sourwood shoot and hill cane arrows

[Pat B]

Now for the sinew wrap. I pull off strands of sinew, generally backstrap sinew for it's length. I chew the sinew until it is soft then wrap just below the head making sure the wrap is tight then I go down the shaft about an inch to strengthen the shaft as well as the connection. I'm using 3 strands of sinew on this shaft. You can see the sinew wrap in this pic...


After the sinew is dry I trim the end of the shaft on both sides of the point to give a smooth transition between the shaft and head to insure good penetration. You can see that the left side has been trimmed but the right side hasn't yet...


...more to come.

[Longcruise]

Very cool.  Do you hunt with these heads?  I've always wondered if they would tend to turn sideways upon impact?

[Pat B]

I have hunted with stone heads but not taken an animal. Lots of folks have been successful with stone points, heck, for thousands of years but also in modern times. If the point is hafted well it should stay in place even going into or through an animal. If it does turn inside the animal it can cause even more internal damage.

[Longcruise]

I have seen some old bones that have been found with stone points embedded in them.  Very impressive.   One was found embedded in a large vertebrae in the Arizona desert.  It was too large IMO to have been an arrow head.  If it was a spear point it had to have been a heavy spear hurled by a strong hunter.   

[Pat B]

Many of what folks call arrowheads from primitive times were actually atlatl heads. The atlatl came between throwing spears and arrows in the evolution of projectiles, basically they were feathered darts, longer than arrows but shorter and lighter than spears. Bows and arrows came into existence about 15,000 years ago, worldwide. Before that atlatls, before that throwing spears and before that lunging spears.
 I've seen some pics of stone points embedded in bone, some from each of the above weapons. If the connection is properly and securely made it is a viable killing machine.

[Pat B]

FYI...this is how I make the pitch varnish I use to seal sinew wraps. This is not a true varnish because it doesn't have any oil in it but it works just fine for what I use it for.
 First you start with hard, brittle pitch. If you use softer pitch the varnish will remain sticky and not harden. I place the pitch nodules in a clean, air tight jar and cover it with denatured alcohol. Any alcohol will work even Ever Clear or moonshine. Other solvents will also work but denatured alcohol is the least dangerous to use.
 The jar in the pic has had the ingredient in it for about an hour. It usually takes over night for all the pitch to dissolve into the solution. After this you can strain out the impurities which usually sink to the bottom. If any floats I remove it but don't worry about what's on the bottom.
 To apply I use a small artist paint brush, dip it in the varnish and apply it to the sinew wrap. As soon as the alcohol evaporates the varnish is hard. Don't worry about cleaning the brush. The next time you use it it will soften when it goes in the varnish.

[Longcruise]

 All cool 😎 stuff.   

[Pat B]

Got all my points added. At least one of these will go for the PA Arrow Trade. On to the fletching now...

[Pat B]

After the sinew wraps dried it's time to seal the wraps with pitch varnish.
 This pic is before the wrap was sealed...


...and after sealing...


...and after the pitch varnish has dries at the hafting it's time to seal the shafts. I used the pitch varnish to seal the sourwood shafts but not the hill cane. I don't sand the rind or nodes on the hill cane because the rind is a good weather sealer. I do seal the self nocks where I bare the raw cane.
 Here the sourwood shafts hang while drying...


Next step is fletching. I've selected the feathers for each shaft and I'll use a few different fletching styles for these arrows.

[Mad Max]

Nice job pat

[Roy from Pa]

Very good how to there, Pat.

 

[Buemaker]

Very nice Pat. Can this pitch be bought somewhere?

[Pat B]

I guess you can but it is easy to collect it you have conifers like pine, spruce, fir, etc. Be sure to collect hard, brittle pitch. I think you can use other tree saps too. The first article I read about it the guy was using plum sap I think.

[Buemaker]

Okay, lots of trees up here so a pitch gathering expedition will take place in the near future.

[Roy from Pa]

OMG Bue, ya better take someone along incase ya get stuck to a tree:)

Just sayen..

 

[Buemaker]

No problem. I’ll bring along a bottle of alcohol in case I get stuck.

[Roy from Pa]

LOL

[Pat B]

Vodka? That works too.   

[onetone]

Impressive work you guys.

[George Tsoukalas]

Very impressive! Thanks for sharing. Jawge