|
|||||
 |
 |
 |
Ancient ArrowsI construct wooden arrows to ancient patterns, specialising in the medieval period. I do not keep a stock of arrows but will make them to suit your purpose to order, be it a sheaf or a singleton. Please email your requirements, use the enquiry form below or phone on 01557 820254. |
|
 |
|
|
||||
|
Home | examples | Left Handed or Right Handed? | Shaft Dimentions | Choice of spine | Heads Available | Arrow Care | Prices | enquiry form | |
|
|
|
A little history I am a medieval re-enactor (Of the period 1300-1330AD) with the Guardians of the Realm and Fire & Sword in South West Scotland, I started making my own arrows as I couldn't buy ones I liked for a reasonable price. Other people liked what I made and suggested I sell them to a wider public - here I am. |
|
|
|
|
Materials Used I use period materials wherever possible and try to to make the arrow look historically accurate. Having said that I tend to use modern glues and finishes. Shafts can be any material from pine to bamboo, fletchings are usually turkey (Dyed to look like goose for medieval arrows) and heads are usually hand forged (I use Hector Cole heads on my own display arrows and modern bullet piles for target shooting). |
|
|
|
|
Examples Below are some examples of recent arrows I have made, the prices shown are for guidance only - final price depends on materials used. |
|
|
|
|
General medieval fletched arrow shaft (No head) made from poplar, coated with 2 layers of satin polyurethane varnish, just over 3/8th inch (13/32nd inch) diameter and 32 inches from nock to tip; despite the width red heads blunts do fit - just. I am reliably informed they spine at about 90 lb (Although I regularly shoot these from a 25lb reenactment bow to good effect). Fletchings are just over 5 1/2 inches long (Not including whipped ends), bound with linen thread and the colours are: shaft - grey, cock - white; shaped in the triangular medieval fashion. Self nocked with black horn reenforcement. |  |
Cost 8 GBP per fletched shaft |
|
|
|
|
General medieval arrow made from pine, coated with 2 layers of satin polyurethane varnish, just over 11/32nd inch diameter and 32 inches from nock to bodkin point, unspined. Fletchings are just over 5 1/2 inches long (Not including whipped ends), bound with linen thread and the colours are: shaft - grey, cock - white; shaped in the triangular medieval fashion. Self nocked with black horn reenforcement. Tipped with Modbods (MODern machined edgeless BODkinS), from a distance they look like medieval edged bodkins but they are much less damaging to modern targets. Fixed on with Ferr-L-Tite hot melt adhesive so they are easy to replace with another tapered head if necessary. |  |
Cost 8 GBP per arrow. |
|
|
|
|
Persian fletched arrow shaft of around 50BC made from bamboo, (To match an original leaf shaped arrow head owned by the client), coated with 2 layers of satin polyurethane varnish, 31 inches from nock to tip, unspined. Fletchings are crow tail feathers bound with sinew. Sinew reinforcement binding at self nock and arrow tip, tip shaped to accept tanged head. | Cost 10 GBP per arrow. |
|
|
|
 |
|
||
|
Possible Shaft Dimentions I buy in shafts from other manufacturers, the table below shows what is available to me at present, although I may be able to get other sizes by special order. I tend not to make arrows less than 11/32nd inch in diameter as self nocks break easily below that diameter. Although I believe there is evidence that some Viking arrows may have had solid horn nocks and so may have been thinner. | |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
Choice of Spine Spine is the rating of the flexibility of an arrow, in theory arrow spine should match bow draw weight (It's actually more complex than that, taking into account arrow speed) but most longbowmen prefer an arrow spined about 5lbs to 10lbs less than their bow. The following table relates both longbow and recurve bow draw weight to the most suitable arrow spine for a particular draw length. It is taken from the Quicks catalogue and is their experience of best choice. I find it works fine as a starting point; with experience you will find the best spine for your particular bow, draw length and style. Quicks have asked me to point out that they have a Free 100 page A4 Colour Catalogue available. | |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||