Making an Atlatl Dart Part I (straightening the cane)

[bobsissom]

congratulations i have only recently discovered your video postings,and i have been so impressed with your teachings that you are the first person i have ever suscribed to on youtube,this is a purely fantastic feat as i am forty four years old and have had the net in my home for many years,each video i have seen so far has taught me more than i expected, thank you for all the effort you put into the details

[donvaskwa]

hello I found phragmites by my house these look like arundo dolax , but they are light weight and if they are stepped on the will crack. there not as strong as real river cane. have you made darts from these or do you think these would be good darts?

[kevseadog]

When harvesting Arundo, do you cut it green and let it season, or do you pick up last years dead shoots, or do you cut mostly yellow with a hint of green? How long do you let it dry before straightening? Also is there a time of year best for gathering?

Thanks a lot, this has been a very informative video.

Peace.

[Paleoaleo]

@kevseadog I generally cut the shafts when they are a nice creamy tan in color, but still alive. I use these right away - taking care when heat straightening not to over heat them. I don't think it matters what time of year they are gathered. I do find that the best stands are up and away from the stream bottoms. Too much water makes them grow fast and weak. I avoid green stuff - it never dries well for me.

[Pyromaniac1801]

rolling the shafts on a flat surface works as well, or am i wrong?

[gnarvids]

I WOULD LOVE a video of you harvesting your canes and some tips on how to find them.

[tashiro143]

hey where do you get your woods for arrows?

[holyman96]

im 13 years old and im wondering what size dart i should use im about 5' 1" and i dont know if my height has anything to do with the lenght of the dart because the cane around my house doesnt grow that long :/

[82f150]

i just cut 10 shafts and got them cut down to 6 and 1/2' the have a really extreme taper like from 3/4' to 3/8'. will they still work?

[MrCemgok]

is 4 foot dowels good for the darts becuz i dont have access to those natural materials where i live

[Paleoaleo]

If you join 2 4' dowels together using a scarf joint (do a google search on the words atlatl and scarf joint and you'll find some good stuff) it will work better! 4' long dowels will be too stiff for good darts.

[luresalive]

I take it the canes are slightly tapered, do you use the dart with the thicker end at the point or at the fletches?

[Paleoaleo]

Yea, the fatter end is the front of the dart...the point end.

[bowmasterpigo13]

how long do they have to be

[TheAtlatl]

A great video. Helped me out a lot. : )

But is there some kind of other wood you can use besides any type of cane?

[darkmerlin152000]

is there some kind of wood you can use, i mean, not reed? like, a thin branch, would that work?

[Paleoaleo]

Sure, lots of wood species will work. I've used willow shoots quite a bit. Anything long and straight (you might have to heat straighten the wood shafts too).

[mattreeves437]

where exactly do you get your materials for your darts?

[Paleoaleo]

I collect most of it around where I live.

[nephildevil]

they didnt have a jet stove in the stone age!

do it over a campfire next time!

[Paleoaleo]

Thanks for pointing this out. If I didn't live in suburbia, I'd make more campfires. It's kind of a pain in the butt to do so every time I want to straighten dart and arrow shafts. If you do use a campfire, it's far better to just take some hot coals out of the fire to use for your heat source. Just drag them on the side, or on a flat rock. It's better to have a small heat source so you can heat small areas of the shaft. A campfire is too big...not precise enough.

[nephildevil]

ah allright, it just that that modern stove seems to be cursing with doing everything traditional

[jabara83]

would you recomend carving off the skin? is that a good or bad idea?

[Paleoaleo]

If you mean the skin on the cane/bamboo...I'd generally say not to do it. The skin provides a natural waterproofing. If you scrape it off, it does look pretty nice on bamboo, but you then have to put some kind of sealer on the bamboo. WIth this Arundo cane, I wouldn't remove the skin at all as this cane is too thin already. It would just weaken it.

[mateoofccd]

Would you recommend it to make arrows for a bow? Even though I use professional made hunting ones I enjoy making my own bows

[Paleoaleo]

I make arrows using the Arundo cane also. It works well.

[kingspade350]

how thick does the atlatl dart need to be

[Paleoaleo]

That depends on the material you are using. THe flexibility is the important thing. Some materials are stiffer than others at different diameters.

[GreenLarsen]

is it fresh cane you are using or can you also use cane that is dry?, thanx. nice film!:)

[Paleoaleo]

I'm using cane that was cut while still alive, but dry looking (tan on the outside, rather than green). You can use that right away, or wait for it to dry. If you cut it green on the outside, it takes a long time to dry. It doesn't work well while green.

[peanut333s]

thanx!

[peanut333s]

could you straiten the canes over an open fire or do you need a gas heater thing?

[Paleoaleo]

An open fire works very well. Especially one that has burned down to just very hot coals.  I usually just pull some hot coals off to the side and hold the cane over them - same as over the propane stove.

[Paleoaleo]

It's growing wild here in Southern California in many, many places. It's an introduced species and is a pest - so no one minds if you harvest it. From what I understand this stuff (Arundo donax is its scientific name) now ranges all through the southwestern U.S (CA, NV, AZ, NM, and east into Texas). It's probably elsewhere too.

[Beanjuice2]

Where do you find your cane?