End of the world scenarios seem like something that can only happen on the big screen. It’s been a while since the world has had to worry about its entire annihilation at a moment’s notice. Because of this, the world has gone soft! People don’t know how to survive without their iPads and cellphones anymore. I remember being a kid and playing outside in the woods and building makeshift shelters and forts that would last for months at a time. Kids and adults alike are not prepared for if/when society falls apart. Fear not however, for there is someone who is trying to educate people in how to live when our modern world collapses. Youtuber Primitive Technology is a well-known survival expert. He makes videos on how to make survival structures and tools so everyone has access to this important information. In this video, he teaches you how to make a bow, quiver and arrows all from things available in nature!
He starts out by cutting down a very tree that will be used to make the actual bow.
He then cut the tree in half again for the proper length. All the tools he is using to make these objects are hand-made from substances in nature as well.
Using a stone, he splits the wood down the middle so he has two separate pieces.
Next it was time to start shaping the bow. A sharp stone is used (as it is most of the time in these kinds of projects) to slowly chip away at the tree to create the shape desired.
This seems to be the most meticulous part of the process.
This is the bow after it has been shaped.
The bark from another tree stripped and braided will serve as the draw string.
After stripping the bark, it is then pulled in half.
The inside half of the bark that is used is then braided.
This is how the braid should look. Twist each side then twist the two sides together to create a very strong bow string.
What the braid will look like when all is said and done. Make sure you leave a loop on both ends braided back into itself so you can attach it to the ends of the bow.
This is directly after attaching the draw string using a little muscle to bend the bow.
The poster then shaves down the insides of the bow to allow for more flex.
Looks pretty good. He estimated the draw weight at a little over 35 pounds.
Now it’s time to make the arrows. He grabs some small green trees and breaks them off at a length that will allow the roots to regrow. He takes the cut off limb and shaves the bark off.
He then uses a sharp rock to create notches in one end of the arrow to allow the draw string to notch into the arrow.
He caught a wild turkey and was able to pluck some of its feathers to use for the fletching of the arrows.
The next process is the carefully peel the actual feather off the quill.
As a substitute for glue, he uses tree sap.
The sap is then coated onto the back-end of each arrow.
He carefully glues the feathers on the back-end of the arrow.
He then wraps a makeshift cord around the end of the arrow fletches to secure them permanently.
Heating up the tips of the arrows in a fire is the next step.
He uses the fire to harden the tips of the arrows so they can penetrate tough skin.
If you do not heat the tips, when they make impact they will either shatter or splinter.
The feather fletches were to long, so he burned them down to size.
That’s a good set of arrows.
You can’t have a bow and arrow without quiver. So he decides to make one. He starts with some large sections of bark and creates weak points to fold in the bottom.
He then bends the bark upward along the weak points. This creates a basket of sorts, and he wraps the bottom tight with bark strips.
You now officially have a way to kill food and defend yourself.
You gotta test it out first though.
Seems to work pretty darn well.
You Can Watch The Whole YouTube Video Here!
I used to love making stuff like this as a kid. As I got older though, my hobbies started to get more diverse and more expensive. This video has me wanting to get out into nature and try my hand at some of these different survival videos. Because one day, guns won’t be an option. This kind of information is going to be truly invaluable when the time comes for us to head to the hills.