Esee AH-1 Goes Down Range

Decklin

Decklin

Joined
Oct 19, 2010
Messages
436
I read a couple great articles last night about making a survival bow and arrow. I have never really attempted this, and thought it was time for the arrow head to get some flight time. I headed out back with a few basic items that I keep in my hiking bag.

This Izula has been previously tested, reviewed, stripped, patina'd, polished, repainted, and now tested some more. Held a great edge all day, and cleaned up good.

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The rest of the tools of the day.... I also had some parachute cord and 50# Spider Wire.

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I started out by selecting a nice piece of Ash for the bow and a couple arrows. I have a bunch of this stuff growing in the backyard. I found out later that my selection for the bow was a bit thicker then needed. More on that later.

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I also fashioned up a utility knife using the AH-1, this would be really handy for small stuff and could also be used as a fire striker. I hear of some folks using it as a striker without any handle and to me this thing is a bit to small and way to sharp to make a habit of that. Not to mention it is a good way to dull a perfectly good arrow head.

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I started removing material from the belly side of the bow with the Izula. This was a slow going process. I kept testing the bow to see how the removal of the material was effecting the overall flexibility.

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Still Working, Apparently I was feeling quite strong when I selected this piece of Ash... She wasn't nearly as flexible as I had hoped. Well I was stuck with it now, and determined to make it work. :eek:

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Finally I was able to flex it enough, and I started working on the arrow. I had no feathers, and decided to attempt making fletching out of a leaf. Now I knew going in the was going to be a one use fletching job, and it turned out it barely lasted that long. Considering the price, weight and space I believe It would be quite beneficial to drop some arrow fletching into my PSK.

Finished product...

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Well it was the moment of truth....

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and truth be told my knock was insufficient and the string whizzed passed th back of the arrow on the first couple releases. This was easily fixed with the saw....

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The arrow hit the target with a pretty heavy thunk. It penetrated 4 layers of heavy corrugated board. I was fairly happy with that. The arrow arrived at the target some what crooked due to having lost it's fletching, I know this can be resolved. The velocity was enough to kill small game and I am pretty happy with that, but I think I will go back and remove some more material from the bow, and see if I cannot get a little better flex out of it. Then I can start working on my aim!

Thanks for reading, I welcome any and all comments / suggestions.
 
Looks like you had some fun. AH-1 is one of my fav. ESEE products
 
stealthchaser13 said:
very nicely done. any guess on the draw weight your bow has?
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Not sure on the draw weight yet. I haven't bothered to figure it out because I plan to take some more material off the bow. I am a few inches short of getting a full draw off of it.
 
Well, don't let anyone discourage you about your project because you can't shoot 3-D with it or something like that. You did good! If it will kill small game, you can stay fed. You get some more power out of it, refining your own skills in building and you can eventually get a homemade bow that will take a whitetail down with it. Although I am sure many people would say that is B.S. but I think we covered that in here earlier with the American Indian - inferior equipment and superior hunting skills line of thought. :)
 
I'm simply impressed with the effort he has put into this project. We're sending him a couple more arrowheads to play with so he can make a set of arrows.
 
hey decklin, really good job on the bow and arrow, i have a suggestion on mounting your arrowhead. if you cut a notch in the center of the shaft you can slide the arrowhead down inside then lace it in place with the string from inside the paracord. you get less bulk from the paracord and will pick up some extra speed from your bow.

i did a quicky and took a couple of pics to show what i mean,

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not as nicely done as yours but it gives you an idea of what i mean, sorry the photo quality sucks

keep up the good idea's and posts its always good to keep the idea's flowing and learning new things

take it easy
cricket
 
R.A.T. said:
I'm simply impressed with the effort he has put into this project. We're sending him a couple more arrowheads to play with so he can make a set of arrows.
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Much appreciated! I'll be sure to update this when I get a set made and start hitting some bullseyes.

I also have another piece of Ash in the shed. This one I'll let season for a year before I get started. This will be a great project.

Thanks all for your comments

EDIT: Dave, thanks for the tip. I will try this on my next go at it.
 
And if you get yourself some of them Ron Hood DVDs, you can learn how to make pine pitch glue to secure them even better. Pretty cool stuff on some of them DVDs. :)
 
Don Rearic said:
And if you get yourself some of them Ron Hood DVDs, you can learn how to make pine pitch glue to secure them even better. Pretty cool stuff on some of them DVDs. :)
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I picked up a set of his magazines, I'm sure it will be a good read. I look forward to gettign some of those DVD's. Still trying to think of a nasty wild game recipe:confused:
 
Good first attempt Decklin! Thanks for the pics too. I should pick up an AH-1 and try this out too.
When I moved back to Trinidad at the age of 9 (back in the late 70's) my cousin taught me how to make "mini" bows and arrows using the spines of coconut tree fronds and thread. We'd string two fronds together by spiraling the thread up the bow to keep the two fronds together, then bend the bow and run the string from one end to the other and tie it off.
We'd then take two more frond spines and spiral the thread around from one end to the other but then attach a pin at the tip as the "arrow head".
With practice I was able to catch a few lizards, though I wouldn't do that anymore now as I'm against the senseless killing of animals...that and I'd look pretty dumb as a grown man killing small lizards with a mini bow and arrow!
 
really neat stuff man. thanks so much for posting. can't help but be reminded of my first few attempts at bow & drill firemaking. its all about finding what works for you.


looking forward to updates!



(you did much better here than i did with firemaking: round 1)
 
Awesome project and great job on the functional bow and arrows. Sure it may not win you a gold medal at the Olympics but it might put some meat over your fire. One thing I would love to try someday is using duct tape as the fletchings. It is something all of us always have with us and might work.

Jeff that is really awesome of you guys.
 
he did WELL Don.....WELL...not "good". But indeed Decklin you did very well. I am sold on your thinking process and drive. To both Decklin and Don and Cricket, would it be better to use a thin wire or dental floss instead of the bulky paracord? Not nit picking, rather just wondering if the more weight and bulk at the front end would cause the arrow to drop more at the front thus the arrow hitting the target at an angle? Mike
 
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