1

Making a Primitive Bow

Uncompromisingly creating a bow with the beauty and craftsmanship of the Native
American Indians is a challenging task. Using authentic methods and materials to
create these artifacts, except where I cannot, while staying faithful to the spirit,
design, and tradition of the original artisans is so rewarding.
I learned to do this so I could help the public gain the experience of Native American
culture vicariously through my interpretative practice. They might not otherwise
have access to this knowledge of the indigenous culture.

Naked into the Wilderness

I learned everything I know about making the primitive bow and arrow from two
sources. The first is a remarkable video created by John and Geri McPherson called
Naked into the Wilderness, Tape 3: The Primitive Bow & Arrow (Prairie Wolf, 1992).
I recommend this video to anyone who is interested in learning this skill.
My second source is years of practice and trial and error. I broke dozens of potential
bows in the basement of my house before I understood what John McPherson was
talking about in the video and finally got it right.
This blog focuses on making a primitive bow. I deal with the bowstring and primitive
arrow in other blogs.

Reverence for the wood

When I go out to find wood for a bow, I make sure I touch base with the landowner. I
know where the right woods are, but I let the landowners know who I am and what
Im doing. When they find out that Im educating the public, they say, Go for it.

Interpreter - Facilitator - Healer

2015 Tom Romito. Cleveland, OH 44109 USA
E: thomasmromito@gmail.com W: h
ttp://www.tomromito.com

I look for hardwood saplings. My favorite woods are sugar maple, hickory, and ash,
but there are many others. I want saplings that are about five years old, one to two
inches in diameter, as straight and free of knots as possible, and 50 inches long.
Before the I take or harvest a sapling, I make sure that the mother tree is nearby.
The mother tree will propagate more saplings and the forest wont suffer from the
loss of one sapling. I thank the sapling for giving up its young life for the benefit of
everyone who is going to learn how the Native Americans survived and thrived.

Plan first
I take the sapling (now called a stave) home, debark it, and store it horizontally for a
month to cure. When its ready for me to work it, I test for the natural bend in the
wood. Common sense would dictate that I plan to bend the stave the way it naturally
bends. Right? Wrong. I do just the opposite and plan to bend it in the opposite
direction. Why? The final bow will be stronger that way.
I remove wood from the belly of the stave, which is the side of the stave that is
going to face the archer. I must remove wood only from the belly of the stave, not
the other side, which I call the front and which is going to face away from the archer.
If I were to remove wood from the front, the stave would break under the stress of
bending it. It has to do with the physical properties of the wood.

The work begins

The indigenous artisan probably used a flint knife or scraper to remove the wood. I
could, if I had enough time and patience, but I dont. The original artisan lived to
survive and devoted himself totally to these primitive crafts. I, on the other hand,
have to check my e-mail every day, write this blog, go the grocery store, and so on.
So I stray from the authentic technique and use a lightweight steel hatchet, which is a
lot faster. I also resort to my steel sheath knife and scraper.
I remove wood carefully because I dont want to take off too much. I frequently test
the stave to see how it is bending. I do this by placing one end against the instep of
my right foot (Im right-handed), holding the other end with my left hand, and
pressing down on the stave at the middle where the handle will be. With careful
removal of wood and frequent testing, the stave will begin to bend.

Interpreter - Facilitator - Healer

2015 Tom Romito. Cleveland, OH 44109 USA
E: thomasmromito@gmail.com W: h
ttp://www.tomromito.com

The patience of Job

I remove the wood with patience and caution, mainly with my steel hatchet. I could
easily overcut into the wood and ruin the stave. Testing it will tell. The stave is now
at a critical stage. This is where I use the steel scraper. If the bow breaks under
stress, it will emit a loud Crack! and I will emit a loud Darn! or something like
that.
As Job knew, patience is indicated.
I remove wood along the entire length of the stave. I leave the wood somewhat thick
at the handle. When properly done, the stave (now becoming a bow) will be about
three eighths of an inch wide except at the ends, where it has to be thinner. Thats
where nocks or notches go to accept the bowstring before I can take the next step.
I use my sheath knife to cut the nocks because they are small cuts.
John McPherson says the best bow is as wide and thin as possible.

The tillering post

In order to get the bow to bend to the extent where I can draw it to cast an arrow, I
put it up on a tillering post. John McPherson uses a tree for this. I built one when I
saw it in a magazine about the primitive bow. Its an upright 2X4 piece of lumber
fixed to a base on small pieces of lumber. There are 20-pound common nails in the
post every two inches down to 24 inches.
Tillering is the process of getting the bow to bend equally on both the right and left
sides of the handle. In order to begin, I work the bow until it bends enough that I can
string it.
Stringing the bow means attaching a bowstring the nocks on one end, then bending
the bow enough to attach the string to the nocks on the other end.
I suspend the bow at the handle on a padded nail at the top of the post. Then I slowly
and carefully pull the string at the middle down one nail at a time. I look to see how
the wood behaves. Does it bend at all? Does it bend equally on both sides of the
handle? If it does not do either very well or at all, the bow comes off the post and
undergoes more removal of wood and further testing.

Interpreter - Facilitator - Healer

2015 Tom Romito. Cleveland, OH 44109 USA
E: thomasmromito@gmail.com W: h
ttp://www.tomromito.com

In time, with careful trimming and testing, the bow must properly draw on the
tillering post to 24 inches without breaking. At this point, the bow is essentially
complete.

The quickie bow

The process of making the primitive as Ive described it above takes a good deal of
time. But anything worth doing well takes time.
Another method of making the primitive bow that I have used in public is the
quickie bow. I hold workshops at which I give people the materials they need to
make the bow and walk them through the process. They also make an arrow and
shoot it into a target that I provide. This entire process takes about four hours.

Interpreter - Facilitator - Healer

2015 Tom Romito. Cleveland, OH 44109 USA
E: thomasmromito@gmail.com W: h
ttp://www.tomromito.com