[David Petersen]

in reply to: Helle knife kit #53726

Fatty– I guess we should get Campfire Philosopher Doc Dave Sigurslid to do a cleaner translation for you, as he speaks Norsky. 😀 I would call Dryad, ask for explicit instructions, and politely suggest they start including such, with drawings or photos as necessary, in their kits. It will benefit their business as well as their customers.

Steve — The only reason I got the carbon steel in one of my three Helle blades is that I wanted a small drop-point blade for an arm guard combo, and the style I wanted is available only in carbon. I too always preferred carbon in skinning knives because it’s so easy to sharpen, even on a piece of sandstone if necessary. I just got into the habit of stopping often to touch up the edge, but would occassionally have to use a broadhead file while doing an elk. I swore by the old Shrade Sharpfinger and still have two of them. Then Helle came along with its laminated stainless and all changed. The two outer layers are hard but slightly softer than the very hard center, which forms the final edge. While a full blade thickness of steel that hard would be near impossible to hand sharpen and prone to chipping, this arrangement allows it to work. Having done many elk with mine by now I’m in the habit of having to break out the diamond stone only once, at most, for a few strokes, and otherwise just touch it up as needed (not often) with a carbon cross-stick. By taking such a scalpal edge and holding it so long, it really cuts down on field dressing time. Plus my favorite model, “Fire,” has a large handle compared to blade size and a heavy blade to provide max torque power when needed, as when cutting and prying apart bone joints. I liked mine so much that I gave it away to hunting buddy Alex Bugnon and paid $1,000 for a second one … it came as a bonus, nicely engraved, with my life membership to BHA. I think the original was right around $100. I don’t care at all for the black snap-strap scabbards they used to come with, bad design and thin leather, and replaced mine with a full scabbar of heavy leather. Scabbard quality should match knife quality, IMHO. I haven’t checked to see if Dryad still uses these quivers. Chad Sivertsen had the franchise when I bought all of mine. In any event there are scores of superb knive designs out there, many of which are prettier to look at than the Helle’s. But no other blade I’ve experienced or even heard of has the practicality of the 3-piece stainless Helle sandwich. Their carbons are real good too, for carbons.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Paper tuning #53502

Doug — One amplification on Jason’s excellent advice: Tuffhead makes a superb 225 glue-on with field points to match; same for their 300-grain glue-on. And I believe ABS makes a 315 grain field point to match their Ashby head, but it’s been a long time and I could be wrong on the weight. Glad you’re finding good results at last, knowing how hard you’ve worked at it …now take that bottom nock point off the string to avoid possible arrow-nock pinch and release problems. 😀

[David Petersen]

in reply to: what do your arrows cost? #53493

Carbons I buy from Archery Past as bare shafts with choice of nocks and brass inserts, CE250s at about $43 per half dozen. I’ll go with Jason’s estimate of feather costs and guesstimate $50 per half-dozen for finished arrows, not counting the points, which can vary from a few cents to many dollars each. I currently have a half-dozen semi-custom Sitka spruce arrows on order from Fletcher, clear finished, nothing fancy, with 4×2″ feathers. No idea what they will cost, but it’s worth it in my search for a EFOC woody set-up. Likely the cheapest arrows are aluminum, but they are very limiting insofar as you can’t get brass inserts for most sizes.

To answer your direct question — what does a dozen finished arrow go for — I have no idea since I’ve not bought finished arrows in years or decades. Too much fun “making” them and a big savings.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Helle knife kit #53484

You need to call who you bought the kit from. Any kit should come with detailed assembnly instructions. I have built a couple of knives from Helle blades, but I just bought the blades, very cheap, and made my own handles, one from antler, the other Osage. One point I’m not sure if folks are aware of is that Helle makes two basic types of blade: solid carbon steel, and 3-layer stainless. I have both and while the carbon blades are excellent for carbon blades, it’s the sandwiched stainless that earns all the kudos for staying sharp forever. You can always return the kit, save you pennies and buy a finished knife. Best luck …

[David Petersen]

in reply to: New arrows!! #52752

Comfy — While others here may be, I’m not familiar with those arrows (I’m really a woody guy who has been co-opted ad hoc to carbon for all their advantages, while continuing to work toward a wood that gets the jobs EFOC done without excess weight). In any event, with any shaft, it’s the same drill: get your hands on some target points in various weights — they’re now available up to 300 grains if you shop around– and incrementally add heavier points until arrow flight shows weak spine. At that point you can back off to the heaviest that shoot perfectly from your bow and current arrows, or cut a bit of shaft length if you have extra, which will allow for even more weight up front, or move up to heavier spined shafts. Several mail-order trad supply houses sell field point “test kits” just for this purpose. Enjoy …

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Paper tuning #52432

Doug, if I recall, you shoot 3 under? That’s the first thing I would try–switching to split-finger. And for hunting I predict the day will come when you cuss that elevated rest. Arrow flight, all set up for hunting, should be perfect, flawless, before anything else. In the old days we’d just stick on more feathers. These days, we’re learning to fine tune. You might give Milt a call. He’s out of the archery business but the best archery coach I’ve ever known and would likely welcome you over for a session. Hang in and when you get it right you’ll know it was worth the trouble. Short version: perfect arrow flight is mandatory and we can’t settle for less. Because of what is happening you are focusing on nock position, when in fact you may have a basic mismatch with your current arrows. Hang in, Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: New arrows!! #52423

