The Virtues of a Dull Blade: Stave Debarking

Often times, a bowyer is faced with the task of removing bark from a stave in a manner that leaves the wood underneath pristine and unviolated.  Nicks, dings, scrapes and cuts are not wanted; we are talking about the integrity of a bow here! One simple way to accomplish this is to cut the wood in spring or early summer when the "sap is up". During this time, the vascular cambium is growing fast and is full of water, allowing the bark to be peeled off quite easily.  Leaving a wet and naked beautiful sapwood back, a perfect natural back to the eventual bow. This method of green bark peeling has its benefits and own unique considerations, but as far as removing the green bark, there really isn't anything to it, simply work up the edge and peel; it often comes off in one continuous sheet* but this post is about another method of removing bark, or really another task altogether, removing bark from a dried stave. By dry stave, I mean one that was cut and seasoned with the bark on.  This same bark that once would have peeled off with ease, becomes glued down fast and tight to the stave. There are various reasons why we end up with seasoned bark on staves, and I wont try to explain them here, instead we will stick to explaining how to remove this dried on bark while maintaining the bow's integrity and our own dignity. 

Removing bark from a green stave is easy.  Removing bark from a dry stave can be difficult, frustrating and potentially waste you a great deal of time in the form of a bow that eventually breaks.  But don't despair, there is a way to make debarking dry staves easy, enjoyable and re-assuring. As you might have guessed, this is where the dull blade comes in, specifically, the dull drawknife blade.  It is common knowledge in bowyer communities that a dull drawknife is a tool well-suited to the task of drawknifing.  I myself have known that a drawknife is what you use to debark staves for quite some time, but it wasn't until recently that I truly realized the importance of the dullness of the blade. Might sound a bit trivial, but what I have discovered for myself is that there is a great spectrum of "dull", just as there are various levels of sharpness, and for debarking a stave, the dullness makes all the difference.

In the past, I have used scrapers and dull drawknives to debark dry staves, but to no avail a little nick or cut would happen hear and there, usually around the tiny little bumps we call pin knots.  While these don't spell death to your bow by any means, they can add up in the bowyers mind and move him to back the bow with rawhide or overbuild the bow a bit.  Not the end of the world, but an overbuilt bow and a great performing bow are often at odds; and rawhide has its place, but using it as a safety net for any bow that has a few nicks and scrapes isn't very satisfying.

Using a scraper, such as a cabinet scraper works well enough to remove the bark, but it requires lots of force to be applied with the muscles of the wrist and hand. A scraper requires lots of passes to cover the radiused back of a crowned stave as the microplane edge of the scraper cuts through the bark and only pulls up bark where it contacts bark. A scraper does leave tiny nicks in the back, often at the bumps of pin knots. And a scraper requires frequent maintenance to keep a good edge. In short, the scraper is adequate but not ideal. I used the scraper often for the task of debarking even though it was tedious and time consuming because when I used a dull drawknife I simply butchered the back of a bow, destining it to be backed.  My failure was in the misunderstanding of "dull" drawknife.  I thought a dull drawknife was one you had used for a long time and was in need of a good sharpening. That type of draw-knife was too unwieldy; it would work great when used cautiously, but all it took was one bad move, one moment of inattention, and there I was, spitting into the pile of bark shavings cursing at the tool.  So maybe this dull drawknife wasn't dull enough.  I will try an older, much neglected drawknife, one that is pitted and nicked up from laying alongside other metal tools, one that is completely dull.  But this type of drawknife would require that I learn where the nicks are in the blade and avoid them as they would act as little gouges, leaving trails of minor grain tearing. And as dull as this neglected blade was, it was still capable of diving into the lumps and bumps on the back, requiring extra caution to be used.  In short, using a dull drawknife to debark a stave cleanly just wasn't working for me.

