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Sun 18 Feb, 2007 02:33 pm
I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction, some purely incredible and some based in reality.
Every so often in the post-battle activity, small, active lads are scurrying around the battlefield--or the battlements--looking for arrows that can be straightened.
I can see how arrows could be broken, but bent? Would well-seasoned wood bend in the heat of battle?
Or were arrows mass produced and not necessarily made of well-seasoned wood?
How could an arrow--well seasoned or not--be straightened quickly so that it would fly true? Or are we talking about hundreds of arrows aimed at any part of a crowd of enemy soldiers, making individual accuracy less important.
What would an Arrow Straightener look like?
Perhaps the feathers need to be straightened or replaced, or the arrow head may have gone crooked.
Edgar--
Good thoughts, but the reference is definitely to some sort of gadget that will straighten the shaft of the arrow.
Your comments lead me to wonder whether either the arrowhead or the feathering would have to be removed to straighten the arrow.
Edgar--
Excellent information. Thank you.
I don't suppose the shafts of army arrows would have been shellacked and sealed, so just riding around in a quiver would give an arrow ample opportunity to warp.
You'd know better than I would, but from the description, I gather that some people would have more of a knack for straightening arrows than others. To do a good joy you'd have to have the ability to sense the twisted fibers.
Many, many thanks.
The kind of tree involved has much to do with bending wood. Southern yellow pine, as an example, is hardy and tough, but warps like a snake in the sun.
Edgar--
I know just enough about arrow making to know that some woods are much better than others. I also know enough about the human race that if 10,000 arrows are needed by Tuesday and there is a stand of Southern yellow pine on the other side of the road, those arrows may well be made of unseasoned Southern yellow pine.
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