The Ultimate Primitive SURVIVAL BOW? Cable Backed Bow Build
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- Опубліковано 7 лип 2023
- Wherever they lived, primitive peoples adapted to their environments and learned to make use of whatever natural materials they had to thrive in the wilds. Every primitive culture, with the exception of Australia's Aboriginals, utilized some form of primitive bow and arrow. But that presented a special survival challenge for those living in the arctic regions where good bow wood was nonexistent. Enter the cable backed bow. Using this ancient primitive technology, the natives of arctic regions used scraps of driftwood and whale bone to build powerful primitive survival bows. If you'd like to get into bow making but don't have access to good bow wood, this might be the way forward. I'm using paracord for the backing cable and bow string but those could be replaced with natural materials such as rawhide, gut, sinew, or plant fibers if you want to build a more primitive bow. If you're into gaming, you may know this as the thehunter cable backed bow.
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I saw an old 1960--1970's documentary where one of the tribes in very northern Alaska a person made a bow exclusively from Caribou antler and part of the skull for the handle/riser part. The tribe was so far north they did not have any wood to make a bow with. The summer homes in another video were made of stiff rawhide (untreated hide) that was pressed into a dome shape after it was stiff, sometimes using two caribou/moose hides. In winter they actually lived in Igloos.
very cool
@@clayhayeshunter It was on UA-cam if you want to try and find the documentaries.
Tuktu, aye?
@@willyboi8915 I think that was the name of the Native Innuit.
This? ua-cam.com/video/JmfYJBha7SU/v-deo.html
Yeah buddy, we want to see more of this uncommon “emergency-survival” bow concepts bring back to life by your expert craftmanship 👏🏻
Love how this man humble himself to not edit out mistakes he's made, leaving the mistakes to show that he's not perfect and also how to overcome them
It helps newbies too by showing what can go wrong, so they check twice (or more).
18:47?
Seeing this made me remember things I used to do when I was a kid. With limited options and a lot of creativity. I remember making a collapsible bow with a piece of PVC pipe and bamboo. Fast forward to now my wife is wondering why I was watching a guy making a bow for half an hour instead of mowing the lawn.
Have her doit w/push-unit...lol
Tell her it's a guy-thing.😂
Mowing the lawn is something you want to put off because it's stupid: you are basically harvesting useless (for us humans) plants because society is obsessed with it but barely has any function, let the grass grow a bit(unless it's a jungle lol) and make a bow. Much more fun!
@@Svensk7119lol so is mowing the lawn.
I kid i kid...My wife enjoys mowing.
@@JohnDoe-ls2ww Now THAT is a progressive wife!!
I am always so impressed with your ability and knowledge.
I hope your boys realize how lucky they are to have a dad so knowledgeable about so many things. Hopefully they are soaking it all in like sponges. All of it seems so second nature and muscle memory to you. 👍
You are so kind
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This is a first time i saw a cable backed bow. It looks wonderful and it's much easier from any other backing techniques i know of.
But i loved a bit different part of this clip. Showing how to handle a hatchet.
When i was a kid, my grandpa tought me how to split firewood and how to use a hatchet. Later when i got into bushcraft, i learned a bit more on how to use this very versatile tool. And i have to say, you handle this tool very well Sir! Thank you for sharing and spreading good ways of handling one of the most basic tools humans have designed🥰
[edit]
Oh, just one tip (you might know about this one). I picked it up on TA Outdoors channel.
If you stick your knife into a small wood piece, you will get a nice handle for a makeshift drawknife. It makes a bit easier work with debarking :)
That definitely opens up a lot more wood options.
Yep!
This is honestly wonderful and such a coincidence as I began getting a stave ready for steam bending to get the classic cable backed inuit bow design and shape to make one for myself but I wasn't sure on how to do the cable backing. I was getting ready to make it just a self bow as the reading I did I couldn't come up with a good alternative or way to make a decent cable backing. And then this video drops and saves the whole thing! Thank you again for the awesome content and for covering such a cool and unique way to back a bow
you could give him a toothpick and dental floss and he'd come back in an hour with a 50lb bow
really appreciate the recognition to indigenous people
Great video Clay! Years ago I made one using artificial sinew . It stretches too. I kept the cable close to the back of the bow and had to tie it on in several spots. I would love to see a pine bow build. I was helping a kid build one but it never got finished. Keep up the great videos!👍👍🏹🏹
That’s on the list for sure
Loving these primitive bow builds! This is the first time I've seen a cordage backed bow built and shot. just curious, but have you ever looked into making horn bows like ones from the Sheepeater tribe or like the ones from Asia? A bit of a different beast from this build but I bet it would be cool nonetheless.