Finally, I had the Ah-Ha moment.  I recently took a day to resharpen a number of hand-tools. I was looking over a small collection of drawknives, quite satisfied with the freshly honed blades, when I thought, what if I put as much care into dulling the blade as I do for sharpening the blade.  So I grabbed a coarse stone, and with some excitement at the prospects, took the freshly sharpened drawknife to the stone and made several passes flipping the blade over and back, increasing the angle with successive passes.  Then moved to a finer stone and repeated, steepening the angle ever more. It goes rather quickly to dull a blade compared to sharpening, as you are not forming a burr, rather you are working to avoid forming a burr.  While it required little time, I gave it the attention and thought that I would give to sharpening a blade and was rewarded with an absolutely beautifully dulled blade. Not every woodworkers dream I know, but this was it, I knew it was the ticket to debarking before I ever touched it to a stave. And when I grabbed a stick of plum and started scrapping the bark, it was  everything I could have asked for and so much more.  Suddenly, I had the right tool for the job, and what a great feeling that is!

I have enjoyed debarking several more staves (including the cascara stave pictured below) since dulling this drawknife and was so excited about its effectiveness that I had to write this blog post.  I hope you find the joy of a properly dulled drawknife and making your own big discoveries in bow-making.

Thanks for playing along, Carson Brown at Echo Archery 

Debarking a Cascara (Rhamnus purshiana) stave with a finely dulled drawknife.  Note: Cascara bark  (Cascara Segrada:  'Sacred bark', Spanish) is a very effective laxative.  Collecting the inner-bark shavings in catch bucket. 




* Don't toss your bark! Fold into the shape of a quiver or strip it into sections and weave a basket, or add some to your home pharmacy!  Inner bark often contains the highest levels of alkaloids in a plant, some of which are harmful and some of which are extremely effective at treating ailments (most are either, depending on the dosage).  Do your research thoroughly before self-medicating with plant medicines.

William Tell

The story of William Tell as I knew it was of a couple of guys, having had a few beers, decided to attempt shooting an apple off the others head.  Maybe it was off in the woods just the two of them drunk about the campfire when they pulled off the stunt, or maybe a bit more dramatic possibly it happened in front of a terrified wife or family pleading to stop just as it was realized what daring shot was actually going to be attempted amongst the late night festivities.  This is the vague idea I have held about the famed William Tell.

The true story of William Tell:

• It is the year 1307, the people of Switzerland are enduring an oppressive Austrian rule.  One day, the Austrian ruler decides to display his power by placing his hat upon a post in the Altdorf marketplace and forcing all Swiss that pass by to kneel before his hat. A man by the name of Wilhelm Tell refused to bow down to the rulers hat, and so was sentenced to death.  However, the Austrian duke had heard word of Tell's great marksmanship and so decided that it would be quite entertaining to put Tell's skill on display.  Tell was forced to shoot an apple placed on top his son's head from considerable distance.  He split the apple in two, without harm to his child.  This single arrow fired from Tells bow ignited a Swiss uprising that soon led to the country's independence from Austrian rule.  To this day, the yew tree (from which the bows of the day were made) is referred to as "Williams' tree" in Switzerland. 

Statue of Wilhelm Tell in Altdorf square, Switzerland

I learned of this true to life tale of William Tell tonight, while reading The Yew Tree, A Thousand Whispers, by Hal Hartzell, Jr. I don't' know exactly why, but in reading it I was nearly brought to tears. Maybe because it was too easy to imagine myself  in Tell's shoes looking into my son's eyes from a distance before focusing on the apple upon his head; Death and Freedom balanced on the loosing of an arrow.  Or Maybe it was the shock of learning that there was such meaning, such substance behind a Name I had heard many times, but had only simple images for, images of laughing drunken jackass daredevils, not a stoic father forced to place his son's life on the trueness of his aim, the rightness of his peoples freedom. It seems the bow and arrow have always been and always will be a symbol of Freedom, whether it be in the hand of Robin Hood, Katniss, or William Tell. The bow has often provided the spark for the fire that rises against oppressive rule.

