If you were to approach a Fletcher, that’s an arrow maker, you knew that right? Okay, back to my question, if you were to approach a Fletcher, what kind of arrows would you tell them to make? (You should probably ask and not tell them because that would be the political thing to do).
Types of Arrows
Did I hear you right, “There’s only one kind and that’s carbon fiber”? Let me open up that mind of yours because there are actually four different materials arrows are made from. Do you know what they are? That’s alright, I’ll help you out because I’m a heck of a nice person.
- Wooden (derived from many types of wood, as well as bamboo)
- Fiberglass
- Aluminum
- Carbon Fiber (One of the most popular)
Wooden arrows, like the Black Eagle Traditional Arrows, are the oldest type of arrows around. Of course you knew that, trees have been around long before fiberglass, aluminum, or carbon fiber were even a spark in Games Slayter, Friedrich Wohler’s, or Roger Bacon’s inventive minds. Let’s stop to say a quick thank you to each of them and appreciate the great contribution made to this sport…
Wooden Shaft
Okay long enough, and back to what was before them; trees, wood, and wooden shafted arrows. They can be created from all sorts of wood, Port Orford Cedar, (Arrows that smell good too!), Tamarack, Ash, Bamboo and whatever tree is closest to you because when you need an arrow in a survival situation, it may not matter what it’s made of.
There are pros and cons for everything and I know you’re aware of that, here are some for the oldest arrows around, wooden. Let’s look at the pros first because we like the bright side of things.
- Natural look
- Oldest and cheapest material used to make arrows
- Great for beginners, longbows or lower recurve strength bows
- Knock can be cut into the end of the shaft or glued on
- Extra weight can be added, can be manipulated
And now the cons
- Lacks the ability to achieve perfect consistency in build, straightness, flexibility and weight
- Can be easy to break
- Not recommended for higher velocity recurve bows
Wooden arrows are also quite stunning, if you like vintage kind of things that is. I hear you, we’re not discussing arrows for decoration, therefore MOVE ON!!
Fiberglass Shaft
The next one is fiberglass, the Gold Tip Fiberglass Youth Arrows are an example of this type of arrow. This material isn’t very popular, but it is an option and some people like it because they can. Is it better than wood? I don’t know, pros and cons time. Again, pros first;
- More durable
- Size is easily adjustable by manufacturer
- It can be made with precision consistently (straightness and flexibility)
- They are a little more weighty and are generally used for fishing.
Onto cons;
- They’re heavier
- It is tougher than wood but can still be brittle
Up next, aluminum is another material used to make arrows. What are aluminum arrows good for? Most anything the other ones are good for, but so we’re all clear on the appropriate benefits or lack thereof, let us again go over the pros first…
- They can be made from varying aluminum alloys so weight, strength and structure can be manipulated to fit perfectly to the shooter’s equipment and purpose.
- Manufactured with impeccable precision.
- Used for tournaments
And yes, now the cons;
- One of the most expensive
- It’s mallabel so they also bend easily
Carbon Fiber
The last one, but most definitely not least, the most popular for all facets of archery; carbon fiber. Why? I’m sure most of you could tell me why because you’re the real experts. Carbon fiber is the cat’s pajamas when it comes to a material capable of being formed into many uses. Including the arrows we nock and shoot like the Victory RIP SS Gamer Arrows. So here goes again, pros and cons, if there are any cons.
A list of the pros lies ahead!
- These can also be manipulated to fit each archer and their equipment consistently
- Carbon fiber is known for being light, allowing them to be fast
- Extremely durable and flexible
- Used during tournaments, target practice, hunting, hunting and fishing
- Able to achieve constant consistency
We really don’t need a con section for this, the only con is they cost a little more than the rest. Is it necessary to spend your entire hobby savings on arrows? (Maybe I’m exaggerating a little). Well that depends on what you are engaging in.
Who Are You?
Are you a backyard target shooter? Are you a competitive shooter? Are you a hunter? Are you a decorator?
The only time I would recommend spending top dollar on arrows is when it really counts because they can be damaged or lost. Let’s be responsible and not throw your hard earned pennies away. If you’re target or form practicing, use arrows that have the least effect on your wallet. If you’ll be hunting, most types of arrows can get the job done, be sure to be well practiced and confident in your shots and your equipment.
For competition, you’ll want the best of the best, I would recommend carbon fiber for this. You don’t want to go up against other archers cutting corners with any of your equipment or skill.
Oh, and if you’re a decorator, you know what you’re doing and what color scheme will match your decor, get to it.
TBB,
No longer a bow hunter so I guess that makes me a backyard bow shooter.
As a Boyer it’s not surprising that I’m also a Fletcher. I make wooden arrows, usually from cedar and often footed with a hardwood like ironwood (hophornbeam) that I call “Xmas arrows”.
Xmas arrows are made with a wood core and wrapped with several layers of adhesive and thin paper – the paper usually being cheap Christmas wrap, hense the name.
The paper “skin” reinforces wood core (and possible less than ideal grain) and the number of wraps “adjusts” the spine of the shaft. The smooth, colorful surface is a byproduct of the process – no vanishing required. 😉
The shape of the paper sheet (rectangular, right-angle triangle, equilateral triangle) can be chosen to control where the arrow spine is stiffest. For example, an equilateral triangle of paper will result in a barrel shaft (thicker in the middle, tapered to the ends) which allows a thinner shaft to be stiffened in the middle where it would normally flex the most.
