Jay Sam 48" Ottawa w/ war arrows (not for bom)

[half eye]

      This is the second bow I made for Jay Sam (Odawa Elder) it's 48" NTN, Black Ash, weight is 45# @ 26", and has been tested to 28". The markings on the bow are to do with Jay. The arrows are the two types I've mentioned previously, i.e. "splinter-heads" and "turtle claw" (except these are fox claws) but the method of attachment is the same. The arrows are designed to penetrate between 6" to 10" and through penetration is NOT desired. Once they are in they are too blunt to push through and must be pulled out. In the first case "splinters are left in the wound and in the second ...the claws are left behind,
      The last time I talked with Mr. Sam, he cleared up some things for why the Ottawa bows were shorter than Chippewa, and many of the other tribes. The Ottawa were know to other tribes as "the traders" and they traveled....a lot! Shrot bows are easier to pack along, fire from canoes, and get into action a lot faster than longer bows....there is the added fact that when they had their 30 man canoes out, lookin for a little trouble, all of them could shoot at the same time because of the short bows.
      The last thing regards the even tiller (our words)...if you are scrambeling to get your stuff together to fight of ambushes etc. ....you aint got time to check which side is "up" and the bow's were expected to perform....regardless.
      Because there are more than six photo's there will be a second post.
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Here are the rest...and some detail shots

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Couple more...one money shot and an edge detail

[Diligence]

Excellent!

I love the "nasty-ness" of those arrows.

j

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here is the money shot and one for edge detail

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[Josh]

That bow looks great Halfeye!    -josh

[zenmonkeyman]

When are you going to run out of ways to astonish us?  Hopefully never!

[KenH]

Beautiful job Rich.  Jay Sam has a fantastic personal Bowyer <grin>

[michbowguy]

wow. im in awe rich.nice bow!

[Del the cat]

Great work, as always. Now you wouldn't want to meet 30 of those in a war canoe 
Del

[Dane]

Okay, just wow. This is a work of art - as if your work isn't.

Tell us about the kinds of pigmentation you used and how you applied it? Also, the finish. The bow looks like it came right out of a museum case. The arrows are very nice, too, with the colors and the black dots and borders. Do they mean anything, or just for decoration?

Dane

[DanaM]

Nice stuff Rich

[half eye]

hey Dane,
       The black color is actually "soot" and some rendered deer fat....just enough to make it paint. The red came from sumac berry heads that were ground and mixed with alcohol then thinned with a little fat. The green is watered down artists acrylic water paint as is the "yellow oxide" (it is in the bottoms of the "V" cuts but doesn't show real good....just a hint if the sun's just right.
       The patterns on the bow are Annishinabee/Ottawa That's the lines, colors and dots. That is an eagle on the grip (Mr. Sam's clan sign) and the oversized arrow represents (either) a strong bow, and/or a strong warrior. Turtles are held in very high esteem, having to do with the Ottawa creation stories.
       The arrows were decorated in a color/pattern scheme to match the bow. I fletched them 2 ways to show how far they sometimes went to be "stealthy". The splinter arrows with tailfeather fletch and the charred front end....is nearly impossible to see coming through the air.
       I gave the raw bow two coats of minnwax "golden-oak" and then rubbed it down and lightly roughed it up with some 200 grit wet of dry paper. Next was the paint colors and when dry they got a light sanding to put some "age" on the job. Then everything got 2 more coats of the minwax right over the paint and all. the stain went on with a soaked rag, wiped right off, then buffed....then over-again...........after that I gave it a coat of brush-on lacquer (dilluted 50/50 with acetone) that "set everything" and the wood pores were still "open" enough to keep it coated with some "bear fat" or wax etc.
     hope that answered the ? if I forgot something please let me know ...
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[half eye]

Typin at the same time....thanks much Dana

[medicinewheel]

You sure come up with some extraordinary stuff here !!!