Parable of the Arrow

Today, while lost on the web, I came across this old Buddhist parable referred to as the Parable of the Arrow.  I thought it was worth sharing here for two reasons. First, it happens to list some interesting details about the parts of the arrow used in Asia during the time of writing (?), including stork feather fletching, monkey sinew, cultivated arrow shafts, calf-toothed arrows, bamboo thread bow strings, and more. Second, the parable serves to illustrate the foolishness of spending ones life pondering the meaning of life. If only I had come across this parable back when I was in grad school stuck in a rut, toiling with the meaning of existence to point that existence itself seemed absurd. Without further ado, here it is, straight from Wikipedia:

"It's just as if a man were wounded with an arrow thickly smeared with poison. His friends & companions, kinsmen & relatives would provide him with a surgeon, and the man would say, 'I won't have this arrow removed until I know whether the man who wounded me was a noble warrior, a priest, a merchant, or a worker.' He would say, 'I won't have this arrow removed until I know the given name & clan name of the man who wounded me... until I know whether he was tall, medium, or short... until I know whether he was dark, ruddy-brown, or golden-colored... until I know his home village, town, or city... until I know whether the bow with which I was wounded was a long bow or a crossbow... until I know whether the bowstring with which I was wounded was fiber, bamboo threads, sinew, hemp, or bark... until I know whether the shaft with which I was wounded was wild or cultivated... until I know whether the feathers of the shaft with which I was wounded were those of a vulture, a stork, a hawk, a peacock, or another bird... until I know whether the shaft with which I was wounded was bound with the sinew of an ox, a water buffalo, a langur, or a monkey.' He would say, 'I won't have this arrow removed until I know whether the shaft with which I was wounded was that of a common arrow, a curved arrow, a barbed, a calf-toothed, or an oleander arrow.' The man would die and those things would still remain unknown to him."

— Cula-Malunkyovada Sutta: The Shorter Instructions to Malunkya" (MN 63), Majjhima Nikaya

Thich Nhat Hanh comments on the way the parable of the poisoned arrow illustrates the Buddha's anti-metaphysical views:

            The Buddha always told his disciples not to waste their time and energy in metaphysical speculation.  Whenever he was asked a metaphysical question, he remained silent. Instead, he directed his disciples toward practical efforts. Questioned one day about the problem of the infinity of the world, the Buddha said, "Whether the world is finite or infinite, limited or unlimited, the problem of your liberation remains the same." Another time he said, "Suppose a man is struck by a poisoned arrow and the doctor wishes to take out the arrow immediately. Suppose the man does not want the arrow removed until he knows who shot it, his age, his parents, and why he shot it. What would happen? If he were to wait until all these questions have been answered, the man might die first." Life is so short. It must not be spent in endless metaphysical speculation that does not bring us any closer to the truth.
— Hanh, Thich; Philip Kapleau (2005). Zen Keys. Three Leaves Press. p. 42.

How to tie the Bowyer's Knot, aka Timber Hitch

UPDATE (12-13-14): Check out the latest blog post discussing Fast Flight string material and bowyering and an ancient adjustable knot from Japanese Archery.

This is a short how-to on tying the Bowyer's Knot. Also known as the Timber hitch, the bowyer's knot is an incredibly useful knot and is one of the easier knots to learn.  For the bowyer, this namesake knot is used to form a bowstring loop that can be quickly undone and retied to change the length of a bow string.  This is particularly useful during the tillering process when you start checking the bend of your bow with a long string  and progressively shorten the string during the tillering process until a full brace height is achieved   In addition to its use on the tillering string, the bowyer's knot can also be used on a finished bow string, typically forming the nock loop at one end of the string, while the other nock loop is formed by either a bowline knot or Flemish twist loop.  Using the bowyer's knot on a finished string is not a common practice these days, but I find it handy for making a quick string for a kids bow, or for natural materials strings such as rawhide or sinew, where humidity can affect the length of the string requiring slight adjustments. This is the same knot used by luthiers to secure guitar strings to the bridge.

As a bowyer you will find this knot to be indispensable.  It acts as a secure slip knot that is easily loosened and undone or adjusted.  It is a great utility knot with many other uses beyond bows and guitars. Making predictable adjustments to the length of your string with this knot comes with experience, but tying the knot itself and adjusting it are easy enough that the beginner has no problem achieving the proper string length with a little trial and error. 


Tying the Bowyer's Knot

Take the end of your string and form a loop

Take the end of your string and lay it back over itself, passing it through the loop

Repeat step 2 for 3-4 times, and your knot is complete


Here are several illustrations of the completed bowyer's knot:

Hope that you found this useful.  If you enjoyed the content, please consider subscribing to my blog.
Thanks,
Carson Brown
Echo Archery