0:55 "These are all of the supplies you're going to need: duct tape (points at paracord), razorblade (points at dowel rod), dowel rod (points at duct tape), and some paracord (points at razorblade)."
lol same, i love the way he does everything so cleanly and has that much patience unlike me who kinda slaps stuff together and gets frustrated when it dosnt work
Yeah that's what I was trying to emulate, thought epoxy might be a little easier for people to get though, in case they live in areas without pine trees.
@@ZNA_Productions pine trees are everywhere where I live they're not native to my country theres lots of tree farms and the trees spread into the indigenous forest
adding my two cents, i'm a complete convert to gorilla tape, especially for heavy duty tasks. from my experiences with it, the adhesive is superior to duct tape, and it's exterior is more wear resistant. in some application it would be overkill, but something like arrow fletching? i'd totally go for the overkill. excellent build though, you've inspired me to play around making some arrows.
You just earned yourself a new sub, I like how you know what you're doing, you seem to carry yourself really well, and you respect the laws of hunting. great vid, keep up the good work!
A few tips for future arrow builds... Always cut your notches across the grain of the dowel, also make sure that any rain runoff is on the side of the cock feather (single feather pointing away from the grip) and running toward the string nock so if shaft snaps it will minimize the chances of the rest of it being driven through the palm of your hand. Also if you need a source of relatively inexpensive Natural Sinew check local pet stores (preferably ones that cater to hipsters) for Beef tendon dog chew treats. If they don't normally carry it, they can order some so long as you're willing to wait a couple of days... Usually, and it typically costs less than $3.00 per package. Hope you find this helpful
A 5 year old zna video. I'll give it a watch, it won't be as good as his new stuff. But then it was still excellent. I'm glad you can do this for a living now. You're very good at it
I commented on this video a year ago. Now that I've got some tools and experience, I made some arrowheads which is my first really successful build. Everything else was just tests. Thanks for inspiring me!
I saw the video about a PVC bow first, then this one, I guess I have all the stuff I needed to make my own bow and arrows; thanks for the good job, even being french, I understood all the way, nice work really. You got a new subscriber.
If you want to go even cheaper for arrowhead, you could just flatten, shape, then grind, spoon heads. Already stainless steel, so will keep an edge for a long time.
I made my first arrow head today and, dispite being slightly uneven ,it turned out great! I'm planning on showing it and my second one of on my main UA-cam channel fairly soon!
I just recently began making my arrows and bow. If only I had seen your video I would not have made so many mistakes and wasted so much time (which I have so much to waste). Anyhow, keep it up- you'll go far. Thanks, Gary
I've been producing PVC bows for quite a while now, and I've never felt the need to put fiberglass rods inside to beef them up at all. I've made bows ranging from 35# to 82 # with 1" schedule 40 white. To date none of my bows have suffered failure in any form. I'm going to try making your larger broadheads and I'm very sure that my bows will have the power to loose those arrows. I think though for the sake of being more precise I'll sharpen my blades with my hand sharpener that I use for my knives. I just get a second one that I'll only use on these broadheads. Thanks very much for your videos. I really do like them ! - Daniel
When you're fletching an arrow try setting them in a helical patter, like a very shallow propeller. This will deflect the air and cause the arrow to spin, keeping it more stable in flight. It will also slightly increase drag which will help keep the arrow flying true.
Tip: you can also use thick gauge tread for jeans to enforce the whole arrow down and taking alot less space for the arrow to easily slide through tissue, hope this advice helps out in your near future. ^^
yo i totally thought of duct tape fletching literally 6 hours before watching this video. great minds, man. it works really well and besides feathers are fiddly as hell
+Havoc not sure if your being sarcastic or not,but I'm being serious. you pound the spoon flat,draw the design of the arrow tip,cut it out,bevel the tips,then heat treat it. btw sorry for the late reply
hey man I watched a few videos and shared every single time. good stuff man I enjoy building things instead of buying too. makes me feel crafty. being Alaskan every time I learn something new I know ill use the skills sometime. thanks
I've been in love with archery for as long as I can remember and recently I've thought to myself it is better to make my own bows and arrows to see if my love is sill there instead of spending $500 plus another $200 on arrows. However, I saw that he used a lot of power tools which I do not own could I get a rough estimate of how much those tools would cost
BigMacDeliciousness , ya don't need all of the power tools... Hand tools will work as well , will not cost a great deal! My set up came from scouting yard sales n such and cost $ less than $ 50! But again , at yard sales n pawn shops, ya can get tools relatively inexpensive... N what all he used prolly get everything for less than $75! Building your tackle is a good way to go... I have been doing it since 1957!! Good luck, hope this helps.. GWW... out!
