How to Make Primitive Bow Strings
Learning to make your own primitive bow strings is an ideal way to gain an appreciation for historical technologies and manufacturing techniques. Flax is a plant that has been used to produce strong, long fibers since prehistoric times. Making your own bow strings from seed will take several months, much as it did in ancient times.
Things You'll Need
- Flax seed
- Garden space and tools
- Scrap lumber
- Long nails
- Large tub
- Water
Instructions
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1
Plant flax seeds. Plant the seeds about 1 inch deep and close together to discourage branching. Plant the seeds after the risk of frost has passed.
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2
Water your flax patch daily. Around two months later, your flax will be around 30 inches tall and blossom with blue flowers.
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3
Continue watering the flax for around a month, or until it is almost finished flowering. The stalks should be around 36 inches.
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4
Pull the flax up. Don't cut the flax as this will potentially shorten the fibers for the bow string.
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5
Make a metal tooth comb by nailing long nails through a board. The nails should be around a 1/4 inch apart. Use six to 10 nails to make your comb.
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6
Remove the flax seed pods from the flax by running it through your nail comb.
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7
Place the flax in a large tub of water. Place a shovel full of dirt to begin the bacteria culture. Bacteria will grow form, which will help separate the fibers from the biological material. Leave it in the water for between five days and two weeks.
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8
Take a couple of stalks out once the water and flax begin to smell bad. Let it dry. If the fibers separate easily from the stem, the flax is ready for further processing. If not, let it sit in the water for a few more days and perform the test again.
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9
Flatten the stalks with a rubber mallet. Be careful not to actually break the long fibers that will be used for your bow strings.
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10
Make a device to break up the non-fibrous portion of the flax stems. The device consists of two boards. On the edge of one board, cut a hard V-shaped groove into the edge. On the other board, cut away wood for a sharp edge that fits into that V-shaped groove.
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11
Pass the flax through your two pieces of wood. As you do, press down gently, but make sure the woody portion of the stems is being broken up.
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12
Pass the processed flax though your metal comb to remove the woody portion of the stalks. You should be left with flax fiber.
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13
Tie or nail your fibers to a solid object and spin them into a bow string. Use a minimum of four strands of flax fiber to make a lightweight bow string. Increase the number of fibers for heavier weight strings.
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