I’d love to one day. Just gotta find some good horn.
Super cool. I have a maple bow I am working on ( learning on ) and you have shown me two things that blow through my two major issues. I love the draw stump! I can remember it from the books and survival manuals now that I saw you doing it. I will combine it with my sanding stump( bone glue/sand) and leave just enough room to drop my double bit on the edge of the sanding surface. Flipping game changer😊 . The second nugget was confirming that I can bake the wood dry under tension. Saved me two weeks at worst or another broken bow in the pile. I am going to pull the tips towards the back of the bow with 550 and then tiller the back while she is green. Once even(ish) I will dry with fire. After the set has taken place from baking I will back the bow with drywall tape and bone glue ( works well). When that has dried I will begin floor tillering . My setup is near identical to what you have here and it was awesome watching you do it. I have another dwarf maple that I will start a cable build on. Tyvm
So cool bruv. This is why I love archery, it's such a complex but simple concept. Just one stick makeing another stick deadly and accurate.
Blew my mind on the Penobscot and now here’s ANOTHER type of bow I’ve never imagined…awesome!
Great walkthrough! I appreciate the fact you show it can be done with limited tools and materials, great inspiration! Yeah! The conifers will be interesting!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Cool video as usual. Since you mention spruce: Having messed around with spruce branches (trunk wood is completely unusable for bows over here in southern Germany. The branches come closer to arctic spruce) . I have this kind of bow in mind for a couple of years now. Never got around to try, though. Reminds me to get back to it...
BTW The lower half of spruce branches make pretty a good bow if you put a backing on (tensile strength is lousy). I made one bow with rawhide and one with a hazel backing. Both over 70#@32" and they are great fun to shoot.
Love this video - great informative stuff. I've always had a fasciination with bows but the steep learning curves in both building and being accurate (not to mention the time commitment of making ammunition) has always been a huge obstacle. I've relied on snares for most of my bushcrafting expeditions, mostly because I'm solo (and can stay fed on small birds and rodents), but also because I have no efficient way to prep and store the meat on larger animals.
It was the first time I had ever heard and seen a drawstring bow. This is a very new thing for me, and I may have to find more information to make myself more aware of this new thing.
Your a badass Clay. I always feel a little more manlier when I get to wow these average Joe's emulating your teachings . Thankyou brother.
Rock on!
Saw this guy win on alone. Best season of that show.
It's amazing that there was zero technology transfer from neighbouring New Guinea, where the natives had bows, a wide range of tools, maintained gardens and farm animals. Although the humans interacted traded, and travelled, no such weapons made their way into Australian culture
Love your videos Clay! They are a respite from the hustle and bustle of a complicated world. Thanks.
Glad you like them!
I haven't made a bow since I was a kid but watching you made me want to try it again. Very impressive. Thanks.
it looks like an alternative to the one where there was another piece of wood in front of it. now its cordage and blocks. pretty damn cool and never would have i thought of doing this or that it would have that effect
Exactly
Hola hermano 👋 muy lindo arco.. que madera usaste para hacer ese arco ??Hello brother, very nice bow. What kind of wood did you use to make the bow?
Really cool video! Do you have a video, or would you consider, making one that goes in-depth into what you are considering and feeling for when you are finishing the stave. I can see you are feeling for how flexible it is etc. but for someone that has no experience with what the "right feeling" is it would be really interesting to hear more about what you are looking for.
Search for bow build for beginners on my channel and you’ll find some vids.
Mourning dove cooing nearby. Beautiful!
its kind of nice to see imperfect motion in your work, feels a lot more genuine
Thanks, really enjoyed this! What kind of knot is that you're using at the 8 min mark to crank down and tie the bow to the log before drying? Looks like something akin to a taut line but with more loops. Does it have a name? Thanks!
