How-To on English Style Quivers

[dmassphoto]

Does anyone out there know how to make an old English style quiver that would go well together with a longbow?  I did a search and didn't find anything, but someone could post their how-to or direct me to the right place, I'd be grateful.  Thanks!

[Cromm]

Not sure what you mean. Do you have a photo of what you are after?
Or is it something like this;


or



Thanks for your time.

[dmassphoto]

Yes, I would say something like either of those.  Honestly, I'm sorry to say I don't an exact example of what I'm looking for, but I know I'm looking for a simple back quiver with little frills.  I thought leather would be nice to have, (although I've seen the white cloth ones that aren't bad) and I don't feel like paying as much for my quiver as my bow, so thought I'd like to try making one myself.  The one in the pic below is also a good representation.

http://www.philfraser.freeuk.com/images/Medium/Archery/QuiverA_DKBrown.jpg

[dmassphoto]

Also, where does one go to find leather?

[Cromm]

Hi,
OK well back quivers as far as I can tell are as old as Hollywood films with Errol Flynn in green are. So it drpends on if you want something that is old England or Ye Olde Hollywood England??
What part of the world are you in? Medieval fairs or ebay or trading for some leather can be places to try.
Thanks for your time.

[dmassphoto]

Well, I had a hard time envisioning what I really wanted, so I just decided to go out and try to make one on my own.  I went to the local leather shop and bought 4sf of some pre-dyed leather, along with some stuff called 3.66mm Latigo Lace, 4yrds worth.  All in all, the total cost was $35.  Here's how I did it...

I first cut out the form.  My basic idea was to make a very basic tubular quiver.  The dimensions were 23" x 12.5" at the bottom and 14.5" at the top.  (p.s. anybody know how to get rid of that ink spot?)


 I made a line on each side that was 1.5" from the edges, then I drilled holes up each side, spaced out one inch apart.  I had a small drill bit, so I used my Swiss Army knife to widen the holes.  Later, I found out I had to go back and re-widen every hole before threading the lacing through.


If you look really hard, you'll notice I accidently put one row too many on one side. 'doh!"  Once I got the holes cut, it was time to start threading.  I found that this can be difficutl to keep the smooth end up.


Against my wife's suggestions, I started threading from the top, and made an "X" pattern all the way down to the bottom.  What does she know?




More next post...

[dmassphoto]

Once I finished the lacing of the body of the quiver, I just made two simple knots at the bottom, then trimmed the ends off.


Now that I did that, it was time for the bottom.  I used a section of leftover leather and first cut a square.  Then I trimmed it down until I got a close form.  I made sure to mark a spot on both the quiver and the bottom, so my cuttings would line up, since it wasn't perfectly circular.  The bottom turned out to be roughly 3.25" in diameter.


Once I had my bottom cut, I then placed it onto the quiver, and marked corresponding places for holes on the circle as well as the sides of the quiver.  I then drilled the holes and started threading.  I made sure to leave a lot of slack so I could work.


I then tied it off just as I did with the quiver body.  Once I had one knot made, I was able to just tighten everything down really good and make the final knot.  I probably made a mistake in tying one of the knots on the outside, but that's the only way I knew how to do it.  And it's my first quiver I ever made.


Here's the final result.  I don't have a handle or strap just yet, because I'm not sure how to make it.  It's a very simple quiver that's made to serve a simple function and not win style points, but maybe in the future I'd like to line it with wool and maybe dye it a little darker, but first I gotta find out how to do a strap!


PS - Anyone know how to smooth the edges so they don't look so rough and frayed?

[Pat B]

Generally an edge beveling tool is used to round off the edges. You could probably sand them also to smooth. I like to use dark dye and bees wax on the beveled edge and burnish it smooth