Craft your own hand-made arrow using all natural materials from start to finish in this traditional skills workshop!
Participants will learn how to carve with a knife, straighten wood with fire, create glue from sap and charcoal, make an arrowhead from bone, cut fletchings from game bird feathers, lash all of their materials with real sinew, and oil their final product.
This workshop is a great way to learn new skills, socialize around the fire, and end the day with an impressive artifact to take home. Your finished arrow will even be ready to shoot!
Learning & Crafting Objectives
Use a carving knife to de-bark and shape your arrow shaft, learn two foundational carving techniques
Guide your wooden arrow shaft over hot coals and fire to straighten it for perfect flight
Work with deer and elk long bone shards to grind your arrowhead that you will later mount to your project
Create grooved notches for your arrowhead and string nock using sharp stone flakes, saws, and files
Craft natural glue from pine pitch, charcoal, and herbivore scat to help adhere your arrowhead to the shaft, glue down your fletchings, and seal sinew fibers
Use real sinew to lash your arrowhead and fletchings to your arrow shaft
Oil your finished product for weather proofing and sealing
What the workshop will be like / Accessibility
This workshop will take place inside a log cabin style covered shelter. The shelter is about 3-4 minutes walk from the parking lot. The walk is entirely flat but does go through deep woods and can be over muddy terrain.
Restrooms are available a 1 minute walk from the shelter.
The shelter features a stone fireplace. We’ll utilize the fireplace for warmth and crafting, especially when it comes to glueing and shaping arrow shafts.
Participants will be asked to use hand tools that require some dexterity, crouch in front of a fire, and use files and saws that utilize repeated muscle movements.
Processing sinew also requires saliva, so if that weirds you out, let us know ahead of time and we can supply artificial (nylon sinew) [note* the arrowhead is no longer biodegradeable with this adjustment].
Duration of crafting time
If this is your first time doing this type of project, it can take 5-6 hours, so keep that in mind when deciding if this workshop is a good fit!
Class cost / High volume of materials
This workshop is listed a noticeably higher price point than the majority of our other offerings here at Firecraft NW. This is due to the large amounts of firewood required for crafting and warmth, the rarity, difficulty, and time required for procuring and collecting all of the materials, and the amount of tools and equipment required to successfully run the class. Thanks for your understanding — we know you’ll enjoy this one!
Accessibility / Support
For folks interested in this class but would like to request accommodations for accessibility and support, please reach out to Ryan@firecraftnw.com ahead of time.