Nice demonstration, nice and clear. Just a thought, I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before but I think I saw somewhere that it helps if arrow fletchings are slightly diagonal, to help spiral the arrow in air to give a more steady flight. Your arrow fletchings looked quite strait along the shaft in this video, so perhaps adding a bit of a tilt to them is something you could test later, if you have not already done so.
I'm immpressed at how easy and understandable this video was. Usually, with young/younger people, it's sometimes a little poop. XD but you seemed just as proffesional as a old bearded guy, in his work space. Kudos to you, my friend! :D
I appreciate the faced you pointed out that some states have very strict laws when it comes to things like this, hear in WA for example a broad heads have to have at lest 3 cutting edges.
I've just been reading an interview with Dr Ed Ashby which suggests that 2 bladed, single bevel broadheads out-penetrate all 3 and 4 bladed designs. If accurate, why would a state insist on a minimum of 3 blades :/
I totally an planning on supporting you through patreon. I just got a debit card so I'm setting it up, but I will help out soon. Great video, keep up the good work!
To space the fletchings evenly, all you have to do is take a piece of paper the circumference of the dowel, then fold the paper in thirds, mark the creases where the paper is folded, ad then spread the paper around the dowel, then mark where your marks are, this is a very easy and effective way of spreading things evenly around a round object.
As an alternative high tensile strength thread you can use Dental Floss. I use it all the time because its cheap, convenient, and incredibly strong for it's size.
You should work on a spear or scythe type weapon, it'd be interesting to see what twists you could implement into something like that. I myself am planning on trying out the garden shear swords. Love your work and expect many more great items from you in the future.
to do the either of the arrow heads you could flatten the head of a nail, using a sledge hammer or something similar as an anvil, then profile and sharpen them on a bench grinder. and heat treat them if you really feel like it.
The way to make arrow heads for hunting birds and squirrels is made with a flat top like the cartridge on a bullet because if the arrowhead has a blade on it it will go straight through and make the animal die slowly, the blunt head hits it and kills it straight away without it cutting into the animal
But the blade ensures a kill, even if it is slightly slower, rather than risking breaking a bone in the animal, having it escape, and live in agony until it starves.
True but with the blunt head sit has a wider impact zone and with a bow that is over 40 pounds it doesn't really matter where you hit it. Well that's what I've heard at least
Have you seen shawn woods saxton pope style arrow video. If you haven't you should check it out. I've made heaps of Shawns arrows and I'm making his style bow now. Also in saxton popes book he says that he used blunt heads for rabbits and small vermin.
That may be true, I just can't see a squirrel dying from getting hit in the leg with a blunt tip. I imagine it would run away all hopped up on adrenaline and once it hid and calmed down, the pain would set in and it would be unable to effectively forage for food.
Its cool seeing Ron Jenkins music being used. I remember when I found him years ago. I'd like to think people on UA-cam inspired me to become a musician
Hey Eli, I absolutely love your videos and can't wait to see you grow into one of the best UA-camrs (: haven't watched all of your videos, but there's maybe 4 I haven't seen. I'm gonna eventually set up a patron account and subbing.. Anyway, I wanted to make a suggestion. I, personally am very fond of my Bo Staff, since I've been learning it for the past 4 years now, I wanted to see if you could maybe make a collapsable Bo, or maybe one that's spring loaded?? That would be so amazing, thanks (:
Interesting idea with the duct tape fletching but that's like a compound bow fletching so you might want to get a arrow rest if you going for high accuracy
I'm going to end up inhaling all your vids I can tell lol I've been dying to learn to weapon craft by own gear, I still want the "real thing" but it's essential to me to make your owb tool during truly desperate situations
You should continue this series of arrows. I really like seeing some ranged weapons that have TONS of applications. That being said, I think it would be cool to learn how to do a few more arrowheads. One that could be interesting is come kind of armor-piercing arrow. I have NO idea if this concept would work, but it would be sweet, especially with the new, powerful bow coming in the future. Also, it would be cool to see some fire arrows. Granted, I don't intend on ever using them in any dangerous way, etc etc. All I am looking for though is something better than taking a simple arrow, wrapping it in cloth and pitch, and lighting it. I would be interested if you could create something like a cage (that was commonly used in the past) that houses charcoal, so that as the arrow flies, the charcoal gets really hot and is able to light whatever it touches.