I saw lots of cable backed bows in the museum when I lived in Alaska. I always wanted to make one. They used spruce and willow in them where I was living up there.
the interesting thing to me about this design is the ability to increase the draw weight !
although it probably wouldn't be like 100lbs on a bow that was initially 20lbs but it could substantially increase the bow strength if needed. easilly doubling the strength.
although the cable back design has it's draw backs, it certainly is a viable bow and in survival
conditions it may well save your life.... thank you....I never would have thought of this !
I am an avid archer and feel the bow and arrow are so often over looked for self defence.
a bullet proof vest is not a problem to a strong bow...most people do not know that !
I grew up with a Howard Hill bow 58lb pull at 28", my Dads was 68lb at 30" I practiced all the time and got to be quite good even getting birds for my cat( which he loved) but the down side was braking all the arrows just before bow season and my Das was not happy....because of that I got the nick name of brokenArrow on the CB radio LOL
I was making apple wood bows with stick and string when I was a kid. Now learning how to really make a bow. Thanks for the video.
Glad I could help!
Just as an aside, apple is actually very good bow wood, if you can find a suitable stave.
@stephenballard3759 I was just talking stick and string and a flat piece of wood sharpened on the sidewalk.
@@jameshall5784 I understood.
Good luck, have fun.
Hey Clay, thanks for this build! I was thinking throughout the video if you would have taken down your deer in Alone with this bow.
Imagine being the only one on the show who replaces the bow with a quilt duvet! That'll be some legendary legacy! Haha!
I wish I knew that when I was 8
Very meditative watching you work. I've found that to be true working with any kind of bush craft. You tend to immerse yourself and forget much of the BS in life.
Very true!
Can you do a Bhutanese split bamboo bow? Its quite simple design, would be great survival tool.
Thank Goodness that you did not loose and eye when the bridge released from the back of the bow! It would have been nice to know the draw weight, draw length and a measurement by a chronograph (arrow eight and length as well) to measure energy.
I love these videos. This would be a fun past time. I wanted to suggest you try doing a video of making a primitive tillering system like how you have with the wall and pulleys.
Next time you go into the wilderness to make a bow, I'd suggest to take a Jointer, a table saw and a chainsaw. I realize that this is a survival video, but I couldn't live without those machines !
Very educational I'm not in to hunting or killing game but I enjoy watching you make bows.
Great video! Aside from the bow making I really liked that you dug down in the earth to have good dirt all around your fire. If you don't go to dirt you risk the fire burning down a few layers and then burning horizontal underground. Well after the camper is gone a forest fire then can start. BOB
I know that cracking was the bark…but it still went into my soul! Heard that too often mate. That’s my favourite alternative bow so far 🤙🏼 Cheers Clay
I bet this would work well with some of the woods you have.
@@clayhayeshunter I’m sure of it!! Will be giving it a go this summer, Clay. Thanks mate
Shoots very well.. especially since its a quickly bow! Very nice to see the primitive skills out there!
Thank you very much!
What an amazing bow. How the hell did they think up this design? Though once you see it working you kinda think "YES. Of course!!"
I wonder if this technique could be adapted to strengthen a bushcraft fishing pole that might be used for larger fish, or to make springier spring poles or automatic fishing poles in a situation where good materials are not available and you could not easily just use the cordage with a heavy enough weight.
Clay, you produce excellent videos. Never vain or overbearing; only true, detailed information- and I call that entertainment.
I appreciate that
I've often wondered about these bows. What a great way to contextuallize it, and present it. Makes a guy wonder how bones would be used. Can large rib bones be utilized for bow purposes?
not really as they don't flex without breaking, but bones can be useful as nocks, emergency arrow tips, the spacer blocks across the back, etc.
The closest you'll get to a bone bow would be horn bows
Yes rib bones have been used for making bones. But any kind of bone or antler is one of the hardest materials to deal with for this use. It has to be very thin to bend at all, And because of this, tiny (TINY) variations In thickness will destroy the bow.
However, most bows that I know of made of bone were made in the fashion Clay just in here.... They were sometimes made not to bend but actually pinned like a hinge. So you may have a 5 section bow with each section being stiff, but which bends at the hinges. The sinew cable, then, is the only thing storing energy as it stretches.
Similarly, bows were made out of things like driftwood, which would be entirely unsuitable without this design feature.
