I want to start making as much of my equipment as possible. I don’t know how to knap flint, but I know how to work metal. So, I’m in the process of making some trade points from old saw blades. I marked off the points on the saw blades with magic marker and if life permits I will cut them out next week at a friends house. He has a plasma cutter and in return I’m reloading 100 rounds of 44 magnum for him.
I’m gong to order fletching and a new fletching jig and some shafts etc to assemble my own arrows. I’m unsure right now how heavy they will be when finished, but I can work on that. I’m going to use the melt glue and sinew to hold them in the shaft. I’m thinking a 25 degree single bevel on both blades should do it with a chisel point.
I’m probably not saving money, but it keeps me busy and I have some sense of accomplishment.
I’ve got a pecan stave seasoning right now to do a self-bow maybe in the winter. A man I used to work with says he has some Osage orange staves, but he can’t get to them right now, but I can have two of them. Who knows, maybe I’ll be good at bow making.
I read articles by people like Shawn Woods and I’m amazed at how Paleolithic they are. Knapping flints, making bows with rocks and copper axes, amazing stuff. I remember an article from many years ago where a man spent a winter using tools, clothes, and shelter that he built in the manner of the old ones….I remember he said it was interesting, but the winter turned worse than he expected, and there were some pretty miserable days.