Again like for the spear use bamboo for tip and fiberglass or wood for shaft. You can balance the tip with the body by adding weight in the bambo and use diff lengths for shaft my ¢2
Just a little info. The Saracen archers had no arrow rest and put the arrow on the right side of the bow if one was right handed. This makes for faster shooting although the archer does have to compensate for a different arrow trajectory.
easy way to make them spaces even, take the circumference of the dowel, divide by three and thats how long the sticky part should be. line them up immediately adjacent to eachother and they'll be evenly spaced!
0:55 "These are all of the supplies you're going to need: duct tape (points at paracord), razorblade (points at dowel rod), dowel rod (points at duct tape), and some paracord (points at razorblade)."
yung luke lol this is awesome
He probably recorded the video before and then recorded the audio.
And then talked about a whole mess of other stuff
😆😆that was the best part
Awh man I cracked laughing I didn't even notice but went back to look you're right smh 😂😂
"I would bet all my bottlecaps..." Somebody plays Fallout.
I was about to say that
Saul Cardenas muahahaha I stole yer shit m8
Ikr
Bent Nail 😃
Bent Nail well you just got a bet
I remember when I was in fifth grade, some dumb kid started spreading rumors that if you touch wood glue with your skin, it will explode
Ain't you dumb for believing that rumor yourself 🤔
@@ivansolares9796 who said he believed it?
two videos in and now im already intrigued by archery , subbed
I’m obsessed with archery
🏹
lol same, i love the way he does everything so cleanly and has that much patience unlike me who kinda slaps stuff together and gets frustrated when it dosnt work
Same
Joshuackerman you should watch arrow
You would also be able to make glue from pine pitch to adhere the arrowhead to the shaft.
Yeah that's what I was trying to emulate, thought epoxy might be a little easier for people to get though, in case they live in areas without pine trees.
@@ZNA_Productions pine trees are everywhere where I live they're not native to my country theres lots of tree farms and the trees spread into the indigenous forest
Excellent idea, I've heard of people using sheet metal as well. Great video.
Hello there
Love your stuff
adding my two cents, i'm a complete convert to gorilla tape, especially for heavy duty tasks. from my experiences with it, the adhesive is superior to duct tape, and it's exterior is more wear resistant. in some application it would be overkill, but something like arrow fletching? i'd totally go for the overkill. excellent build though, you've inspired me to play around making some arrows.
+Chandra Johnson Thanks for the advice, sounds... sound.
What are cents? You mean CAPS? Ain't nobody use Pre-War money.
Rip Harambe.
Yep
Chand
Omg, I totally agree with your thoughts on hunting!! Only kill for food or self defense
Hunting for self defense?
I ment "kill for self defense"
Hunting for self defense... Idiot.
+Yep Lol he means like if a moose or something is a attacking you he would kill it or if he needs food
Chris Foster I see
Dental floss works very well for warping things like arrows and nocks and it come in easy little rolls. Like your channel.
i love how Eli puts disclaimers before he makes a weapon and his methods are so creative
"Against the grain" going with the theme of inconsistencies he goes with the grain not against it which gives me an unreasonable amount of rage.
You just earned yourself a new sub, I like how you know what you're doing, you seem to carry yourself really well, and you respect the laws of hunting. great vid, keep up the good work!
NOICE. I made a bow and some arrows. All I need is a hood and a cool costume then I'm ready to save my city!! 😎
To do so you must become something else.
You must become someone else.
@@E__Saurabh you must become no one
Green arrow reference 😎
To make a video so well either you have to watch & edit it a million times or your very gifted - either way they are fantastic.
Clever idea with the gutted-paracord and wood glue idea. Great job!
The first disclaimer about people hunting for the right reason is the reason i subscribed. Good on ya man
A few tips for future arrow builds... Always cut your notches across the grain of the dowel, also make sure that any rain runoff is on the side of the cock feather (single feather pointing away from the grip) and running toward the string nock so if shaft snaps it will minimize the chances of the rest of it being driven through the palm of your hand.
