How did the micarta work for you? I've seen a few knives with a dimple in the handle, but none showing other-than-new or reviewing how it worked. It seems like it would be rather abrasive in nature - and that's a bad thing.
Do you have access to deer in your area? If you'd like, I could write up a bit on making a "wise-man's drill" like you see in the pic I posted. Very fun to do and far far far better than going at it with a straight stick. After using one of them for so long, I doubt I could go back to the old way.
Definitely try that maple for a hand-piece. I'm sure you'll like it better once the dimple glasses over and starts running like a top. With a soft wood, you're drilling at both ends of the drill and that's robbing energy from where you want the friction!
Oh, if I might suggest, drop the paracord for your bow. While it works, it also stretches as it gets warm and the round construction doesn't grip the drill nearly as well as a flat thong twisted til round and used. I use half-tanned buckskin/rawhide for my traditional set, but prefer a regular old shoelace for the regular kit. You'll find that the twisted thong will really grip the drill bit and transfer the energy from the bow a lot better.
Hate to sound like I'm coming down hard on you. Just thought I'd share what I've learned over the years.
Get to any primitive skills classes or redezvous?
I like the idea of carrying a bow like you've done. My pack has PALS/MOLLE on the side, too, and I might just have to make a new bow to fit it!
Oh, and if you get a chance, would you try some of your favorite hearthwood, but get it from the root, not the trunk or branch? We're having a bit of discourse on this and the concensus seems to be that the "pockets" in the root, where nutrients are stored, make for a more abrasive but lighter medium (think swiss cheese). Similarly, the side of a limb that's under compression will have a denser growth to it and be harder to drill through or get a powder bed.
We haven't really been able to quantify this, but it does seem logical if you think about it for a minute. The real question is, is the difference significant enough to trouble over and how do you harvest the root wood with any regularity?
Do you have access to deer in your area? If you'd like, I could write up a bit on making a "wise-man's drill" like you see in the pic I posted. Very fun to do and far far far better than going at it with a straight stick. After using one of them for so long, I doubt I could go back to the old way.
Definitely try that maple for a hand-piece. I'm sure you'll like it better once the dimple glasses over and starts running like a top. With a soft wood, you're drilling at both ends of the drill and that's robbing energy from where you want the friction!
Oh, if I might suggest, drop the paracord for your bow. While it works, it also stretches as it gets warm and the round construction doesn't grip the drill nearly as well as a flat thong twisted til round and used. I use half-tanned buckskin/rawhide for my traditional set, but prefer a regular old shoelace for the regular kit. You'll find that the twisted thong will really grip the drill bit and transfer the energy from the bow a lot better.
Hate to sound like I'm coming down hard on you. Just thought I'd share what I've learned over the years.
Get to any primitive skills classes or redezvous?
I like the idea of carrying a bow like you've done. My pack has PALS/MOLLE on the side, too, and I might just have to make a new bow to fit it!
Oh, and if you get a chance, would you try some of your favorite hearthwood, but get it from the root, not the trunk or branch? We're having a bit of discourse on this and the concensus seems to be that the "pockets" in the root, where nutrients are stored, make for a more abrasive but lighter medium (think swiss cheese). Similarly, the side of a limb that's under compression will have a denser growth to it and be harder to drill through or get a powder bed.
We haven't really been able to quantify this, but it does seem logical if you think about it for a minute. The real question is, is the difference significant enough to trouble over and how do you harvest the root wood with any regularity?
