Great info. Thanks for presenting your expertise clearly.

Well done Sir . The trailing edge feathers I know them as swept wing . They are great at giving a light tickle " notification location " when anchored . I use them mostly .

Is there any more amazing sound than an incoming arrow?

Your clear and precise information has answered all the questions that rattle around in my mind, about fletching. There are way too many thoughts out there, on arrow precision with micro weight, this and shape of that that can just boggle the mind. Thank you for this excellent video.

Really useful video! Thank you. Can't wait to see how the Ottoman low profiles perform.

Makes really good sense. More sense than others who try to explain the topic that total surface area should complement how in-tune your arrows are.

Kev, you did an excellent job. I agree on the length as I was told 5" and shot that for years now I use 4" and they shoot great. As for 4 fletch I was told it will stabilize an arrow quicker then 3 fletch, I have shot them and could not tell any difference. I would like to see a slow motion video to o see if this true.

Thanks. That really gives me something to think about. I have been using heavier arrows that are a bit more rugged than I would use normally. I do a lot of stunping and the lighter arrows don't seem to take as many hard hits as heavier, thicker walled arrows. I have been four fletching them and they are pretty slow. I might try to cut down on fletching length and number to see if I can speed them up a bit.

Thanks for sharing this information. It's great ot hear this from someone who knows arrows.

great presentation, thanks for your input.

Well explained, thank you!

Thanks for the great and very informative video.

Thanks, great Information and some really useful points

great video, thanks

Good discussion.

Thanks for the info Kev. Explained in simple enough terms, that even an idiot like me has a basic idea now.

Thanks, just the info I was looking for👍

Another interesting video Sir 🤘

Excellent! Thank you.

I would contend that fletching size does matter with an increase in bow poundage. Naturally, the arrow itself is going to weigh more the higher you go in poundage (ie tapered 1/2 shafts for 150# war bows), so the fletching needs to work harder to stabilize all of that weight. Using the same size fletching on a heavier arrow means you get slightly less stabilizing effect, so using slightly more fletching is necessary to compensate for that. The increase in ballistic coefficient you gain with a heavier/denser arrow offsets the drag induced from the additional fletching, or to put it another way, keeping the same fletching with a heavier poundage will net less stabilizing drag. All other things being equal, the slight difference wouldn't be terribly obvious between something like a 35# bow vs a 55# bow anyway...but it would be there, however marginal it is. One other note that gets into fluid dynamics is how the shape affects the efficiency of the fletching. Looking at it aerodynamically, the fletching can be viewed as an aircraft wing, and when it develops lift, it causes the shaft to spin. The most efficient shape for a wing in subsonic flight is a high aspect ratio (very thin and long, like a sailplane or a wind turbine blade), this gives you the most lift (in this case, spin) for the drag it produces. Obviously we can't glue little airplane wings on our arrows due to clearance considerations, but it does demonstrate why certain shapes tend to do better than others. A long, low profile fletching like the trailing rear edge you've shown would be considered low aspect. A short, high profile fletching like the exaggerated parabolic shape found on modern carbon fiber arrows will lean more toward a high aspect ratio. If you want to get the absolute most out of fletching shape, more sticky outy and less lengthy lengthy.

Well done Sir. in this video you recorded a shot using a trailing edge feather and it was loud. I have experienced that sound out of 5 " feathers. Could you record some shots with different fletching and compare the sound. I enjoy your videos and the British voice. Here in the state of Texas we don't get get those accents.😊

Love your video's. Do you have a book like your video's? I am a beginner and want to learn as much as I can on archery.

I’m trying 500 spine @ 31 inches carbon shafts with 100 grain tip and 4” fletching for my 29” draw, 35lb traditional bow with a shelf. Sound right? And fletching will be straight shield (we’ll fairly straight being my first arrows :) for straw target 🎯 at around 20 meters away. I have a few different arrows now. 350spine, 400spine, 500spine, and I really don’t notice much difference 😉

Thank you so much for the clear video. I do have a question. I want to make arrows out of bamboo material (I shoot a horsebow with thumb release). The shafts when you 'bend' it, there is a 'stiff' side and a side that bends pretty well. On what side do you place the cockfeather? And should I use fluflu feather if I want to make a whistling arrow, or would normal feathers be ok?

Does spine of arrows have any effect on sizing of fletching eg 800 spine with 5 inch fletching bow weight 30lbs. Tq

Yes, very nice Video. Yes, I am utterly confused. Cheers.

What about how far down the shaft you place the fletchings? I would like have 4 inches of space between the tip of the nock to beginning of the fletchjngs, would that make a massive difference?