Also if you need a source of relatively inexpensive Natural Sinew check local pet stores (preferably ones that cater to hipsters) for Beef tendon dog chew treats. If they don't normally carry it, they can order some so long as you're willing to wait a couple of days... Usually, and it typically costs less than $3.00 per package.
Hope you find this helpful
John Bovee I
Liked how you mention the historic methods during your process. Good videos
A 5 year old zna video. I'll give it a watch, it won't be as good as his new stuff.
But then it was still excellent.
I'm glad you can do this for a living now. You're very good at it
You are winning now with over 900k SUBS!!!!
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK MAN!!!!!
Excellent video, good ideas, demonstrable craftsmanship.
Well done!
Thank you! The vid's an oldie but a goodie.
I commented on this video a year ago. Now that I've got some tools and experience, I made some arrowheads which is my first really successful build. Everything else was just tests. Thanks for inspiring me!
That's pretty dope. Congrats on the additional funding.
I saw the video about a PVC bow first, then this one, I guess I have all the stuff I needed to make my own bow and arrows; thanks for the good job, even being french, I understood all the way, nice work really.
You got a new subscriber.
Love your channel. You are amazing at what you do.
If you want to go even cheaper for arrowhead, you could just flatten, shape, then grind, spoon heads. Already stainless steel, so will keep an edge for a long time.
I made my first arrow head today and, dispite being slightly uneven ,it turned out great! I'm planning on showing it and my second one of on my main UA-cam channel fairly soon!
I just recently began making my arrows and bow. If only I had seen your video I would not have made so many mistakes and wasted so much time (which I have so much to waste). Anyhow, keep it up- you'll go far. Thanks, Gary
Those arrows are sweet man. Keep making these awesome videos and you will get the support you need.
I'm already putting together a shopping list to try my hand at a recurve made with 1" pvc.
These arrow heads look bad ass, good work.
I've been producing PVC bows for quite a while now, and I've never felt the need to put fiberglass rods inside to beef them up at all. I've made bows ranging from 35# to 82 # with 1" schedule 40 white. To date none of my bows have suffered failure in any form. I'm going to try making your larger broadheads and I'm very sure that my bows will have the power to loose those arrows. I think though for the sake of being more precise I'll sharpen my blades with my hand sharpener that I use for my knives. I just get a second one that I'll only use on these broadheads.
Thanks very much for your videos. I really do like them !
- Daniel
Your arrows look great - especially the "sinew"!
When you're fletching an arrow try setting them in a helical patter, like a very shallow propeller. This will deflect the air and cause the arrow to spin, keeping it more stable in flight. It will also slightly increase drag which will help keep the arrow flying true.
I always appreciate hearing some Ronald Jenkees.
The bottlecap bit cracked me up =) instant like
Tip: you can also use thick gauge tread for jeans to enforce the whole arrow down and taking alot less space for the arrow to easily slide through tissue, hope this advice helps out in your near future. ^^
yo i totally thought of duct tape fletching literally 6 hours before watching this video. great minds, man. it works really well and besides feathers are fiddly as hell
I love your videos man, keep it going!
I made broadheads by cutting field points down the center and and silver soldering cut saw blades. They worked great.
i cannot wait till you reach 1 million subs!
I make my arrow heads out of spoons
I make mine out of sporks, i would have done a fork but its just not cool enough...
+Havoc not sure if your being sarcastic or not,but I'm being serious. you pound the spoon flat,draw the design of the arrow tip,cut it out,bevel the tips,then heat treat it.
btw sorry for the late reply
+the wolf but with a spork you can do the same thing except it will also have metal shards pointing out
+Havoc wait,your serious? I thought you might be making fun of me...
+the wolf you dont joke about sporks...
Looking forward to the PVC bow, man. keep up the great work
hey man I watched a few videos and shared every single time. good stuff man I enjoy building things instead of buying too. makes me feel crafty. being Alaskan every time I learn something new I know ill use the skills sometime. thanks
+Stefan Taylor Thanks mayne, I appreciate it.
