River Cane Bow String

[swamp monkey]

Has anyone ever tried making a bow string from North American river cane?  I saw a PA post for a bow from New Guinea that had a bamboo string and I saw sketch of one from a Choctaw bow Page 96 of Hamm and Allely's Encycl. of NABA&Q.

How to craft? I am curious how to do this as a matter of creation.  I have tried to split cane evenly to make a blowgun and it never worked well.  Even after being straightened the grain always took the knife off to one side.  So I wonder if breaking the nodes with a hammer or scoring them would help.   Any experience or ideas floating around out there?  Before too long I will have to experiment and would benefit from your insight. 

How to unstring? Second,  How would you unstring a bamboo string?  Allely's illustration looks to me like there is a fancy loop or multilayer loop of sorts on both ends with the larger loop on the end you would unstring.  The wrap nocks make it appear that the push pull method of stringing may not be practical but I could be wrong.    I would love to find out what some of you know about this subject.

Oh and notice those fancy woven bands of cane.  how would that be done?  I have never made woven objects with a strict diameter in mind.  I really want to make this bow!

[swamp monkey]

no progress figuring out how to make those cane bands pictured below.  But I made some progress with the string idea.  I took a section of cane that broke while heat bending (a defect lay hidden beneath) I pounded on the nodes with a hammer and moved out to the internode area.  I was able to separate out a section that I think I could finish cutting out with a knife and sand down to a string like consistency.  This holds promise.     I will try this on a larger piece of cane and keep ya'll informed of any findings.

Notice the string in Allely's drawing has a loose loop on the top nock.  At first I figured that was a result of time and unraveling, but on further thought I think it is a loop to keep the string on the bow when unstrung.  I think the section of cane on the bottom nock is used to keep the string on that end.  If figure this bow string was made like caning a chair, with hot water when they tied the knots.  So there is no tying and untying.  I also do not see a cane string wrapping up nicely somewhere when unstrung.  So the lower knock has a cane segment to keep the string on and the top knot has two loops for strung and unstrung.  Ingenious!  Now if I can manage to make a length long enough. . .

[swamp monkey]

I understand that fly rod makers split bamboo.  Does anyone know how this is done?

[Pat B]

The Cherokee used split river cane to make baskets and some would hold water for cooking. Maybe you could find info about splitting cane by doing a search on Cherokee basket making.

[gstoneberg]

I can post some close-ups of that bamboo string on the New Guinea bow if you'd like.  I definitely agree that the knot appears to have been tied when the cane was wet and on the bow I have I didn't see a provision for unstringing it.  I think the bow is made from palm, it looks a lot like the black palm I've seen pictures of here.  Anyway, if more pictures would help I'll post them.

George

[swamp monkey]

I can post some close-ups of that bamboo string on the New Guinea bow if you'd like.  I definitely agree that the knot appears to have been tied when the cane was wet and on the bow I have I didn't see a provision for unstringing it.  I think the bow is made from palm, it looks a lot like the black palm I've seen pictures of here.  Anyway, if more pictures would help I'll post them.

George

George Post away.  Every little bit can help.  I fully intend to find a way to replicate this technology (feel free to beat me to it ) and I will share what ever I come up with.  What a fun deal.  thanks ya'll

[gstoneberg]

OK, here you go.  I took 2 shots of each knot and 2 of a node on the string, front and back.   Each node has been scraped so that the string is smooth.  The string is just over a quarter inch wide George

[swamp monkey]

I found some stuff on a basket making website that detailed the Choctaw process pasted below is the write up.  Appropriate since it is a Choctaw cane sting I am trying to replicate.  It required some interpretation on my part.  It was not intuitive what I read.  I followed it to get started and had the following results:  The spitting was even and this was good because it was one of my past failures.  However, when I hit the second node the split stopped and the pieces tended to break off.  Pulling the work through worked the same as pushing it but pulling requires gloves.  I cut my finger on one try.  So I am going to experiment some more and hopefully have better results.  If I can find a cane basket making guru I will pick their brain too.

thanks for coming along with me on this one folks. 

