some are not lol they make great arrows if the leave are around the nodes are still attached you are usually picking younger shafts i try to look for the ones that have the what i call layered leaves already fallen off. that way the shaft it self is thicker walled.and tehy straighten really easy with just a little amount of heat.

[George Tsoukalas]

I like the point and at 3/8. I usually put the small end on the point. That way the nock will  be plenty wide. Jawge

[mullet]

I cut a lot of Jap arrow boo around Valdosta and White Springs, Fl.