Strip bamboo arrows

[DC]

I don't think there is any worthwhile gain to go with sectional wood arrows.

I'll find that out today unless something screws up

[DC]

OK glued up strip Hemlock has no advantage over natural Hemlock. Two 3/8" shafts both have 75# spine. The glued one weights 474 and natural weigh 444 so the natural wins but the weight difference may come from different density wood. The glued one may have gotten the weight from the water in the glue so I'll leave them a while and re weigh but I'll not expecting any miracles. I got the same results with a flat laminated arrow I tried a while back. They say laminating makes things stronger but it doesn't seem so with arrows. Like you say Bamboo is a different thing.

[avcase]

It looks like a lot of activity going on here.

Laminating often improves strength, but has a much lesser effect on stiffness.  The measurement of spine is a measurement of stiffness only. Stiffness and strength are two completely different properties.

I have tied other materials in hex laminated arrows with mixed results. The most important property for a flight arrow is one with a very high stiffness or modulus of elasticity. Most bamboo species, such as Moso and the species used for Yumi bows do not have much different stiffness properties than many common hardwoods. Making hex-type arrows out of these types of materials may give you a strong arrow, but not much stiffer than a decent wood arrow.  Good Tonkin cane is an exception. It has two to three times the stiffness of Moso bamboo.

Alan

[bownarra]

Thought so
DC get some good Tonkin as Alan says it is a different beast.

[DC]

I did a quick search and can't find any. At least nobodies bragging about it. I'll phone the place I get my Moso from today.

[willie]

I have read that good tonkin is not about a specific species, as much as it is about a place in china where the cane grew stronger.

maybe it is a sub-species? Like not all doug fir is coastal doug fir?

what bamboo do the traditional arrowmakers of east Asia use?

[avcase]

I have read that good tonkin is not about a specific species, as much as it is about a place in china where the cane grew stronger.

maybe it is a sub-species? Like not all doug fir is coastal doug fir?

what bamboo do the traditional arrowmakers of east Asia use?

Willie,
Tonkin cane is a distinct species (Pseudosasa amabilis) and is native to a very small region in the mountainous area in southeast China.  I even have some growing in my back yard, however it struggles if we get any kind of an extended frost.

There are examples of Turkish flight arrows made from split cane also.  This kind of flight arrow construction may have become more common if they had access to better material. For the same spine, the split cane Turkish flight arrows are much more bulky and soft.

There are a few species that traditional arrow makers used for self-arrows. Pseudosasa Japonica, or Japanese arrow bamboo is one of the best. I have made split cane arrows from this also. It is much more difficult due to small diameter and thin wall. The biggest pieces are less than an inch in diameter, and it seems more brittle than Tonkin Cane.

Alan

[bownarra]

I have a patch of Psuedosasa Japonica growing in my garden It is taking some time and I suspect it isn't particularly happy where it is.