RW — you’re halfway there! Indeed, raw weight is the single most important (non broadhead related) factor in good penetration. But beyond what Dr. Ed Ashby in his studies identifies as the “minimum heavy bone thresshold” of 650 grains, forward weight balance (FOC) takes over. Thus, at some point you might want to return to your light carbon shafts and start stacking weight on the front end. So, let’s say you have a total weight of 550 grains with your 2017s including 125 point. For fun, weigh your carbon shafts, let’s say 300 grains. Thus, in order to get back up to the 550 you need 250 grains up front. Good overall weight and high FOC not only provide great penetration, but a quiet bow, no hand shock, and enhanced accuracy. You simply have to try it to appreciate it. A problem with aluminums is that it’s hard to impossible to find heavy brass inserts, which is necessary for good FOC. For example, for deer I shoot 300-grain carbon shafts with 125-grain brass inserts, 147-grain two-blade broadheads with 100-grain screw-in adapters. For elk I add another 150 grains up front. In both cases they fly straight with minimal increased trajectory, and sail through deer and elk like butter. Just some stuff to kick around for future experimentation. For now, you’re absolutely on the right track. 😀

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Mother Earth News #52408

Actually, Steve, it was the boy’s first fish — he caught and

“landed” it, but wasn’t quite ready to hold it for the camera. He’s long had an Osage longbow on his wall, gradually growing toward being able to shoot it. 😀

Biggest fish I ever caught was an 80lb. bluefin, off the Caroline Outer Banks. In fresh water it was a 25lb mud cat, when I was a teen. At least the tuna was edible.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Mother Earth News #51630

For anyone who’s interested, here’s a direct link to the article online: http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-community/wild-meat-zm0z12fmzalt.aspx

Nicely off-setting the uninformed emotional letters from vegans against my “Why I Eat Wild Meat” article in Mother Earth News, this one just came in. I share it here because I learned a few useful things from the thoughtful writer and thought you might be interested:

Dear Mother;

Bravo for publishing “Why I Eat Wild Meat” in your most recent issue. I have always been puzzled listening to committed locavores bragging to their friends about their favorite source of free-range, grass-fed, organic, local beef, but turning up their noses at the thought of taking to the local woods to humanely harvest a healthier, arguably better-tasting, more sustainable, and much less expensive meat source. David Petersen’s article was spot-on for why wild game should be a staple in any omnivore’s pantry, but he missed two reasons why harvesting wild game is also good for society (vegetarians and omnivores alike). According to the University of Michigan, 14.8 pounds of CO2 is released per pound of beef. When compared with driving 200 miles to my nearest forest to harvest a cow elk that yields 175 pounds of lean meat, I’m releasing only 1.3 pounds of CO2 per pound of elk. My hunting trip prevented more than 2,360 pounds of CO2 from being released into everyone’s atmosphere. Second, a demand for large amounts of harvestable wild game (not just a few animals in zoos and national parks to look at) requires large amounts of wild land to supply it. Wild game demand translates directly into the creation and protection of more public lands. In the private sector, ranchers who can profit from letting hunters use their land provides incentive to keep private lands wild rather than intensively farmed/grazed or developed. It’s time we all start bragging again about wild game.

Colby Barrett

Grand Junction, CO

[David Petersen]

in reply to: How many bows do you have? #51389

Until a few years ago, income (lack thereof) forced me to own only one bow at a time, and in some ways it was a blessing because when I started building bows suddenly I had half a dozen or more at any time, with that many different draw weights and shooting characterists, and had to make arrows to match each. That constant switching around, while great fun, just ruined my accuracy. Now I’m down to three bows and have no plans to dump or add any unless forced by age or injury to lower draw weight: a r/d longbow, an old recurve, and an osage selfbow, all three close in draw range but not quite close enough to shoot the same arrows. The Shrew longbow gets by far the most use, followed by the Osage.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Meat grinder blues #51383

After checking on various good tips here and shopping around, I’ve ordered a new hand grinder that gets 4+ stars from users. And it’s cheap. If I’d know I could possibly order new cutting plates, I would have looked into that angle, but I’ve already tossed the old grinder. As you can see, I’m a fairly inexperienced and amateur consumer. 😳 Thanks again, Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Meat grinder blues #50669

Thanks for all the good tips, amigos. Dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Best account of true archery in Disney History #49601

Troy — Is there a direct hot link so we can send it to friends? Thanks, dave

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Meat grinder blues #49547

Well then, maybe I just need a new hand-cranker. As I said, it was mushing the meat more than cutting it. Anyone had this experience? I’m always delighted when something works just fine without electricity, like a hand-crank ice cream maker, yum.

[David Petersen]

in reply to: Native Finds #49543

Not to steer the topic off this happy course, but in the current issue of TBM a writer who is chasing muleys at timberline on public land boasts of finding two perfect arrowheads and keeping them. I’m not saying what I would or would not do in the same circumstance (:twisted:), but only reminding folks that taking artifacts from public land is a federal offense and probably best not boasted in public.

Me, I’m cursed for lithic relecs. Growing up in Okie I went to school with Indians and camped and hunted on the property of Indians (“reservation” there is sort of a meaningless term) and found oodles of buffalo skulls and bones, but never once found a complete lithic point. One friend found a whole pile of arrowheads, made from several different types stone, dozens, and all brand new, in his father’s plowed field. (He figured they had been made and buried as a spiritual or ceremonial offering, probably in a leather pouch that had long since rotted away.) And so on. Been with friends several times when they found them, but the best I’ve found are broken heads. This reminds me I need to add this to my bucket list. And might as well go for the gold: a Clovis or Folsom spear point. Feel free to send me maps to redhot areas for such. I won’t tell a soul. :P:D

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