We had a small ghilie making class at the Bois d’Arc Rendezvous. Maybe not as exciting as the arrow-making but it is a real and useful skill.
Now those are sexy shoes!
-
« Home
Pages
-
Categories
-
Archives
Category Archives: primitive technology
More photos are now available on the Rabbitstick page within the Primitive Gatherings section of this blog. I will keep adding photos of older events as I get time.
I have returned from Rabbitstick 2009 and will upload some photos of the event. For those who don’t know or just stumbled into this page, this event is a gathering of people who are seriously interested in primitive technology. Its a place to learn, teach, and exchange ideas on subjects not easily found elsewhere.
This is a view of a beautiful skin-on-frame kayak made by Kiliii of Dancing Hawk.
My ratty old moccasins that have spent a lot of time in the woods. These have been my winter moccasins for nearly a decade. I can’t remember exactly when I made them but it was a quick and dirty sewing job. They have been re-soled (I think) once. They are an oil-tanned leather I bought from a saddle and boot maker supply house I found while driving through Texas. As can be seen, the tops can be worn up or down.
I am double posting this from my professional blog because I think it is really remarkable. A cave find from southeast New Mexico.
From time to time, we receive donations from private individuals. After a few phone calls back and forth, I arranged to meet with someone who wanted to show me a dart she had found in a cave when she was young. We have agreed to accept this remarkable find and intend to display it in the near future. The preservation is beautiful, although it has apparently been handled over many years. There was apparently a spear-thrower (atlatl) found with the dart but it was unfortunately lost in a house fire.
Click the image for a larger version
foreshaft separated
The foreshaft/point is hardwood and fits into a socket. the hind shaft is split in order to contract when seized with sinew (still attached. The barb is lashed on with more sinew. I will put more description and better photos when I get time.
I am all about the DIY. After making a pair of sandals for Winter Count this year (I arrived with only work boots) I got re-interested in making shoes. I have made many moccasins for woods walking, especially when I was into mountain man and F & I re-enactment and decided to make some new ghillies. I like these because there is almost no sewing and I think they are cool. Much of Europe wore a variation of this theme for millenia. I then took it as a veritable sign when I saw this on the Instructables web page: http://www.instructables.com/id/Viking_shoes/. Even though these are listed as Viking style, I think they are commonly associated with their Celtic cousins in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. I made a set of these years ago with little instruction and they were great. These are a little more thought out and I will likely make a better pair based on what I learned here. Click photos for larger picture.
pattern and finished
rear view
sewn heel
lacing the toe
after wetting and shaping
drying before oiling
I’ve been making folding camp furniture. The stools are sometime called “pea-pickers”. They were somewhat difficult to figure out without a plan but some photos of others and experience making other furniture helped.
They’re not as easy to make as I thought they would be. The holes must be very precise and dowels tight-fitting. If everything isn’t square and precisely cut, the stool just doesn’t work.
This is their beauty. They fold flat and have an integrated handle. They can be made just about any size and out of any straight lumber. My first one is made from scraps from around the workshop. These later ones are from premium pine.
Seventeen pieces, twelve holes. Stick ‘em together. Sit. Mine are sturdy enough to use as a step stool, with some caution due to the narrow width.
A table of similar construction. The top is about 22 x 46″. I made it 2 inches lower than a standard table to fit the stool height. A combination of pine, poplar, and oak. Definitely strong enough if it is well-fitting.
Winter Count was another highlight of the year for me. We met some new people and renewed friendships with old. I have put up some of the photos on the web page this week.
My new Basketmaker-style atlatl. I used it without a weight for a few weeks and it was adequate but the addition of this small weight seems to make a real difference in power, especially with a larger dart.
The weight is a hard argilite from Arizona. Attached with pine-pitch glue and lashed with sinew coated in hide glue. The wood is Osage orange and finger loops are brain-tanned leather over rawhide.
The photos aren’t the greatest in the dawn light.
Here is an old set of plans I made for myself a long time ago. These are meant for dimensional lumber. This plan is for a short horse. If you are tall or don’t mind the extra length to transport, an extra 6 inches is a good idea. You can see from the other horses that this more of a guideline than an actual recipe.
The hard to figure part is the length of the arm, the head, leg height, and other parts specific to your body and what you generally make. I’ll measure more and put up something better when I can.
I am rebuilding my first lame attempt at a web page. Initially it was going to be about primitive archery, throwing sticks, and other prehistoric weapons but it is growing exponentially. The fact that I don’t know anything about web design really doesn’t help. I hope it turns out to be a worthwhile venture.
Meanwhile, here is a photo of a drying deer hide. If you can’t freeze them, this is the next best thing. Wash the hide, de-flesh, wash again in soap to hinder bacteria growth (and soften the skin a bit), stretch on a frame to dry. The wind is certainly your friend when drying a large hide.
These pictures capture the enormous flex that a dart undergoes during the throw. Not quite as evident is the flex in the atlatl itself. This one takes on a shallow “S” curve. This was an unfinished river cane shaft. It had been somewhat straightened but no forshaft or point were attached. If they were, there would probably be even greater flex due to the higher mass slowing the acceleration of the front end of the dart. I would call this shaft moderately stiff-spined and it flexed far more than could be seen with the naked eye.
This student was kind enough to allow me to photograph several throws to capture the right moment. This is about maximum flex.
This flex is vital to a powerful and accurate throw.
Below are a couple of darts with the new thrower.
Splitting the Osage Orange stave.
This is a tough process. As can be seen in the photo above, I use an axe, froe, and hammer.
Not visible here are short hickory limbs that are jammed into the growing crack to keep the stave from snapping shut.
Some species of white woods debark quite easily and the bow can be made from the outer growth rings.
Not so with Osage Orange. The white new wood is visible in the stave above.
This process is easiest with a sharp draw knife working downward. Your weight can be used to pull through the bark.
Working down to a single growth ring. With Osage, there is a vesicular layer between hard wood rings. This is just visible here as the white wood.
Sighting down the clean stave. Not perfectly straight, but then it wouldn’t be Osage otherwise.
The growth rings are visible in the low raking light. The smooth area nearest the viewer is down to the desired ring.
Working the bow to its final shape. This is a different stave from the one shown above.
I don’t generally stop long enough to take photos. Note the fine Ozark barn decor.
More at my web pages here: http://web.mac.com/paleotool/Paleotool/Home.htm
The header photo above is a Clovis spear point that is part of the type-collection that resides at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico.
Here it is in all of its glory:
