i made a rawhide string for my selfbow today. i cut a single strip of rawhide about 7mm wide and about 4m long last night and soaked it overnight. this morning i sat down and made it. first you stretch it along the whole length. then i take each end of the strand and bring them together, basically double it over. then about 8 inches from the end i twist a 2 inch section together and double it over to form the top loop then flemish twist the ends into the main body as per normal for a flemish loop string. then i place the loop over a piece of 5/8" dowel to hold the loop open and to hang some weights from while twisting the string up. with the string hanging from the dowel i then find the center of the strand (the bottom) and cut it. now you have 2 strands the same length. then i tie a 3L milk bottle filled with water to each strand and let them hang. this puts equal load on each strand while twisting. then just twist the strands together by turning the two bottles around together ensuring you twist them the same way the flemish loop is twisted or it will come apart. when it's twisted tight and it's nice and round hold the bottles somehow so they don't allow the twist out of the string while it dries. so simple a cave man could do it.
for the bottom loop i just use a timber hitch.
just got to put some rawhide rabbit fur silencers on and dress it with some duck fat for water resistance.
tell you what, hunting with this stuff is going to be like stepping back into time. fashioning your own weapons from natural materials........it just makes you smile!
Topic: primtive bowstring (Read 179 times)
