This week we'll be building a primitive whitewood bow from a live tree in under 24 hours! After watching a video where Keith Shannon and Thad Beckum made a very nice high performance selfbow from a green hickory tree in just three days I was inspired to give it a try. So I went out and cut a small American elm tree and started roughing out a flatbow. In just a few hours I had the selfbow roughed out and starting to bend. Once the limbs were thinned out I build a long fire, suspended the bow over the heat, and covered it with canvas to create a primitive kiln. The next morning the stave was measuring below 10% moisture content and was ready to move into tillering. A few hours more, and the primitive survival bow was ready to hunt!
I've built a lot of primitive bows over the years but I've never tried to force dry wood like this. I was impressed to say the least. Not only was this bow quick and easy to make, but it has no string follow and shoots great. In short, this is a fine shooting bow that I'd feel very confident hunting big game with. If you're looking for a way to build the best survival bow you can, this video will show you how to do it with nothing but a big knife!
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