what do i need to do to shafts before people will trade for em?

[recurve shooter]

hi guys, sorry about the long subject. i have penty of sourwood down here and it is fairly easy for me to harvist, and i'd like to cut some to trade. can yall tell me what i'd need to do to em before yall'd want to trade for em? (length, thickness, seasoning, bark on/off?) thanks.

[n2everythg]

My opinion.
you can trade them green and just cut but dont expect to get as much out of em as if they were worked.
depends on who ur trading and what they expect too. tradiing is subjective.

The more you do to them the more value there are in them.
 in order of value least to more

green and cut
cut and dried
straightened
spine and weight matched
finished arrows

the more you do the more you get or should expect to get for them.

I have traded them and traded for them at each stage. depends on who you are trading I think. and what they are after.

luck
N2
 

[Pat B]

Good to know there is another source of sourwood out there. My "honey hole" got mowed down by the NCDOT trying to spend all their money before the end of the year.
   You can peel sourwood right away after cutting without fear of checking. It will dry pretty quickly then. Less moisture = less postage. 
   Shooter, If you don't already know be sure the shoots are at least second year growth. Generally 3/8" to 1/2" at the base is a good size.
   I have enough for myself but if you find any shoots with snaky butt ends, I might be interested.

[ricktrojanowski]

I would be willing to trade for some green, cut and roughly matched for diameter.

[recurve shooter]

thanx alot guys, thats what i needed to know. i dont have any cut right now, but the stuff is as common as greenbriar or pine trees down here. i mean everywhere. me and ian johnson will probably spend some time cutting it this weekend, so i'll have some soon.

[Ian Johnson]

recurveshooter is not lying either when he says this stuff grows like weeds down here, we will get some this weekend