Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Cave Men only "Oooga Booga" => Topic started by: swamp monkey on December 16, 2010, 08:39:43 pm
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Has anyone ever tried making a bow string from North American river cane? I saw a PA post for a bow from New Guinea that had a bamboo string and I saw sketch of one from a Choctaw bow Page 96 of Hamm and Allely's Encycl. of NABA&Q.
How to craft? I am curious how to do this as a matter of creation. I have tried to split cane evenly to make a blowgun and it never worked well. Even after being straightened the grain always took the knife off to one side. So I wonder if breaking the nodes with a hammer or scoring them would help. Any experience or ideas floating around out there? Before too long I will have to experiment and would benefit from your insight.
How to unstring? Second, How would you unstring a bamboo string? Allely's illustration looks to me like there is a fancy loop or multilayer loop of sorts on both ends with the larger loop on the end you would unstring. The wrap nocks make it appear that the push pull method of stringing may not be practical but I could be wrong. I would love to find out what some of you know about this subject.
Oh and notice those fancy woven bands of cane. how would that be done? I have never made woven objects with a strict diameter in mind. I really want to make this bow!
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no progress figuring out how to make those cane bands pictured below. But I made some progress with the string idea. I took a section of cane that broke while heat bending (a defect lay hidden beneath) I pounded on the nodes with a hammer and moved out to the internode area. I was able to separate out a section that I think I could finish cutting out with a knife and sand down to a string like consistency. This holds promise. :o I will try this on a larger piece of cane and keep ya'll informed of any findings.
Notice the string in Allely's drawing has a loose loop on the top nock. At first I figured that was a result of time and unraveling, but on further thought I think it is a loop to keep the string on the bow when unstrung. I think the section of cane on the bottom nock is used to keep the string on that end. If figure this bow string was made like caning a chair, with hot water when they tied the knots. So there is no tying and untying. I also do not see a cane string wrapping up nicely somewhere when unstrung. So the lower knock has a cane segment to keep the string on and the top knot has two loops for strung and unstrung. Ingenious! Now if I can manage to make a length long enough. . .
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I understand that fly rod makers split bamboo. Does anyone know how this is done?
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The Cherokee used split river cane to make baskets and some would hold water for cooking. Maybe you could find info about splitting cane by doing a search on Cherokee basket making.
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I can post some close-ups of that bamboo string on the New Guinea bow if you'd like. I definitely agree that the knot appears to have been tied when the cane was wet and on the bow I have I didn't see a provision for unstringing it. I think the bow is made from palm, it looks a lot like the black palm I've seen pictures of here. Anyway, if more pictures would help I'll post them.
George
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I can post some close-ups of that bamboo string on the New Guinea bow if you'd like. I definitely agree that the knot appears to have been tied when the cane was wet and on the bow I have I didn't see a provision for unstringing it. I think the bow is made from palm, it looks a lot like the black palm I've seen pictures of here. Anyway, if more pictures would help I'll post them.
George
George Post away. Every little bit can help. I fully intend to find a way to replicate this technology (feel free to beat me to it ;)) and I will share what ever I come up with. What a fun deal. thanks ya'll
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OK, here you go. I took 2 shots of each knot and 2 of a node on the string, front and back. Each node has been scraped so that the string is smooth. The string is just over a quarter inch wide George
(http://72.64.80.21/gks-pictures/new_guinea-5.jpg)
(http://72.64.80.21/gks-pictures/new_guinea-6.jpg)
(http://72.64.80.21/gks-pictures/new_guinea-7.jpg)
(http://72.64.80.21/gks-pictures/new_guinea-8.jpg)
(http://72.64.80.21/gks-pictures/new_guinea-9.jpg)
(http://72.64.80.21/gks-pictures/new_guinea-11.jpg)
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I found some stuff on a basket making website that detailed the Choctaw process pasted below is the write up. Appropriate since it is a Choctaw cane sting I am trying to replicate. It required some interpretation on my part. It was not intuitive what I read. I followed it to get started and had the following results: The spitting was even and this was good because it was one of my past failures. However, when I hit the second node the split stopped and the pieces tended to break off. Pulling the work through worked the same as pushing it but pulling requires gloves. I cut my finger on one try. So I am going to experiment some more and hopefully have better results. If I can find a cane basket making guru I will pick their brain too.
thanks for coming along with me on this one folks.
