I’m still looking for a piece of bone or suitable stone for an arrow head but some unfortunate bird conveniently left half of its wing near my campsite, so at least I got the fletching done.
I also don’t even have a bow but maybe that’s the next project then.
That’s looking pretty good, especially if it’s your first go! The feathers look nicely shaped, even, and at the right angles. The one thing I’d say is, make sure you leave enough space at the back of the shaft, you’ve got these very near the end, and by the time you’ve cut the nock (the groove the bowstring sits in) there’s not going to be enough space for your fingers on the bowstring if you have then near the nocking point.
Neat!! Good job!
I made arrows a long time ago using dowels from the hardware store so they would be straight. Boy did they not fly straight haha. It’s an art form you practice to get good at it. Your aesthetics beats mine right off the bat.
You know, I never really understood how fletching works until just now.
I mean, I still wouldn’t know how to do it, but I think I get the overall concept.
The primitive way is to use animal sinew instead of a modern string. You apply it wet and once it dries it shrinks tighter and glues onto itself.
That’s sick, and looks great. (Though I have no experience fletching arrows)
You can make a bow out of nearly anything, if you want to make a durable and high performance bow, that’s a different story.
But start cheap and easy.
I like this channel a lot because he removes a lot of the mystery and prestige from being a bowyer. https://youtu.be/PAFadJJFwsE?is=NC7y8r4zVlE1hmQK