Aderida Ré
I like the way you made the arrows
I've been in love with archery for as long as I can remember and recently I've thought to myself it is better to make my own bows and arrows to see if my love is sill there instead of spending $500 plus another $200 on arrows. However, I saw that he used a lot of power tools which I do not own could I get a rough estimate of how much those tools would cost
BigMacDeliciousness , ya don't need all of the power tools... Hand tools will work as well , will not cost a great deal! My set up came from scouting yard sales n such and cost $ less than $ 50! But again , at yard sales n pawn shops, ya can get tools relatively inexpensive... N what all he used prolly get everything for less than $75! Building your tackle is a good way to go... I have been doing it since 1957!! Good luck, hope this helps..
GWW... out!
Sweet deal! I used a pencil sharpener to taper the dowel at the head. Thanks for the video!
Awesome awesome video man. Really interesting but also hella informative.
Definitely gonna donate ASAP !
Nice demonstration, nice and clear.
Just a thought, I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before but I think I saw somewhere that it helps if arrow fletchings are slightly diagonal, to help spiral the arrow in air to give a more steady flight. Your arrow fletchings looked quite strait along the shaft in this video, so perhaps adding a bit of a tilt to them is something you could test later, if you have not already done so.
excellent. looks like a lot of fun. thanks for making the video!
I'm immpressed at how easy and understandable this video was. Usually, with young/younger people, it's sometimes a little poop. XD but you seemed just as proffesional as a old bearded guy, in his work space. Kudos to you, my friend! :D
I used that artificial sinew trick to secure feather fletchings, and honestly it works great!
Cool! Good to know.
Great video, keep up the good work
thanks for the vid man , gonna put these arrow heads to some good use .
8:01 dat arm doe :o
calm down and try to concentrate...ha
Woo! Keep em coming bud.
A weird thing I was making stuff like this before I found your channel
I appreciate the faced you pointed out that some states have very strict laws when it comes to things like this, hear in WA for example a broad heads have to have at lest 3 cutting edges.
Lol what, 3 edges?? How does that work?
Usually broad head that i see are like the arrow fletching with three blades.
Oh nvm, didn't even think of that.
I've just been reading an interview with Dr Ed Ashby which suggests that 2 bladed, single bevel broadheads out-penetrate all 3 and 4 bladed designs. If accurate, why would a state insist on a minimum of 3 blades :/
Green Arrow approves this video :D
What about Hawkeye?
Shut up dumbass
I totally an planning on supporting you through patreon. I just got a debit card so I'm setting it up, but I will help out soon. Great video, keep up the good work!
Thanks a ton, man!
To space the fletchings evenly, all you have to do is take a piece of paper the circumference of the dowel, then fold the paper in thirds, mark the creases where the paper is folded, ad then spread the paper around the dowel, then mark where your marks are, this is a very easy and effective way of spreading things evenly around a round object.
I did a similar design on a crossbow bolt years ago, but I used an xacto knife blade, and clear vynal
As an alternative high tensile strength thread you can use Dental Floss. I use it all the time because its cheap, convenient, and incredibly strong for it's size.
You should work on a spear or scythe type weapon, it'd be interesting to see what twists you could implement into something like that. I myself am planning on trying out the garden shear swords. Love your work and expect many more great items from you in the future.
"I would bet all my bottle caps." Subbed!
to do the either of the arrow heads you could flatten the head of a nail, using a sledge hammer or something similar as an anvil, then profile and sharpen them on a bench grinder. and heat treat them if you really feel like it.
dude those arrows are awesome
Whaaaat??????...........you have never done this before? Well good job. well done and I learned something today. Thanks.
Bro your channel is exactly how I aim to make my channel. Noice man. 👍
The way to make arrow heads for hunting birds and squirrels is made with a flat top like the cartridge on a bullet because if the arrowhead has a blade on it it will go straight through and make the animal die slowly, the blunt head hits it and kills it straight away without it cutting into the animal
But the blade ensures a kill, even if it is slightly slower, rather than risking breaking a bone in the animal, having it escape, and live in agony until it starves.
True but with the blunt head sit has a wider impact zone and with a bow that is over 40 pounds it doesn't really matter where you hit it. Well that's what I've heard at least
Have you seen shawn woods saxton pope style arrow video. If you haven't you should check it out. I've made heaps of Shawns arrows and I'm making his style bow now. Also in saxton popes book he says that he used blunt heads for rabbits and small vermin.
You can get a free copy of that book online
That may be true, I just can't see a squirrel dying from getting hit in the leg with a blunt tip. I imagine it would run away all hopped up on adrenaline and once it hid and calmed down, the pain would set in and it would be unable to effectively forage for food.
