two-fletch test

[Dustybaer]

impressive data collection, pat.  i'm really glad the two fletch works so well for you.  i haven't tried cane yet.  all my tests were done on store-bought, weight-matched shafts.  today, i made six arrows with 4" banana cut feathers, 3 white and three natural barred from wild turkeys (top of the feather, which was left from fletchings i had cut previously).  all with about 45 degrees helical.  funnily enough they are noisier than my other arrows.  i assume it's because the feathers are so soft, since the wild turkey feathers were louder than the store-bought white ones.  they sounded like flu flus, but not as loud.  and thanks to murphy's law, my digital camera died (can't charge it anymore, or at least it won't hold the charge)

[Kegan]

More helical always gives me more noise. And kills my distance. But it makes leaves, stumps, and dandelions within ten yards quiver in fear !

[Pat B]

Kegan, These 2 fletch banana cut feathers with the most helical are the quietest. With regular fletching(3) I always went with high profile shield cuts and with a slight offset only, no helical. With my self bows they always recovered best with broadheads, were faster and quieter than ones with helical.
   Pat

[BigWapiti]

Pat and DustyBaer, you guys are awesome.  I've been out for hours trying to get some of last fall's ocean spray shoots come out of my bow straight - let alone perdy em up and try different techniques like you two.  I'm envious.  And our cats are nervous - every arrow coming out of my bow has been not inches, but feet, sometimes yards, from my targets.  You make this look easy....     Beautiful slivers you got there!

[Pat B]

Mike, A supposed old Indian saying is..."any wood make a good bow, heap big work to make arrows" or something like that. Making good arrows is the most difficult part of archery. There is a lot more than meets the eye.  You have to consider spine and which side should go against the bow, the length of the arrow, how well everything lines up(not necessarily straight) and arrow weight. Also if your shoots are not mature enough, they tend to be flimsy. Another old saying is..."just because its simple doesn't  mean its easy"!
   Keep at it and you will succeed. Hanging around with primitive arrow makers helps also. Ocean spray make very good, heavy arrows. At least you have good materials to work with.      Pat

[Pat B]

Marius, I forgot to answer your question about the bloodtwig shoots. I'm having a bit of trouble getting them to stay straight. The one I used for the flu flu work fine but with some of the others I'll straighten them and place them on a flat surface to cool and when they are cool they have a long bend to them. I'll will keep playing with them and I know they will make good arrows. The bloodtwig is nice and heavy and tough as nails.      Pat

[BigWapiti]

Mike, A supposed old Indian saying is..."any wood make a good bow, heap big work to make arrows" or something like that. Making good arrows is the most difficult part of archery. There is a lot more than meets the eye.  You have to consider spine and which side should go against the bow, the length of the arrow, how well everything lines up(not necessarily straight) and arrow weight. Also if your shoots are not mature enough, they tend to be flimsy. Another old saying is..."just because its simple doesn't  mean its easy"!
   Keep at it and you will succeed. Hanging around with primitive arrow makers helps also. Ocean spray make very good, heavy arrows. At least you have good materials to work with.      Pat

Thanks Pat!!

[Dustybaer]

pat, i'm sorry they don't work out that well.  i haven't tried to straighten them yet.  i had a set of straightened ones (sent a few to cowboy, wonder how those worked out). 

have you experimented with grooving yet?  maybe these would be good candidates for it.  allegedly, they stay straight if they were grooved before the heat-bending, because of the increased surface that's tempered.

[markinengland]

Dustybaer,
Is there a name for that style of quiver. I fancy making one for myself.
How does the flap to cover the fletchings work?
Know of any good places to find information on this quiver type?
Mark in England

[Dustybaer]

here's a set i made for a friend.  he's trading his kilt for a dozen arrows.  i'm a thief. 

mark, sorry about the late reply.  i always thought of it as a plains style but it has elements of the oetzi quiver.  flap works great, it (the flap) is the reason why the stiffener is on the inside of the quiver.  don't know of any places other than my fantasy/imagination    i just made it as long as the arrows, and wide enough to take the quantity of arrows i wanted.  it is made from one rectangular piece of deer skin, stitched together at the bottom and the rear end.  cut to rectangular wholes into the top edge to put the strap thru.  strap wraps around the stiffener, that's it.  oh yeah, the flap is basically a perpendicular cut thru half the quiver and laced to the stiffener.

here are some more pictures:

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[Dustybaer]

here's a set i made for a very special friends birthday.  it's a weight and spine matched set of sitka spruce (there's actually eight of them), spined at 41-42# and final weight 360gr - 370gr, 29" long and tipped with 70gr. tophats.  4" hand dyed (didn't get the red to match the crest), handcut fletching, very little offset (basically the width of the selfnock), no helical.   she shoots them from a 55#, recurved osage selfbow.  (yes, she shoots heavier bows than me, shut up pat  )

she had shown me the family crest one day and from the moment i saw it, i knew i had to make a set of arrows to match the crest.  so here you go: two fletch, medieval style.

by the way, the flight is awesome.  perfectly straight trajectory out to about 35 yards.  and they are FAST.  didn't have an opportunity to shoot them thru a chronograph, but just seeing them fly was awessome.  i think she liked them 

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[Hillbilly]

Very nice, Marius!

[GregB]

Those are really good looking arrows Marius! They look so good she may be afraid to use them for fear of breaking or losing one.

[Pappy]

Nice arrows Marius,David had some 2 fletch at the Cabin this passed weekend and I was impressed with the way they fly,His were a little noisy but we think it is because he use secondary feathers not primary.Not sure ,but they fly great. Need to give them a try,save on feathers.
   Pappy

[Pat B]

Nice arrows Marius. Not bad for a wussy Transylvanian. You mean that girl shoots a stronger bow than you!