quiver

[Kid Terico]

Quiver and bow cover I recently got.KT

[JD Alan]

Wow Terry, that is really something. Beautiful workmanship; at least it looks like it from here.

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

   What a find KT, it's a quiver and bow cover all in one, what tribe is it from or represent, it looks like the real deal, thanks for the look see.

[GunClick Rick]

Is that rawhide KT?That is awsome!

[Kid Terico]

Clicker no.just deer hide. KT

[Johnny McCrae]

Hi KT,
Beautiful! A genuine pleasure to look at. Many thanks for showing it to us.

[amin ledbetter]

Really nice KT! Where did you come across that at pard!??

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Thanks for the pics, pard. Those are very cool.

[will ghormley]

Nice KT!

I got it in my head I needed to know how to make bows and arrows out of natural materials with primitive tools as one of my survival skill sets.  You never know when you will run out of lead and black powder.  Bill Proctor and Charlie Smoke have been givin' me some tips.  I was almost finished with my first bow when it developed a crack.  So, I set it aside and started all over, choppin' down a bitternut hickory for the bow stave this time.  I chose my crookedest willow stick for my first arrow, so if I ruined it too, at least I wasn't out a real good willow stick.  I had a hard time heat treatin' it straight, but I think it'll fly true enough for my skill level.  I always have a stash of wild turkey feathers, so fletchin' materials weren't an issue.  I have a stash of sinew from previous year's deer hunts, and some deer rawhide if I need it.  I used an old barrel band for the metal arrow head.  It didn't turn out too bad.

http://www.willghormley-maker.com/Photos.html

When I get the bow and arrows done, I'll be makin' a rig similar to your'n to carry it in.  It won't be near as fancy, but the basic carry will be the same.  Seein' yours makes me impatient to get mine done.  Dang work keeps getttin' in the way of havin' fun!

Will

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Will, that shaft looks pretty straight to me, you did a great job, what did you use for glue for your feathers, also nice job of fletching the feathers, and your arrow head looks right at home, thanks for sharing pard.

          tEN wOLVES 

[Kid Terico]

Will looks like a great job to me. Cant wait to see it completed. KT

[will ghormley]

Thanks KT.  I can't wait to see it either!

ten wolves,
I'm makin' 'em just like the First Nations used to make 'em.  The turkey feathers aren't glued down.  There is a bare section of feather shaft without feathers at both ends.  The rear is fastened down first with the fletchin' facing backwards and upside down.  I lashed mine down with deer sinew.  Get it wet and wrap it around.  It makes its own glue to stick to itself and dries stiff.  Then, the fletchin' is folded forward with the feathers stickin' up and the front of 'em are wrapped down with sinew.  Before it dries, it is tugged forward to take the slack out.  From the front to the back, it isn't attached.  It doesn't seem to me like it would last too long, but that's the way they did it and it worked good 'nuff for thousands of years.  May take some field repairs, I'll have to wait and use 'em to see how well it works.

The iron head is broad and sharp.  I sharpened the back side of the blade too.  That way, if the arrow works its way out, it will cut a bunch of damage on its way out and hopefully bring down the game quicker.  I think it is too heavy for any distance.  The next heads I make will be smaller and lighter.  Eventually, I want to knap some flint, but I haven't found any yet.  But, I keep my eyes peeled when I'm hikin' in river and creek beds.  I should go and sort through some farmers field-rock pile.  I'm sure I could at least find churt there.

Will

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

  That sounds like quite a process Will,but like you said it worked for years for the Indians, and it worked well, before the repeating rifles and revolvers came into being the bow was considered the ultimate weapon, being superior to the long rifle in battle. Using the sinew to secure the feathers down this way is pretty unique, and stretching the feathers afterward and having them stay in place, you would think that alone would be a challenge, I've often wondered being an archer myself, if they retrieved there arrows after using them one time, I haven't found any proof that they did, unless the arrow was used on a soft target that wouldn't cause the arrow to come apart on impact, anyway , this is great info Will, and we'll all look forward to seeing what you come up with in a quiver.

        tEN wOLVES   

[will ghormley]

Hey ten wolves,

I'm curious to see how they stand up myself.  I've wondered the very same things.  I would think hitting a solid object would shake everything loose.  I think of Jim Bridger gettin' the arrowhead cut out of his back after it stuck in bone and stayed there for years.  I wonder if the sudden stop ruptured the sinew binding and just left the head there or what.

But, as an unrepentant descendant of mostly Scottish heritage, (with at least an eight of First Nations thrown in the mix), I always used to track down lost arrows as a kid.  As a grown-up, I even chop my lead out of the dead tree I use for target practice.  I will track down and save what I can, repair what is repairable, and scavenge the rest.

After spending hours workin' on projects like this, I would imagine a First Nations hunter would have to hold his time in very low esteem to not at least try to recover arrows when it was possible.  In some hunting situations, and on the battlefield, I don't reckon it was practical or safe.  But, an arrow recovered is just another arrow you don't have to make.  I would imagine they almost always tried to recover their arrows and would have looked at me like a white man if I didn't look for mine too.  It just make so much sense you don't even waist breath on it, you just shake your head and wander off.

I'm goin' to be posting a webpage of the bow and arrow process when I get around to it.  I really don't know what I'm doin', so I may look foolish, but lookin' foolish and not knowin' what I'm doin' has never stopped me before.

Will



Will

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

Will, I think you're doing fine, and a ton better than most, keep up your great spirit and craft, and you know we all look forward to you sharing these things with us.


      tEN wOLVES 

[GunClick Rick]

Very cool Mr. Will,i gotta try that.My buddy here would go to walnut orchards and find long strieght pups growin at the bottom of the trees,they were always pretty strieght to start with.He used them for teaching at the schools mostly.I took an art class a couple years ago and used crushed minerals,cotton swabs and Q-Tips for colors and brush.I did a tipi with a bundle of shafts drying over smoke and coals hangin from the center of the tipi as i think i read somewhere they dried them like that.


BUT!! I do like that shirt!!! Did you make that one?

[GunClick Rick]

My grandfather had a few huge flint rocks in his front yard for years.Didn't know what it was until after he passed,my cousin may have some yet,i'll ask him.I have a nice chunck of extra obsidean if ya need iit,bout the size of a baseball,mahogony if i remember right,i got it stashed somewhere...

[Marshal Will Wingam]

That arrow is mighty fine, Will. I really don't think the shaft is crooked enough to cause a problem. Impressive. A real flint head will look even better.

[will ghormley]

Thanks Marshal.  Like I said, it's plenty straight for my skill level.  Actually, I probably didn't have to straighten it at all for my skill level.

Hey GunClick Rick,

Ya' want'a trade somethin' for the obsidean?  Don't know what I've got that you might want, but I like to horse-trade.

Will

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Did you ever read "Grandfather" by Tom Brown, Jr.? He talks about Stalking Wolf making his arrows from slightly crooked saplings, leaving the straightest ones to grow into the best possible trees. I always imagined arrows that looked like yours.