Have you ever used staggered fletching? Offsetting the each by 1/4”? I felt it was a good go between when using 3” fletchings but wanted a bit longer fletched area but not the slowing effects of 4” feathers? Am I an idiot or anyone do this?

I use twin fletches on 32" shafts. Initially I was a bit sceptical as I'd never even heard of twin fletches. But they seem to fly pretty straight, with less parabolic dip and they're quiet.

I prefer shield 4" because the higher profile than parabolic. And I taper my arrow shafts from 11/32 to 5/16. More F.O.C. and less drag.

What happened to those new designed fletching templates? Available again?

..Marvellous... After all these years, I've finally found your channel...

Old hunter, now shooting 3d. 40 unknown which in my case is the hunter class... You are the man to answer my questions. When i hunted way back. I always used feathers. 1) does wind effect strait vanes more than left or right spin vanes? If so by how much? 2) does wind effect feathers more or less than vanes? If so by how much? 3) will feathers fly faster than vanes? If so by how much? 4) how much does feather deterioration effect arrow speed and accuracy. Assuming 50% deterioration? 5) I'm thinking of switching from vanes to feathers. Shooting through a WB..so far 3" groups at 30yds. 17 down my best 3d score so far. I'm not going to shoot in rain. And I will tend to my fletchings. Do you think switching to feathers is an ok move or a detrimental move. I shake a little on hold, maybe moving my pin around 4" to 5" at 30yds in every which way.. it maybe my age (60). Idk. Hasn't improved in the 2 months since I've started shooting again. Probably flung 1500 arrows. Its possible your answers could save me a lot of time (testing) and ($). Is it possible that feathers could improve my 3d score by a smidgen? Having trouble judging yardage from 30yds on.

thankyou

Thank you. Very informative video.

I have a question, can you use full length feathers that are meant for spiral wrapped flu-flu for creating regular fletching? I’m looking to cut out a “Sting” shaped fletching but will have enough feathers to cut other designs. I did an internet search and all I’ve managed to find is that the feathers meant for flu-flu have a thinner spine to make them more flexible. Does it really matter? I may try splicing too, I don’t want to get the wrong thing. Love the videos. Thank you.🏹❤️

Lots of great information. What size fletchings would you use for a medieval style arrow

a question for Robin Hood archery.how far up the arrow shaft do you start fletching your arrows.feathers.

Hmmm that’s mate it’s back to the drawing board for me now 😱

Loved the vid. Been making my own arrows and fletchings for a few years now. And as you say tuning is so much more important than any other aspect of the arrow making. Yes proper placement of the fletching is important as well but tuned arrows make a bigger difference. When it comes to woods what do you prescribe as the best tuning method, or better phrased, which is your preferred method? I build my arrows less the point . I tapper for the point and shoot the arrow into softer foam target till the arrow shoots slightly stiff then add the points which usually has them shooting straight. I do this with the feathers on, because after breaking two bare shaft woods I wanted something less destructive.

trad Archery did a test on 3 4 5 inch feathers, the most common ones, speed tests and over different distances, he found hardly any difference in speed, as in none that would make a difference. only thing he found was 3 inch at 70 ish yards had a different trajectory as in flatter, but not many shoot that distance, the 5 inch kicked out a bit more though on release, so between the 3 size feathers he found no difference in our normal shooting range. this was a test done well too.

I am curious, you say don't mix right and left wing fletching. Are you meaning feathers from the right and left wings of a source bird? If so, why can't you mix them? Do the feathers form differently on different sides of a bird?

I'm new to archery, but I've been putting 4" shield feathers on my arrows. I just like how they look. I use 3 and not 4. I feel like 4 is overkill for what I'm doing. The furthest I shoot is 25 yards.

If I shoot horsebow thumb release, my arrow comes out of the bow sideways because arrow has to move around the bow handle before recovering and fly straight, would shield cut 5 inch better than 4 inch parabolic in terms of flight recovery?

Is any of the different shapes out there is better for stabilising a broad head? Ex: shield vs banana?

· HISTORICALLY SPEAKING .... where did 105° 75° 4 fletching begin ?? ?? ?? 50+ YEARS AGO, I once read an old archery book, which mentioned the 75° 105° 4 fletch pattern. (( HENCE, I know that this pattern existed for AT LEAST 60 years. )) ################## ALSO ...... Is there an advantage ?? 🏹🎯

Great video, however info on plastics would be good…

where to get long flat osmanian fletches?

Size does matter :)

Arrowsmith? I thought it was Fletcher?

helical is not an offset