Water proof grip for bendy handle ideas?

[Prarie Bowyer]

Hi folks. 

My first shortie recurve is coming along so nice, and fast it's unbelievable.  I got ultra lucky on this one.

The purpose of this bow is the assasination of carp from a kayak.  I want to make a handle wrap to fill it out a bit but it needs to be water proof.  Speaking of I'd like to water proof the whole bow for that matter.  I'm thinking give it several coats of Danish oil then Paste wax, possibly with poly over Danish oil but if there is a better way I'd love to hear about it.  I've heard hints of bear grease but haven't got any.

yes pics are coming but process photos I dind't make becasue I figured it would break my shop is a mess and it takes too much time given my day schedule.  I'm REALY liking this bow so far.

[JW_Halverson]

How about building up the grip with inner tube rubber and rubber cement to hold it together.  I used a 4" section from a bike innertube as a bow grip for years, it stretched just enough to hold itself nicely in place. 

[Bevan R.]

I think that parafin would work great for a waterproofer. I read an article about some guys taking some primitive gear to Alaska and they tested bow finishes as part of the trip. They said parafin worked the best.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Leather? I hunt in all weather including down pours. My leather grips have never let me down. 

[Pat B]

PB, I use hemp cord from Walmart and set it in Massey finish(2ton epoxy/acetone). Good non skid grip and very water and weather proof!

[Adam]

It's not very primitive, but para cord might work.  It never hurts to have some of that around anyway.  There's almost as many uses for it as duct tape.

[PatM]

Epoxy the whole thing with Marine  epoxy. You want to shoot it from a boat treat it  with the same finish as the boat.
 You can bulid up a grip with homemade micarta that will be waterproof and just flexy enough to bend with the bow.

[Prarie Bowyer]

Thanks guys.

How could I water proof leather?  I'm guessing the bow will get dunked several times.  Tips will definately get dipped.

After writing the above I had this idea.  I use thin sheets of craft foam to tie flies with ... tiny popers.  I coudl use that for the build out material.  I'd like a primitive look.  I considered the hemp cord wrap and then waxing the crap out of it also.  LOVE leather wraps.

[Prarie Bowyer]

What is homemade micarta?

[Prarie Bowyer]

So far I'm 65# at about 22#.  A bit heavy and an odd bend when I got the real string on it.  It will be finised with tillering today. 

[ryddragyn]

Provided you are okay with non-primitive materials:

warmed epoxy will penetrate wood pores and hold well against impact and water, depending on the kind of epoxy you use and the wood type. A common technique in speargun building is to warm the wood, then apply epoxy, and the pores will suck in the epoxy as it cools. I would check out this stuff: http://neptonicsystems.com/epoxy.htm

It is not the easiest epoxy to work with, but it is very impact and UV resistant. I was doing a carp tournament in the Colorado river and got dragged downriver really quickly when they released water from the dam upstream. My speargun (whch was epoxy coated) got dragged against streambed gravel at 20+mph for a good while, and it came out with only some minor scratches. Now granted, this is a thick coating, as a speargun is unbending, so I'm not sure how well a thinner bendable coat would hold up under the same mistreatment.

What kind of wood are you using? The grain structure on different woods can make epoxy coating either easy or nightmarish. Either way, make sure you blow all the dust out of the pores with compressed air and wipe down with acetone beforehand.

As for the handle wrap, plumber's tape. It's used on polespear handles quite commonly, and provides great grip. Tennis racket grip tape could also work.

[osage outlaw]

Could you build the handle up with cork?  I think they sell it in small sheets.  I bought some artificial emu skin from a craft store last year.  It is made from some kind of pvc or something.  It looks very real.  I don't think it would be affected by water, but I haven't tested it yet.  If you want, I could send you some and you could try it out.

[PatM]

Homemade micarta is just cloth saturated with epoxy and compacted with pressure.
 I don't think you should consider foam as it will just hold water. Water will migrate through any finish if you leave it right against the finish.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Rhino roll on bedliner would work, not very primitive.

[criveraville]

Last fall I shoot a large bullfrog. I skinned it and Diego and I ate the legs. The skin is thick, naturally water resistant and looks super primitive.

Cipriano