Many NA quivers were made from braintan. Braintan is REALLY soft and punctures easily. What stopped arrowheads from eating holes in the bottom of quivers after a day of riding (or walking)? I know that some had arrow "cups" of rawhide, some had wads of grass stuffed into the bottom.....but that only delays the inevitable. And what about the times when you "missed" the bottom and punctured the side as you put the arrows into the quiver? I see no examples of wear around the bottom of old NA quivers.
And what about barbed arrows? Pulling one quickly out of a quiver almost guarantees something bad happening to the arrowhead and/or quiver. Were they always held in the hand?
And what's the advantage of not gluing down the fletching (other than time savings)? I don't glue down my fletchings only because it's easier. Is there medicine in letting the feather be "free" and "uninhibited"?
Why are the tangs so short on the old trade points? I would think that they should be 50% as long as the point itself...for good stability.
Could someone post a how-to on preparing fletching with a stone tool? I've read an account of Ishi using a flake of obsidian.....but I've tried it.....and no amount of scraping, sawing, cutting, soaking in water, pounding with the hammerstone, or spitting-cussing-nashing-of-teeth has made my "primitive" fletching look anything other than butt ugly. (and don't dare say, "Just peel it"
) It's not long (10 seconds) before I start eyeballing that power sander....