To drop some pounds I have been hiking 3-8 miles a day on different trails with a pack. As part of this often I will do something bushcrafty like friction fire to increase the activity a bit. Also it's a good opportunity to pick up ticks. I just pulled the second one of the season off my hide today. :17: Happy happy, joy joy. Sometimes I carry the entire set in, sometimes just make parts and sometimes the entire thing from scratch. Sometimes it goes easy, sometimes hard and sometimes it doesn't GO! at all.
One part of the set which I used to obsess over was the bow. I watched all there was on Youtube about this topic. I asked people multiple times as to what made the best bow, often hearing only what I wanted to hear. In my mind it had to be..... you guessed it shaped like a bow. Only a certain size would do. Only certain wood characteristics were good enough.
But when doing this on the fly often there wasn't time to find the perfect materials. I would make the components, do the skills practice then move on with the hike. Ok lots of people do this and there is nothing I am saying that many don't already know. If you're working on this skill or considering giving it a try and like me wondered what makes the perfect bow the answer might be it doesn't matter. Or maybe it does? Lets take a look.
A short 4-mile hike before dinner. Don't have enough time to mess around too much with friction fire therefor packed some stuff in.
The paracord was part of a DIY hanging LED lantern but now it's going to be used for the bow string. What's the best length of cord? Heck if I know but odds are the best length of cord is no longer than the one you have. What's the best type of tree for the wood? Should the wood be green or dead? Should it flex or be solid? How long should the bow be? How much of a curve? Should it be curved at all? I hope you're not asking me these questions because I just cut any old branch off a fallen tree for this photo. Well not any branch. I did pick one off the nearest tree with accessible branches. The branch was dead but really only tested it with my hands to see if it was too fragile. What if it should break? Gosh the entire woods is full of branches. Speaking of the woods this dang spot was covered in rocks. Found that out after kneeling on one. Packed up the horse and pony show heading down trail for softer ground.
The mystic bow is done!
So how did I determine the optimum bow length? Based on researching the internet? No it was based on how much paracord I had. I did shave some bumps and twigs off the branch. Even took advantage of an off shoot to make a hanger for the loop. Not rocket science by a long shot.
Spent about a minute cutting a sloppy grove to hold the cord on the opposite end. Maybe I picked a weak branch which might snap at the groove or someplace else? I got at least 5 minutes invested in this. Too late to turn back now.
My firebow aka stick was ready to GO! This bow is the culmination of years of hard internet research and refinement. Sounds great but it's just a stick.
And it was a GO!
There is no epiphany or eureka moment here. I am not saying anything which isn't well known. Yes, the internet and books can be great sources of information. That said I do believe perhaps sometimes it's possible to over think something rather than just tying it. How many people are considering learning new skills but are just overwhelmed by the flood of information at our finger tips? I think maybe the best bow is the one you're actually practicing with.
Thanks for looking.
One part of the set which I used to obsess over was the bow. I watched all there was on Youtube about this topic. I asked people multiple times as to what made the best bow, often hearing only what I wanted to hear. In my mind it had to be..... you guessed it shaped like a bow. Only a certain size would do. Only certain wood characteristics were good enough.
But when doing this on the fly often there wasn't time to find the perfect materials. I would make the components, do the skills practice then move on with the hike. Ok lots of people do this and there is nothing I am saying that many don't already know. If you're working on this skill or considering giving it a try and like me wondered what makes the perfect bow the answer might be it doesn't matter. Or maybe it does? Lets take a look.
A short 4-mile hike before dinner. Don't have enough time to mess around too much with friction fire therefor packed some stuff in.
The paracord was part of a DIY hanging LED lantern but now it's going to be used for the bow string. What's the best length of cord? Heck if I know but odds are the best length of cord is no longer than the one you have. What's the best type of tree for the wood? Should the wood be green or dead? Should it flex or be solid? How long should the bow be? How much of a curve? Should it be curved at all? I hope you're not asking me these questions because I just cut any old branch off a fallen tree for this photo. Well not any branch. I did pick one off the nearest tree with accessible branches. The branch was dead but really only tested it with my hands to see if it was too fragile. What if it should break? Gosh the entire woods is full of branches. Speaking of the woods this dang spot was covered in rocks. Found that out after kneeling on one. Packed up the horse and pony show heading down trail for softer ground.
The mystic bow is done!
So how did I determine the optimum bow length? Based on researching the internet? No it was based on how much paracord I had. I did shave some bumps and twigs off the branch. Even took advantage of an off shoot to make a hanger for the loop. Not rocket science by a long shot.
Spent about a minute cutting a sloppy grove to hold the cord on the opposite end. Maybe I picked a weak branch which might snap at the groove or someplace else? I got at least 5 minutes invested in this. Too late to turn back now.
My firebow aka stick was ready to GO! This bow is the culmination of years of hard internet research and refinement. Sounds great but it's just a stick.
And it was a GO!
There is no epiphany or eureka moment here. I am not saying anything which isn't well known. Yes, the internet and books can be great sources of information. That said I do believe perhaps sometimes it's possible to over think something rather than just tying it. How many people are considering learning new skills but are just overwhelmed by the flood of information at our finger tips? I think maybe the best bow is the one you're actually practicing with.
Thanks for looking.