Agreed, aluminum, fiberglass and carbon fiber shafts allow mass produced consistency and I’ve used them. I prefer wood shafts for the same reasons I prefer wood bows – I can make them myslf from materials I can harvest on my property. 🙂
Happy Friday TBB!
Hank
Vana2
Well that’s a suitable name for wrapping paper reinforced arrows. Pure talent and an art! I would love to get my hands on some custom wooden archery. It’s an art that not many people spend the time to do.
How long is the process Hank?
Thanks for the interaction!
-TBB
TBB,
To me, being able to craft the tool that allowed our ancestors to survive gives me a special connection with them.
Modern materials can be forced to the shape we dictate, with natural materials you have to be able to read the wood and work with what is there. Shaping a stave and tillering a stick&string into a working bow is a simple process (can be done with a sharp rock) that would defy modern CNC tools which cannot anticipate the variances in wood.
As old as the wood bow technology is, I don’t hesitate to use modern tools and feel no remorse at all. You can make a bow with basic hand tools (axe, knife, rasp, sandpaper) but power tools (bandsaw, beltsander) do accelerate the process. That being said, hand tools are better to start with as you can ruin a stave in a fraction of a second using power tools.
To answer your question, I can made a working hunting bow (from a dry stave) in under an hour if I’m in a hurry. I usually take my time and spend a couple of hours shaping, tillering and finishing a bow. A dozen arrows can be made in a couple of hours as well but the time is spread over a few days as you have to wait for glues to dry.
The making is relaxing; tuning for perfect arrow flight is satisfying; taking game with homemade “primitive” equipment you made yourself is special.
So the short answer to “how long” is that it depends on how much of a hurry you are in… I have glues that set in seconds and some take days to cure fully – I use both. 🙂
My long reply is to your comment: “I would love to get my hands on some custom wooden archery”.
There’s nothing wrong with modern archery equipment (been there, done that) , new technology and all the fun accessories (been there, done that) but there’s a huge amount of satisfaction with shooting homemade equipment.
My recommendation is that you get the Traditional Boyers Bible series of books, read the section on making bows from boards, buy a suitable red oak board from the local hardware store and make yourself a 30-40 pound bow… but promise me that you won’t hold me accountable if you get addicted to making bows. 😉
Cheers!
Hank
Hank,
I appreciate the detailed answer and I would love to say 10/4 Cap! But I know me and I won’t get a round to it. At least not for a while, who knows, things may slow down and I might find myself reading the Boyer’s Bible and provoked to make my own. You’ll be one of the first to know if ever that occurs.
-TBB
TBB,
Hear you about time issues, I’m retired and still don’t have enough to do what I want. 🙂
Suggestion – get the books now. They are interesting reading, not on the how and why of bow design but they contain all kinds if historical information.
Hank
Typo…
Suggestion – get the books now. They are interesting reading, not ONLY FOR the how and why of bow design but they contain all kinds if historical information.
TBB,
All those Fletcher families and guys named Fletcher could they all be descendants of fletchers? That would mean that many folks worked in the craft….
shootski
Shootski,
Hey! As a matter of fact, I’ve known many Fletchers and not one of them admitted to making arrows, what a shame that they didn’t share.
The Bow Bully,
If I had the skills Hank has, I’d be making wooden bows and wooden arrows.
However, I severely lack such a skill set. Hence, just for fun, I made a bow from PVC.
I watched some videos, bought the guy’s book, made a jig, and used a heat gun to make a recurve bow.
For arrows, I had some made up in aluminum at our local archery shop.
(By the way, that shop USED to sell recurve bow, but now mostly all compound bows and crossbows.)
I strung the bow with black paracord; I put one knot in it to make for consistent nock placement.
At my 31″ draw, the bow only had a 25-pound pull, so it was just a target bow, but worked well.
I gave it to my nephew for a present, and he loves it. 🙂
Perhaps I’ll make another for myself.
Or I might get ambitious, buy a copy of “The Bowyer’s Bible,” and make myself a “Hank Special.”
But that would (for me) take a LOT of time off the time my wife has set for my “Honey Do List.”
Hmm…yes…that would prove to be tricky! 😉
Thanks for the tutorial.
Blessings to you,
dave
Interesting a PVC Recurve bow…creative, and inexpensive. Sounds like a fun rig.
It would be great if we all had talent like Hank, I guess than it wouldn’t be called talent right?
Just get your wife into archery, then making a bow will be on the “Honey Do List” Get to it honey!
All the best!
-TBB
“It would be great if we all had talent like Hank”
The Bow Bully,
Yes, that would be sweet, LOL!
He’s a craftsman with wood. Did I show you the slingshot he made me?
It’s really cool, made from Buckthorn…classic!…definitely not something you’d find at the local Walmart. 😉
(Note: I think the text was added to answer a question on BB’s blog.)
Keep up the good work,
Blessings to you,
dave
thedavemyster,
Definite talent for sure!!
-TBB
Yep! 😉