Choctaw River Cane Splitter: Drive an upright stake of stout green cane into deep ground so that about 2 1/2 feet of the cane pole are above the ground. The top of the cane to be split is cut criss cross, down to the middle or just past the first joint. Use a butcher or flint knife to cut in one direction and then again at 90 degrees to the first cut. The cuts are about an inch or two in length, just enough so that the quartered end could be adjusted. A shorter piece of cane ten to twelve inches long is passed into one of these cross cuts on the "pusher" side of the stake and then placed horizontally against the stake. Another way of saying this is a smaller piece of cane is fixed at 90 degrees to the upright and placed so that half of the cane passed above it and half below.) The stake itself is placed into the other cross cut, and as the cane is pushed through, it falls into four divided lengths, on the far side of the stake. Sharply jab the cane pole to push against the upright cane. The cane should split along the grain between joints. Cane can be split as fast as it can be pushed through. Another way of saying this is from Weaving Wildly: Mats and Baskets the Choctaw Way by Mary Lou Stahl. "After the cane stalks are cut and brought back, a cross shaped warp is driven into the ground. Two lengthwise slits are made in the cane stalk, dividing the stem into quarters. These four parts of the stem were arranged around the cross- shaped warp and the weaver holds the stake with one hand and pushes the cane against it with the other hand. An experienced person can swiftly divide the stalk of cane into four equal lengths." Another way of splitting - select cane an inch or more in diameter and split by twisting in the hands and quartering it with a sharp blow across the thigh or knee.
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I made a split cane fish trap when i was a kid. Looked like a huge minow trap.
I did catch some cat fish
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How does that string work George, that looks tricky?.
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I honestly don't know Michael. The bow was a gift from my nephew and, since it came from the New Guinea jungle into much less humidity here, I've been afraid to draw it. Given its short length, I would expect the draw to be 18" or so. I can say that the rounded part of the cane is away from the bow and the flat part of the cane is toward the bow belly so the arrow is against the flat side. The arrows that came with it do not have nocks but are just held against the cane. I'm not sure how they grasped the string to draw the bow and kept the arrow in position. The bow is made of palm, it looks like the black palm bow pictures I've seen.
George
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i believe that the arrows were made with nocks that were bulbous and flat behind the bulb for placing flat on the string and they used a native pinch style grip and pinched the bulb.
been messing around with my cane and i think mine is too dry, much of my research sows or told of "wetting" or using not fully fry cane for strings. mine all are breaking apart, so im just sticking with my hide strings for now.
hope this little bit hepls.
jamie
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Very interesting thread.
Seems like they would want to keep the string submerged in water when not in use, so I don't know why they would want to keep the string with the bow at all times. Hmmmm.... unless both the string AND the bow were kept under water when not in use. ???
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I made a comb from split and sanded cane sections and found that even thin split cane holds its shape. So the cane string will keep its elongate shape and not roll up nicely. The only reason I can think of to put the cane in water (hot water) is when bending. Perhaps a big loop for storage, but I will experiment with that when I figure the art of splitting a multi-node long split. I am getting nervous that I am missing something very basic and will be really embarrassed when I finally get it. however, at this time I still cannot get a good, even split down a long length of cane. I end up destroying the cane I have So far the only thing I have not tried is splitting green cane.
ARRRRRGH! I will get this! But feel free to help folks. It won't hurt my feelings if you beat me to it. I just want to learn!
thanks ya'll.
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I have been talking with a traditional cane basket maker in Louisiana and have some tips. I will try green cane and use splitting sticks that are smaller diameter than my cane stock. He is excited and may try to replicate the knot weaving and may understand the bands but he made no promises. SO I will keep ya'll posted.
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What about treating the split cane sections like sinew, and keep splitting them into smaller, and smaller sections till you have it down to cord size, or just peeling off the fiber sections, and then twisting it into a cord? I know they make sheets, and shirts, and such out of bamboo fiber. Supposed to very soft. Some are blended in with cotton, and other fibers. Just a thought. ;) As for fly rods, the instructions I have seen, the sections were sanded down to a triangle section, and then the sections were glued together, like making an arrow.