Choctaw River Cane Splitter: Drive an upright stake of stout green cane into deep ground so that about 2 1/2 feet of the cane pole are above the ground. The top of the cane to be split is cut criss cross, down to the middle or just past the first joint. Use a butcher or flint knife to cut in one direction and then again at 90 degrees to the first cut. The cuts are about an inch or two in length, just enough so that the quartered end could be adjusted. A shorter piece of cane ten to twelve inches long is passed into one of these cross cuts on the "pusher" side of the stake and then placed horizontally against the stake. Another way of saying this is a smaller piece of cane is fixed at 90 degrees to the upright and placed so that half of the cane passed above it and half below.) The stake itself is placed into the other cross cut, and as the cane is pushed through, it falls into four divided lengths, on the far side of the stake. Sharply jab the cane pole to push against the upright cane. The cane should split along the grain between joints. Cane can be split as fast as it can be pushed through. Another way of saying this is from Weaving Wildly: Mats and Baskets the Choctaw Way by Mary Lou Stahl. "After the cane stalks are cut and brought back, a cross shaped warp is driven into the ground. Two lengthwise slits are made in the cane stalk, dividing the stem into quarters. These four parts of the stem were arranged around the cross- shaped warp and the weaver holds the stake with one hand and pushes the cane against it with the other hand. An experienced person can swiftly divide the stalk of cane into four equal lengths." Another way of splitting - select cane an inch or more in diameter and split by twisting in the hands and quartering it with a sharp blow across the thigh or knee.

[leapingbare]

I made a split cane fish trap when i was a kid.  Looked like a huge minow trap.
 I did catch some cat fish

[Michael C.]

How does that string work George, that looks tricky?.

[gstoneberg]

I honestly don't know Michael.  The bow was a gift from my nephew and, since it came from the New Guinea jungle into much less humidity here, I've been afraid to draw it.  Given its short length, I would expect the draw to be 18" or so.  I can say that the rounded part of the cane is away from the bow and the flat part of the cane is toward the bow belly so the arrow is against the flat side.  The arrows that came with it do not have nocks but are just held against the cane.  I'm not sure how they grasped the string to draw the bow and kept the arrow in position.  The bow is made of palm, it looks like the black palm bow pictures I've seen.

George

[michbowguy]

i believe that the arrows were made with nocks that were bulbous and flat behind the bulb for placing flat on the string and they used a native pinch style grip and pinched the bulb.
been messing around with my cane and i think mine is too dry, much of my research sows or told of "wetting" or using not fully fry cane for strings. mine all are breaking apart, so im just sticking with my hide strings for now.
hope this little bit hepls.
jamie

[JackCrafty]

Very interesting thread.

Seems like they would want to keep the string submerged in water when not in use, so I don't know why they would want to keep the string with the bow at all times.  Hmmmm.... unless both the string AND the bow were kept under water when not in use.

[swamp monkey]

I made a comb from split and sanded cane sections and found that even thin split cane holds its shape.  So the cane string will keep its elongate shape and not roll up nicely.  The only reason I can think of to put the cane in water (hot water) is when bending.  Perhaps a big loop for storage, but I will experiment with that when I figure the art of splitting a multi-node long split.  I am getting nervous that I am missing something very basic and will be really embarrassed when I finally get it.  however, at this time I still cannot get a good, even split down a long length of cane.  I end up destroying the cane I have So far the only thing I have not tried is splitting green cane. 

ARRRRRGH!   I will get this!  But feel free to help folks. It won't hurt my feelings if you beat me to it.  I just want to learn!

thanks ya'll.

[swamp monkey]

I have been talking with a traditional cane basket maker in Louisiana and have some tips.  I will try green cane and use splitting sticks that are smaller diameter than my cane stock.  He is excited and may try to replicate the knot weaving and may understand the bands but he made no promises.  SO I will keep ya'll posted.