If you look up the Smithsonian's ethnographic collection from North America, you can see exampes. They are fascinating, the engineering is incredible.
Great video Clay. I have a ton of knives but 2 that I have from Elijah are in my top 10 favorite. I want to get one of his hatchets but he hasn’t done any for quite awhile. Thank you for sharing 👊.
Excellent video! Spruce and paracord it is!
Looks like something out of far cry primal! Super cool
Can you make a Bushcraft recurve bow? I know it's not like traditional but a person in the woods would have that tech in his head so it seems reasonable it could be done
Thanks for a very instructive video, Clay! I've gotta try this one.
You bet!
Can you suggest any tropical African wood suitable for bows?
@@gideonkugbonu976854r ki
Great watch, you make it look easy. thanks for the video
You bet
This is going to sound weird but have you ever used azalea? I cleared my property and in the bottom was some giant azalea bushes. The rings are very tight and its fairly hard. I know the younger shoots make good arrows but dont know if the larger trunks would be worth a shot at making a bow
Thanks for showing appreciation to these unique bows! Now, I would love to see you try to make an antler bow, like the inuit too used. Maybe elk would suffice?
Thanks for the idea!
At 0:55 seconds left the arrow hit then went bang😂
What are you not telling us?
Great video brother thanks for sharing.
no problem
Awesome build -- please keep the survival content coming! Any chance you could make an asiatic style bow from horn and sinew? Would love to see it
You continue to impress.😊
I get it right on occasion!
Might be logistically difficult for you, but it would be interesting to see what you could make with Eucalyptus. Here in Australia there isn’t much else.
I know there are lots of Eucalyptus trees in the USA. The biggest River Red Gums I’ve ever seen were in Walnut Creek California. Maybe not so much where you are though.
Loved the video. Thanks.
No se si sea buena idea.la madera de eucalipto tiende a agrietarse cuando se seca. .
Y eso no es permitido en un arco.. porque se romperá
Great substitute for sinue backing. Awesome video thanks
Japanese craftsman: bow needs three years to dry
Clay Hayes: hold my maple syrup
😜
Really enjoyed watching this.
Living legend
Thank you for sharing so much knowledge. ❤
You are so welcome!
That's pretty interesting for sure!
Clay, great skill set.
Love the embedded axe as a shaver.
Our native woods are hard and short grained so do not readily lend themselves to bow making.
Of all the bows you’ve made, considering time factor per performance, what would you consider is your best?
Many thanks.
🇦🇺🦘🤟
Always a pleasure to watch skilled hands at work. Thank you for thinking up projects for my sons and I. I am in NewBrunswick Canada. Maple , ash, oak are the most common hard wood. Spruce pine fur and birch making up the majority of our woods . What wood out of those would you think best for a bow build .
Birch will be the easiest to work with, hard woods like maple and oak will be incredibly difficult
Hi Clay. I've just picked up your channel because my teenage son is showing an interest in greenwood bushcraft, something I dabbled in happily some years ago. I have a Parang on its way to me and, as money is tight, it will have to serve as axe and froe, with my old carving knives for detailed work. I may even try a bow- on the hills here we have a sorbus variant called Rowan or Mountain Ash that grows in profusion and is resistant to the die off were getting on Ash. I think that might make a unique bow and a great experiment. First though we will make a hexagonal long staff and see how Rowan takes to crafting. Local tradition holds that Rowan has magical properties when worked. Thanks for the inspiration. Love your videos.
I’ve heard it’ll make a good bow.
@@clayhayeshunter That's great. Thanks for the answer.. Cheers!
Love your bow videos like this! Absolute treasure. Thank you brother, love from Texas.
Glad you like them!
I really do wish you would explain each step as you do it.... it would be really helpful. Just a thought for future videos.... thank you for this one
I see you got yourself a nice little fire creek forge hatchet. Good choice! Much better than a GB that everyone has. I've been forging hatchets and axes for 3 years now and I'm obsessed. If you ever want to try one of mine out respond to me here. I can make one heck of a nice hatchet. I have a pile of hickory staves waiting to be turned into bows. You are an inspiration for many, especially me.
I love it!
Definitely gonna try to make a bow this way! Awesome bow clay!
Go for it!
Nice. I definitely want to try this now.
