Main Discussion Area > Arrows
Bone Arrow Head Gallery - Sticky
burtonridr:
Just got through the whole thread.... Man, there is some cool stuff in here.
Just another skill to learn, good thing I kept that elk leg bone for my dog to chew on >:D
Philipp A:
wow what a great exhibition of craftsmanship! I love the variety of bone arrow heads presented. It now really inspires me to try myself. Arrow making is so much fun! Glad I finally discovered this thread :D
tipi stuff:
This isn't a bone point, but this is the best place I could find to post it. I had read about sinew points 25+ years ago. Grinnell's book on the Cheyenne describes them, but little detail is included. He does say they were made from the neck tendon of a buffalo bull. About 15 years ago we were butchering an 18 month old bull. From it, I finally had a chance to get the right tendon to try this out. This tendon doesn't break into fibers like the back and leg tendons, and cannot be used for thread. In fact, it becomes somewhat brittle when dried. It can be sawed, or carved with a knife. This is one of several sinew points that I have now made. Like a stone point, It can shatter if you hit a rock with it.
mud duck:
I fooled around with bone points quite a bit, once upon a time. Stone projectile points never made sense to me? At some point in my youth I ran across a book of native stories, I think maybe written by a guy who ended up serving on the montana senate long ago, or maybe it was wyoming? Way back when. Anyway there was a mention of some nation, maybe crow or blackfeet I think, with "bison bone lance heads polished like ivory."
About 25 or 30 years ago I read an archaeology article about bone chards found around a prehistoric firepit. It described ancient people breaking legbones to get at the marrow inside, so I gave it a go. I just picked up some beef stew bones (probably 4 or 5 inches long), parboiled them just enough to gel the marrow inside, then split them with a hatchet. Hand sanded the best chards with 60 grit, & worked my way down to probably 800 grit. Maybe higher? can't remember? They sharpend up QUITE nicely, and I soon learned to haft them BEFORE sanding the final cutting edges. At the end of the experiment I pounded one through a piece of 3/4 inch plywood with a steel hammer (back when 3/4 meant 3/4). Yanked it out the other side with a pair of locking pliers. Point was totally unscathed and perfectly ready to tip THE finest arrow ever built by man.
I assume deer or elk bone would be a lot tougher, but probably depends on nutrition? In any case, can't go wrong with bone IMO.
mud duck:
I just found a historical bone point. Might be old news around here but it's the only one I've ever seen, and I have researched the topic some over the years. Interesting article as well.
My take away is that, contrary to what modern historians preach, neither the invention of firearms, nor the invention of the rifle, were able to render the arrow obsolete. On the contrary, until like 1866, it took a lot of muzzle loaders, not to mention a lot of fortification, just to withstand an onslaught of angry arrows until more muzzle loaders finally showed up. Hopefully...
The arrow remained viable until the mass production of repeating rifles. According to my math, that's only 153 yrs ago. I'm 50yrs old, so, my grandfather's day? maybe my great grandfathers day? three generations ago? four generations? that's less than a NYC nanosecond, in terms of human history...
anyways, linky: https://www.nps.gov/fous/learn/historyculture/arrows-guns-and-buffalo.htm
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