Tools of the trade?

[JackCrafty]

OOPS!.....sorry Hawkeyes.

You answered your own question, though.  And I was bored at work.....so I included all that other stuff for the benefit of your readers.

If you want cheap, essential, not commonly used, and only 2-5 things (with reasons) here goes:

1. campfire: heat bending, pitch melting, glue warming, wood drying, black pigment (charcoal), heat tempering, light source, and war/hunt dancing.
2. chert or flint: scrapers, saws, etchers, cutters, pounding sinew (the round nodules), axes, and buffers.
3. sandstone: sanding and shaping.
4. pressure flaker: for sharpening tools.
5. hammerstone: for producing flakes.

As far as the bare essentials, here's what I would use:

1. large knife: combines the usefulness of hatchet, froe, and scraper/bark peeler.  Also used to cut splitting wedges for larger logs.

2. small knife: scraping, shaping, small cuts.

3. sharpening stone: shaping cutting edges.

4. leather strop: polishing cutting edges.

5. wood file: shaping

[Dane]

I'd say yes, Hawkeyes. I always find great tool deals at antique stores. I never go during tourist season, though, the prices are always higher. My best bench plane I got for 5 bucks, and the drawknive I meantioned cost me about 50 dollars. I find it far more satisfying to use tools with a history than a new cheap tool from Home Depot or Lowes.

Dane

[Dane]

Patrick, now that you opened the stone tool chest can o' worms, why dont you post some shots of your own stone and antler tools?

Dane

OOPS!.....sorry Hawkeyes.

You answered your own question, though.  And I was bored at work.....so I included all that other stuff for the benefit of your readers.

If you want cheap, essential, not commonly used, and only 2-5 things (with reasons) here goes:

1. campfire: heat bending, pitch melting, glue warming, wood drying, black pigment (charcoal), heat tempering, light source, and war/hunt dancing.
2. chert or flint: scrapers, saws, etchers, cutters, pounding sinew (the round nodules), axes, and buffers.
3. sandstone: sanding and shaping.
4. pressure flaker: for sharpening tools.
5. hammerstone: for producing flakes.

As far as the bare essentials, here's what I would use:

1. large knife: combines the usefulness of hatchet, froe, and scraper/bark peeler.  Also used to cut splitting wedges for larger logs.

2. small knife: scraping, shaping, small cuts.

3. sharpening stone: shaping cutting edges.

4. leather strop: polishing cutting edges.

5. wood file: shaping

[JackCrafty]

Dane, good idea.  Today's Friday and I don't have to go to work tomorrow...and the camera is available.....heheh

[Kitsu]

I'd say yes, Hawkeyes. I always find great tool deals at antique stores. I never go during tourist season, though, the prices are always higher. My best bench plane I got for 5 bucks, and the drawknive I meantioned cost me about 50 dollars. I find it far more satisfying to use tools with a history than a new cheap tool from Home Depot or Lowes.

Dane

i am gonna have to show my dad this post because he doesnt believe me that some tools at antique stores are cheaper than the ones at home depot >.>

btw, if i find one at a flea market, how much should i bring, i mean, how much would people normally sell a drawknife for at a flea market...

[Shooter_G22]

As for tools you would absolutly have to have to make a bow if you only had an option of 2 tools...
id say:
1.  my usmc issue (K-bar) reasons:
you can use it for varoius applications if your carful and know how to handle it then it will be your:
-  hatchet
-  draw knife (must use real cuation here and carful how you hold the blade side while using as a
   draw knife..
-  scraper...

2.  a must have is a good size roll of  U.S.  Para cord... 
reasons:
it can be used for various applications: 
-  Bow string
-  handle wrap
-  string for a fire makeing bow and stick technique (dont know what its actually called)

(the inside strands or innards) can be used for...
-  wraping or fixing splinters
-  string silancers
-  wraping arrow heads ( stone or trad points)
-  wraping and securing the self nocks
- wraping fletching (feathers)

those would be my upmost 2 basic items i would want or need if i could only have 2 items with me to  start out with making a bow...  or basic survival bow    everything else would fall into natural resources like "wood"  for bow arrow and fire...  feathers would be nice but could realiy on natural resourse for that as well glue would be nice but could always make up  some pitch soo that would fall into natural resources    (would also like to have a lighter handy but if not could always make oe the hard way) 

if i had a chioce of only five:
1. k-bar  (stated above)
2. para cord (stated above)
3. rasp  (makes reducing wood alot easier and faster more effective)
4. file  (for smoothing out what was rasped and removing smaller amounts of wood and i use for making string grooves, and can be used to re-sharpen or put edge on K-Bar)
5. Lighter or some sort of advance heat sorce...  (for heat treating bending and shaping and straightining ) 

thats just the pretty basic stuff... 
   i really would like a whole lot more in my bow making kit...
like some type of glue...  but i can think of four just in glues..
-  wood glue
- super glue
- fletching glue
-  hot glue sticks for points
and thats just in glues...