Bill Skinner wrote on Jun 10
th, 2020 at 10:49am:
The rocks were from Texas, the hunt was in Florida. If you don't have the right type of rock, it gets way more difficult. To make the various cutting and scraping tools, you'll need a rock that breaks like glass with a fine edge. He also had Moose, Elk and Whitetail deer antler tools. Those are also separated by a great deal of territory. Elk were in the mountains in Georgia, the state above Florida. Closest moose were in the Great lakes area.
BTW, he used Hickory for the bow, hickory doesn't make a particularly good bow down where he was. The wood soaks up moisture in the morning and evening and gets loggy and slow. Which was why he was hunting in the middle of the day.
I would have used Red Mulberry, which was the preferred wood down here. Hornbeam would have also worked nicely while green, but it's a major PITA to split. I would have found a dead mulberry limb, it would have been seasoned.
And yes, I have made a bow with stone tools. I already use wooden wedges to split the wood, using a large spall to rough it out was a little slower than a hatchet. After that, scraping is scraping. It just takes a lot longer with stone tools because the rocks don't have handles.
And you tend to cut your fingers a lot more. You don't have a handle to keep your hands out from your work. Luckily, I know lots of swear words.
However, I couldn't do what he did in an afternoon.
Hickory was definitely a safe choice. I think for time constraints he probably went with that since it offered the highest chance of success. Filming the entire process only to have a catastrophic break during the tillering would be a frustrating set back with stone tools. Got to keep those videos coming out on schedule.
I wonder if rendered fat from a hog would work to help waterproof it enough to stay strong at least for an afternoon. I’ve heard it’s not great but with enough coats it gives you something at least.