Did anyone notice at 0:55 when he was naming off supplies he pointed at something and named off a different material?
I did notice! he was all over the place, his audio and video didn't line up at all there haha
i love the fallout reference of "id bet all my bottle caps" good work eli
Awesome video! You should tiller your "Monster bow" so that it has more power and less handshock.
Thumbs up for Ronald Jenkees!
Its cool seeing Ron Jenkins music being used. I remember when I found him years ago. I'd like to think people on UA-cam inspired me to become a musician
Thanks enjoyed I feel inspired to go make something.
nice arrows, thanks for sharing
great video bro . here in Pennsylvania broudheads have to be at least an inch wide . and bow draw weight has to exceed 35 pounds .
jay thompson here in Florida you have to use 45lbs or more to hunt
Hey Eli, I absolutely love your videos and can't wait to see you grow into one of the best UA-camrs (: haven't watched all of your videos, but there's maybe 4 I haven't seen. I'm gonna eventually set up a patron account and subbing.. Anyway, I wanted to make a suggestion. I, personally am very fond of my Bo Staff, since I've been learning it for the past 4 years now, I wanted to see if you could maybe make a collapsable Bo, or maybe one that's spring loaded?? That would be so amazing, thanks (:
Good vid man
Love the videos bro
Ernest Watchman Jr Thanks man.
Interesting idea with the duct tape fletching but that's like a compound bow fletching so you might want to get a arrow rest if you going for high accuracy
you can also try fire to harden the wood at point of impact
Someday I wish to meet you eli I love you man God bless you , awesome videos
Cool video I love making my own stuff so thx
For adding the quills, sanding the stick before you add the tape will help it bond better. But great job
I'm going to end up inhaling all your vids I can tell lol I've been dying to learn to weapon craft by own gear, I still want the "real thing" but it's essential to me to make your owb tool during truly desperate situations
Good job. Not bad for your first broad head . Sorry if it's not you first broad head.
Him, “cut against the grain”
Also him... cuts along the grain
for the 9mm aluminium metal disks you want for the crosbow you could get metal lathe blanks in the diameter you want and cut 9mm thick slices of them
great idea
You should continue this series of arrows. I really like seeing some ranged weapons that have TONS of applications.
That being said, I think it would be cool to learn how to do a few more arrowheads. One that could be interesting is come kind of armor-piercing arrow. I have NO idea if this concept would work, but it would be sweet, especially with the new, powerful bow coming in the future. Also, it would be cool to see some fire arrows. Granted, I don't intend on ever using them in any dangerous way, etc etc. All I am looking for though is something better than taking a simple arrow, wrapping it in cloth and pitch, and lighting it. I would be interested if you could create something like a cage (that was commonly used in the past) that houses charcoal, so that as the arrow flies, the charcoal gets really hot and is able to light whatever it touches.
maybe a long titanium needle that goes out into a cone to separate the armor, titanium for strength
That would be pretty sweet. Maybe a head that is able to tap into and split fiberglass? Kind of like those thingy you buy to punch out car windows?
look up the bodkin arrow, it was especially effective against chain mail
I have seen those before. I wonder the easiest way to make them. However, they don't seem like they'd do much against a solid slab of steel...
not much does much to a solid slab of steel
I had wondered about using exacto knife blades to make arrow heads
Again like for the spear use bamboo for tip and fiberglass or wood for shaft. You can balance the tip with the body by adding weight in the bambo and use diff lengths for shaft my ¢2
You got my like at "I'd bet all my bottle caps" idk if that was a fallout reference or not but either way I love it
I guarantee it.
I loved the music choices in this video, you've played sequence haven't ya? ;)
Just a little info. The Saracen archers had no arrow rest and put the arrow on the right side of the bow if one was right handed. This makes for faster shooting although the archer does have to compensate for a different arrow trajectory.
I tried shooting like that and like how ishi shoots but it's really uncoordinated unless you have months of practice.
good arrow design
I'd just fire harden and sharpen a stick. I mean if you sharpen the stick with a pencil sharpener then the little sharpened pieces can also be tinder.
easy way to make them spaces even, take the circumference of the dowel, divide by three and thats how long the sticky part should be. line them up immediately adjacent to eachother and they'll be evenly spaced!