Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: IsaacW on September 08, 2014, 12:18:57 pm
-
Anyone know if goose (Canada) feathers strip like turkey? I can simple test and try, but I would rather just know before I bugger up some good feathers. If not, I can cut and grind the "hard" way. ;) I am working on a couple Dark Ages arrows for hunting season and want to use goose rather than my normal turkey.
Thanks,
IW
-
How exactly do turkey feathers strip? I always have to cut and grind them.
-
How exactly do turkey feathers strip? I always have to cut and grind them.
I do not know how to explain other than you can just peel/carefully pull the vane from the quill, bringing with it only a thin outside bit of the quill
-
I've done it with green primaries and it worked well but had very bad luck tryin to strip goose feathers after they had "cured" abit.... Brian
-
If the feathers are old(dry) you can rehydrate them by placing them in a zip loc bag with a damp paper towel inside for a day or two.
I've never stripped goose feathers but they should strip just like turkey feathers.
-
I have a board with a clip mounted at one end. clip the feathers quill (I cut most of it up to about a 1/4" from the feathers vanes) and straighten it down.Then I used a thin scrap board clamped at the tip of the feather to hold it down while I used a razor blade to cut down the middle. I know its not super primitive an it leaves a lot of room for improvement, but I dont usually have any goose feathers, just turkey that split really well! Canadian geese feathers are more oily I think and IMO are very good at dealing with wetter weather.
-
I stripped enough goose feathers to do a dozen 2 fletch arrows for my brother Dan last year. I do recall them not coming off the quill as nice as the turkey feathers I have done but I would describe it doable. If I went slow and kept attentive I didn't loose a feather.
-
Yes, they strip like turkey. And like Pat mentioned, they can be plumped up with a little moisture (turkey, goose, whatever) to make them strip easier.
I set a teakettle on the stove and get a good hot stream of steam blowing out the spout and I drag the feathers back and forth thru that before stripping. Feathers that look ruined often plump and straighten out nicely.
-
Thanks guys! I also have some sexy bronze nocks for these that are repro'd from some originals dug from a Norse village in northern Germany... Haithabu
IW
-
Stripped quick and nicely!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v189/waltei/imagejpg1_zps579e93fb.jpg)
Now to do the heads... Glue, sinew, and birchbark wrapping
-
Here is an image of the original bronze nocks from Haithabu (Hedeby)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v189/waltei/IMG_0924_zps161f3611.jpg)