How to split bow staves from Osage or other bow wood

Bow building begins with harvesting a tree and splitting bow staves from the log. When splitting bow staves from logs, there are a few things to take into consideration. You'll need at least two wedges and preferably 4 or 5 of different sizes. These are important bow building tools. Long thin wedges or an axe head work well for starting the split, while shorter wider wedges work well for opening up the log and separating the staves.

Here, we're splitting bow staves from Osage orange but this technique will work well for most bow wood like hickory, elm, red oak, maple, etc. Start with a thin wedge or axe head in the small end of the log. The most important thing is to keep the two halves roughly equal in size. After that, look for knots or other imperfections that may affect how many staves you can get from a log.

Building a primitive bow, longbow, recurve bow, or selfbow from start to finish is a very satisfying experience even if you never intend to go bow hunting. It is a valuable skill to have if you're looking to expand your archery, self reliance, bushcraft, and survival skills. Hunting with a bow and arrow, especially one that you've made yourself, requires great patience and woodsmanship.

In a future video I'll cover the making of a survival bow from eastern red cedar and rawhide backing. From live tree to deadly weapon in three days! Subscribe to stay up to date on new bow making videos.

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Видео How to split bow staves from Osage or other bow wood канала Clay Hayes