Apache Style Phragmites Arrows

[jackcrafty]

Here are the arrows I'm making for my latest set, Apache style.  The arrows are not reproductions but are very close.  The main differences are the spiral fletching (all the Apache arrows I've seen have straight fletching), the lack of red paint under the fletchings and the type of feathers used.


The first thing I do is select the phrag.
I try to get pieces that are 1/2" at the base and 40+ inches long.
I process the phrag as soon as I get it, whether it is green or dry.
If it's green, I dry it in a warm sunny place for two weeks (after processing).







The first step in processing is to remove the leaves and trim the leaf stems off the nodes.
I've seen this done to most of the Apache arrows I've seen in illustrations and exhibits.








Then I cut and bundle them together according to how the nodes match - tip and nock.
I noticed that on many Apache arrows the nodes at the tip are random, but the nock is always cut just below a node.

[jackcrafty]

Here I have a group of 19 shafts that are processed, dried, and straightened.
Also shown are the foreshafts, in various stages of completion.



Nock ends and tips.
I like to taper the tips of the phrag shafts but actual Apache arrows were rarely tapered.




I make saw cuts into the tips so that the shaft will fit tightly around the foreshaft when the sinew wrapping is applied.
These cuts are common among historical examples (but cut with a blade of some sort, not a saw).

[jackcrafty]

Making foreshafts (always great fun.... )











I weigh the shafts and foreshafts....then match the heaviest forshafts with the lightest shafts.

[jackcrafty]

Installing the foreshafts.....

I tie a string around the tip if the shaft (temporarily) so that I can align the foreshaft and mark the position.




I add glue to the inside.....4 or 5 drops....just enough to make sure the base of the foreshaft gets glued to the bottom of the hole.



And then wrap.

[jackcrafty]

I've read one account that said the the foreshaft should be a distance equal to the span of the thumb and middle finger.








Anyway, after I paint the shaftments, I add the fletchings.
Guinea fowl, in this case....one of my favorite feathers.
Not very durable but sure nice to look at.

[jackcrafty]

More soon....that's it for now....it's getting late.

[medicinewheel]

Very nice!

[huntertrapper]

awesome stuff. the apache always fascinated me..

[cowboy]

Very interesting "how to" Pat. Those are shaping up to be some very nice arras, thanks for sharing. Are you going to loose them at Pappy's ?

[bobnewboy]

Wow, that is just gorgeous!  .  Love the whipped on fletchings and the little 'puff' of wooly feather at the start of the fletches.  How do you form those delicate and looong tapers on the main shaft and foreshaft?  I make a fair arrow, but nothing that high up the scale!

...More inspiration for me!

//Bob.

[coyote pup]

Hey Pat, Awesome build-along as always. Question: What is (or was) the purpose of the "puff" feathers? Decorative only?

[hawkbow]

An Apache scout friend of mine said the fluff feather was so you could tell which white eyes you had already shot in low light conditions Hawk

[jackcrafty]

Thanks Frank, Trapper.

Cowboy, yeah, loosing them is half the fun .....but I think I'll loose more by giving these away than by shooting them.    Want one?

Bob, I cheat on the tapers....I sand them on something long and flat....and they are not exact, the foreshafts vary slightly from eachother in diameter and shape.

Coyote, I don't really know what the puff feathers are for.  I assume, since they appear on so many NA arrows, they must have some sort of spiritual significance.

Or maybe Hawk has discovered onto the correct answer? 

[Diligence]

Those look great.  Two questions:
1. why soak the feathers before fletching? ...just found the reason in your primitive arrow post...thanks
2. What is it that you are rubbing on the shaft, just below the nock, prior to fletching?  Glue or water?

Thanks for the education!

D

[jackcrafty]

D, I soak the feathers (actually, I just dip them for 10 seconds) so they will expand.  They shrink as they dry and pull themselves tight against the shaft.  They also become less brittle when wet...which is useful when pulling and aligning the quill with pliers (or your teeth). 

I dab fish glue on the shaft before applying sinew.