Wayne
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awesome thread. that string always interested me when i saw it in the bowyers bible. best of luck and keep us informed of progress.
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What about treating the split cane sections like sinew, and keep splitting them into smaller, and smaller sections till you have it down to cord size, or just peeling off the fiber sections, and then twisting it into a cord? I know they make sheets, and shirts, and such out of bamboo fiber. Supposed to very soft. Some are blended in with cotton, and other fibers. Just a thought. ;) As for fly rods, the instructions I have seen, the sections were sanded down to a triangle section, and then the sections were glued together, like making an arrow.
Wayne
Wayne, The splitting is what I have trouble with, but when I get that down then I plan to experiment like a crazy man!
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In the world of online posting immediacy seems to be the flavor of the day. However, I like the primitive archery because it seems to say, no we can slow down a bit. It has been a while since I started this thread but now I have some test results to report.
I traveled to my cane spot last week and set to work. I cut my cane from stalks I would use to make atlatl spears. 1/2" diameter on the small end at least, pulled off the leaves and found a work spot.
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I used a arrow sized diameter culm growing on the bank as my upright for splitting. I used a smaller 1/4" segment to make the splits horizontally.
I started my four way split with two cuts on the big end. I placed the resulting quarters on each side of the splitting pieces. I will explain this more in detail on primitive archer's website and forward the link. The benefit of this is that it will have my pictures uploaded.
Anyhow, I was able to split quarter sections from 3-4 feet in length. This is light-years ahead of what I had previously done. Splitting green cane really helped.
However I knew I needed a longer split than this so I kept working it. Fortunately, each time the four split stopped it was always at a node and one quarter was still attached to the remaining stalk. This also happened at smaller diameter sections but not a predictable diameter. So i used my pocket knife to split off and whittle the remainder to get lengths proper for making a string.
I cannot stress how much better this worked compared to working seasoned cane! It was not a perfect equal four way split so I cannot thus far make four strings from one cane, BUT I can make a one string from one culm and that beats the zero I was sporting before.
I truly hope you do not have to make the string with green cane, as I was pressed for time and have to let the project sit for a while longer while I tend to family and work matters. My next step is to smooth down the string to a mostly round cross section. Then I have to learn how to make those woven cane bands- as they function as the nocks on that bow.
Any how that is my most recent excursion with splitting cane. I saved the smaller splits in case I can make a basket form them some day.
As Meriwether Lewis wrote many days to begin his journal entry, "We preceded on".
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You're making good progress. This is a very interesting thread. Anxious to see what comes next.
George
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We await your next step!
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Lucky dawg! Wish we had River Cane here to make arrows & Bow strings...looking forward to seeing the process.
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This is an update of observations only and not a final product report. Split river cane dries out very quickly. I have quarter stock laying next to whole culms and the culms are still green while the quarter stock is light tan. Also. whittling on the quarter stock to cut off the sharp edges is like putting socks on a rooster. Plenty of opportunity to cut too deep. Either I need practice or there is a better way. I am going to try a small thumb plane next.
The LA basket maker who has consulted with me on this project speculates this bow is not a North American bow. He thinks it may be from the Pacific rim and the string is actually rattan. He notes several baskets on display at museums that were in fact rattan not split river cane. He also shared some worry that I need to put on some safety goggles before pulling a bow back with it. He is a bow maker form way back too and knows the stresses a bow puts on a string. I will do as he suggests! i was grateful for his input and respectfully want to move forward. One of the best ways to determine if cane could be used to make a string is to experiment with every possible method to craft one. If this does not work it will not be because I did not try and could not think for myself.
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Well I worked on this off and on throughout the summer and with no success to report. I had a lot of difficulty sanding the cane down to size. Several times the cane broke. I am not saying this is not possible. I am saying that the methods I used did not work or I did not become proficient at them. I will likely pick this back up and try again.
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Excellent updates and info! If that bow (with the cane string) is not from North America, it would not surprise me. Museums are not immune to mistakes. ::)