Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: agd68 on August 18, 2008, 03:33:57 pm
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What do you think our ancient brethren made their bows from: seasoned staves or made from green wood then dried ? Working seasoned wood with stone age gear would be a @#$#@.
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I bet they shaped them close to bow size from green wood then continued to shape them as the wood seasoned and did final tiller when seasoned. I have been able to take staves from green to shooting in a month and I don't know the tricks they likely used.
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Ive made primitive bows from green to dry in one day. Not seasoned but dried over a fire. Kind of like extreme heat treating . I think that some might have used this method?
David
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Ive made primitive bows from green to dry in one day. Not seasoned but dried over a fire. Kind of like extreme heat treating . I think that some might have used this method?
David
i'll bet they did that in a survival ( like every day wasnt bad enough ) type situation when their bow was damaged or lost in a hunt/battle situation.
that way they would still be able to hunt and fend for themselves while they were making another one the long way by shaping and letting the stave cure/dry naturally.
jmho
peace,
tim
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IMO, ancient bowmakers preferred to work with seasoned wood....and some wood, like yew, is easily worked when dry. Green wood is actually hard to work with if you don't have a good cutting tool (like a steel blade). Flint blades are very sharp, but their edges are jagged.....making it hard to get a smooth surface on wood. A seasoned piece of wood can be "sanded" with a course stone to remove the tool marks but a green piece of wood gets "fuzzy" in most cases.
I've read an account that stated that NA's living in dry climates preferred to work on staves cut from dead trees....because mold was not a problem.
In humid climates, I imagine the NA's cut green wood and seasoned them in their lodges before tillering them.