Great skills! God bless
Interesting concept of quick survival bow next show the making of the arrows for in survival we do not bring them alone have make them !...
Perfect message at a perfect time;
Thanks
Beautiful ASMR 😊
Thank ya
Incredibly fun watching this video! It opens my imagination for survival weapons
Thank ya
Never seen a bow like that . Ill have to make one.Nice work
Really cool concept. Have you ever thought of making a bushcraft crossbow? Seems like some combo of a penobscot and cable backed concept could make a crossbow viable.
Interesting idea
If you had to choose between the cable backing or the Penobscot that you featured previously, which one would you personally choose in a survival situation?
I think the Penobscot bow is more powerful than the cable backed bow.
@@19adhyayandas77Either technique can be pretty much made arbitrarily powerful.
You always provided the most fascinating content Clay. Thank you 🙏 ❤
I seem to remember that Ishi talked about making a quick survival bow that he could create in a few days, as opposed to his actual bow which took months to a year to create.
Have always been interested in this concept since 2000's, Native American sinew backed short bows! But we need modern ways to make it, easily ... I know modern fibreglass bows are cheap and easily bought from China today, but what if during zombie apocalypse and we need to craft our own from hardware store supplies we break into using an Axe!
Subscribed btw :)
Wow, man that was really grouse! I just subbed and I look forward to going through your content. Do you make your own arrows too?
Yep, I made these arrows.
Resepect! @@clayhayeshunter
Love the fact that the hatchet is sharper then most of my kitchen knives.
Funny! @22:36 sounded like a glancing hit, stopped by a metal shed. We've all done it! Lol.
Hey clay. I would GREATLY appreciate help on this one. So i built a pretty complex bow here. It is a 63 inch osage working recurve/deflex design based on the old willcox "duoflex" bows. It has about 2 inches of deflex and massive 10 inch recurves that bend through about 70 degrees or so.
I did the one thing i was trying hard not to do during the tillering for this bow....i worked one of the recurves too thin. Now, i was aiming for about 55 lbs on this bow and i was on track for that until now.
This is going to be a sinew back bow so i think that will help to prevent the recurves from pulling out and create more wiggle room for me to fix this with tillering... but i was wondering if you have anymore ideas to correct this? Currently the only idea i have is to heat treat the recurves ONLY to bring the wait up. And to prevent cracks i somehow try to smoothly transition the heat treatment into the working limb but leave the early limb untreated. Any thoughts?
The problem with sinewing working recurves is that the sinew tents to want to lift off the bows back in the curve unless you wrap some places to keep it down. You might be able to cut some length off the bow which would raise the weight and stiffen the curves a little.
@@clayhayeshunter Yeah I plan on wrapping the curves with as thin a layer of sinew as possible but after tillering and before the sinew cures completely. I'm going to let the sinew cure for 2 weeks in dry conditions, then tiller, then wrap them to continue curing. I think this will mitigate any de-laminations.
I could try to cut some length off, but I'm worried this wouldn't help. Reason being, since each part of the recurve is put into action incrementally (as the draw progresses and the string lifts off) the entire recurve isn't working until the end of the draw...so the bow doesn't "know" it is shorter until full draw. Maybe I'm overanalyzing things
@@clayhayeshunter A little update. I heat treated the recurves from the tip to the first half inch or so outside the recurve. Looks stiffer on the tiller stick out to 12". I was afraid to pull it further due to low moisture. So I'm going to add the sinew and check tiller when cure. Hopefully this corrects my recurves and makes them heavier. Thanks again for the response 👍.
Do you have a video on making the arrows?
Always a 10 thumbs up for Clay :)
Really appreciate it. Thank you for your work
Clay, did they use Sinew for strings on these traditionally, in the Arctic?
Yes, I think so. As well as the cable backing. Gut could have been used as well.
Thanks lot for sharing ❤❤❤
My pleasure 😊
Pretty badass using the hatcet as a shaving tool.
You ever feel comfort being in the shelter camp like u were in on alone ? Kinda put u back there in spirit ? It seems u never left kinda , there doing cool bushcraft projects
Dig watching people chop wood and make things, even if it's just firewood or kindling.
My daughter and I love it! Very impressive. It's so cool.
Glad you like it!
Another great video. I always look forward to your projects.
Thank you very much!