Simple hunting set "Wicahcala Kin Itazipa Ehake"

[tattoo dave]

Sure is nice to see you back working on another bow Rich, and it’s no surprise you’re making it for someone else. You do some incredible work my friend, and the information you’ve shared over the years is priceless, and appreciated more then you know!

Tattoo Dave

[wizardgoat]

Nice to see you post again, and thanks for he detailed descriptions on your methods.

[Mounter]

I use complete "as is" backstrap. It is all ready thin and flat so never saw any reason to shred it. I feel it gives me a lot more control on making the sinew even on each limb. Also it very easy to trim width to fit the bow, usually leaving thinner (width) pieces for the outer limb area.  Also you can work a lot of trapped air out from under a flat "sheet" verses a bundle of loose strands. I have made several bows that did not need any re-tiller after sinew by doing this....guess I'm lazy and try to keep everything as work efficient as I can.
rich

Thank you sir. I like the way you think!

[ntvbowyer1969]

Very nice!! look forward to watching the progress.

[half eye]

Only had a part of today so decided to complete the quiver. The pics are sequential and will go along with the explanation (3 or 4 posts...sorry).

First thing I did was dry fit the "bottom" into the lower end of the hide. I kept inserting a little at a time until the bottom plug was able to be turned perpendicular... this spot was just behind the ears. At this point I randomly made 5 tie points through the hide and around the plug with thin split sinew. When it was tied down, I sealed the hide/plug with hide glue.
     Next I whittled the bark off of a black ash small limb ( only dry "stick I had). I inserted the stick into quiver until it contacted the plug rim. At this time I decided where I wanted the lower strap to attach. I punched the deer bone awl through the hide and then marked where the lower end of the stick would tie up. At this point I carved in a "V" slot. I then took the cordage from yesterday and ran it into the inside of the quiver (from the outside then into it) pulling the cord on out the open end. Now tie the cord around the stick at the "V" notch and draw it up tight. At this time I put a small "glob" of nearly jelled hide glue to cover the cord, stick and knot. I then draw the cord tight pulling the stick into position and sealing the cord hole on the hide from the inside. I then measured how much cordage I wanted and cut it off the "roll". I figured where I wanted the "high" tie to be and used the awl to punch another hole and repeated the process as used on the other end.
     If you notice the way the shoulder strap is tied in a knot. This shortens the over all strap. This allows it to be put "under the belt" for hip quiver or can also be carried over one shoulder.....and of course the knot can be untied and carried conventionally.
    That is about it....plain and simple, but effective and accurate for some of the North Eastern tribes. Going to have to just put the pics on with several posts.
rich

[half eye]

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[half eye]

last

[upstatenybowyer]

Man, I am in awe of your attention to detail and steadfast natural approach. Thanks so much for taking us along for the ride. 

[burchett.donald]

   Great job on that Coon quiver Rich...I like the rounded base, it will last forever...
                                                                                                                        Don

[half eye]

Thank you upstate....
Thank you Mr. Burchett glad to see you didn't get blowed away or drowned

Made up a knife sheath today for the flint knife. This is a plain design ( stole the idea from a birch bark sheath I saw on the National Museum web-site). The leather is cow hide, but is about the same weight as either Elk or Moose that I am out of.

Lay the knife out on a scrap piece of leather, and made up a pattern to fit this blade. I then folded it over and checked the "fit". Everything looked good so I applied some pitch glue, folded the sheath over again and squeezed to the 2 halves together. This allowed me to cut off the leather so it was even all the way around. The thin layer of glue also held the edges of the open side together, making it easier to mark for the holes. Next I inserted the knife and formed the soft leather as close to the knife as I could and scribed a line around the grip and blade with the point of the awl. Then removed the knife and marked (started) the lace holes with a knife point. At this time I took the short section of lace I cut from doing the quiver plug and split it again down to about 3/16" and soaked it soft again. I then used the awl to temporarily open each "cut" open enough to pass the wet lace through. I did this because when the rawhide is hard again it be more resistent to being cut than regular sewing. Next was to punch holes and sew up the outer edge with a needle and sinew.

Right now it is just plain jane but may decide to add some "bling" later on. Here are some pics from making the sheath. Enjoy the pics

[Danzn Bar]

Looking good Rich!
Really liking this post.
DBar

[burchett.donald]

  Rich,
          Using wet rawhide on my Plains quiver I noticed it would get sticky and want to hang up in the hide and hard to pull through...I started wiping the rawhide lace with wet fingers dipped in water and it slid through like it was greased...Did you experience any of the same troubles with your sewing?
          During the power outage I made 2 arrows last night using light from Coleman lantern...I was off grid for a while from the Hurricane...

       The knife and case look awesome bud...Is the sinew backing shrinking and drying nicely? Really enjoying your work...
                                                                                                                                                                           Don

[half eye]

Thank you D bar..
Don, The wet lace would not even start into the knife slits ....but the awl would "round out" the hole and the lace would pull right through...then the hole went back to flat....so yes my experience was identical to yours with the exception  I wasn't smart enough to use the wet fingers.....The sinew is doing very nicely and may not take the full 10 days.

[simson]

Thanks for that interesting thread.

[half eye]

Thank you again for the comments fellas, much appreciated for sure.

After 5 days in the air-conditioning the sinew backing is  ready for the skin job. So I took some pics of what it looked like. The way I tell where the drying process is at is by visually, feel (watery conditions make the sinew feel "cold" to the touch) and by banging my finger nail on the sinew all over. When it is dry it makes a hard "clicking" sound and if it is not it makes a very dull (soft) sound.
    Next I split the snake skin to be slightly wider than the bow, and then put into some warm water. In the mean time I gave the bow a light coat of fairly "dry" hide glue (meaning really thick and not very watery at all), I then take the snake skin out and towel dry it, and then wipe it with some paper towels. It gets a thin coat of the same mixture as the bow. When the skin is placed down on the bow it has very good "grab" meaning there is not very much sliding around....so get it real close right from the git-go. I then rub the skin down hard with my thumbs to purge any trapped air, and make any little alignment issues that might have occurred.
    At this point I use scissors to trim the edges of the skin to within about 1/8" too large. Enough to make sure it "rolls" over the edge. At this point the whole thing gets the double "bandage wrap". Wrap in opposite directions so you dont move anything out of alignment and wrap it tight. Here I do it slightly different from the actual sinew....in that I'm going to unwrap in about 4-5 hours, to complete the drying time. The reasoning here is that excess glue worked out will be thick and in direct contact with the bandages so I want it partially dry but not so much so that I cant get the wrapping off.
   Will pic up again when the bandage come off this evening.
rich