Making Otzi the Iceman's Bow w/ Modern Tools
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 พ.ย. 2023
- In this video I build a nearly identical replica of the bow found alongside Otzi the Iceman. Modern steel hand tools were used, and the measurements differ from Otzi's bow by only fractions of an inch as the process unfolds. This happens naturally while working it down to the desired draw weight, which in this case was 65-70 pounds at 26 inches.
It's important to remember that every piece of wood is different. Each stave comes from a tree with unique growing conditions, density, and other factors that make it challenging to follow the precise measurements of historical bows. Fortunately, the finished bow ended up very close to the dimensions of the artifact.
I also live about 1,500 miles from the nearest Yew tree. It's very expensive to source quality Yew staves, so I chose to substitute with Hackberry. It's a medium density hardwood that's local, readily available, and makes fantastic bows. I knew it was up to the challenge of an Otzi Replica.
Reminder : I give away professionally crafted primitive archery gear to my subscribers every month!
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Instagram: @organic.archer
Website: www.organicarchery.com
Thanks for watching...
Awesome vid. Sucks you couldn’t get yew tho to make it an actual replica
It was a bit much to source a $250+ yew stave for my very first YT video, and then give the bow away. I’ll do a yew replica/giveaway once the channel can pay for its own supplies!
@@organicarchery …how’s that looking now, a few months later?! 😊 👀
You undersold yourself with the title. Modern tools made me expect bandsaws and belt sanders. Nicely done.
Some of the commenters disapproved for not using a copper axe and stone flakes, haha!
Hand tools or by hand?
Reckon Otzi would have been very pleased to have been gifted that bow.
My girlfriend is related to him, she approves of this bow’s construction
I think Otzi's is one of the most fascinating stories. Especially with all the tools that were found with him.
I'll bet he never dreamed he would be around 5300 years later to tell his story.
@@cletusspucklerstablejeaniu1059 ...He never dreamed he would be murdered.
Especially the tools! Because of the copper axe they found in his belongings, the beginning of the copper age had to be moved to at least a thousand years earlier than what they thought. It was like finding an ar15 in a Viking grave. truely a one of kind discovery.
Very nicely done. I used to make Bows and Arrows. I plan to make probably my last Bow this spring, only because I'm starting to get arthritis in my hands. I love it that you decided to make OTZi's Bow, because I'm one of 20 some odd people that carry his unique G-Haplo group DNA. I only found this out a few years ago, otherwise I would have tried to make his Bow long ago. I had planned to go visit my ancestor in this museum last spring, but unfortunately my wife had a stroke. I'm 78 yrs, so I hope that I last long enough to see him before too much longer. Your work is impressive. Thanks for giving him the honor of making his Bow. Thanks, Jim Martinette.
I hope you’re able to visit the Otzi museum, Jim! Good luck on your bow build this coming spring.
Take Nitric Oxide it works
I hope you get to see him!
Having worked with wood for over forty years it is a pleasure to watch someone produce a tool with such attention to detail. I look forward to your future projects
Glad you enjoyed it!
Damn that draw knife looks sharp. Infact all the tools look razor sharp
I like to keep all my tools really sharp! Check out my video on drawknife sharpening if you’re interested in the technique.
The hardest part will be being buried in the ice for over five thousand years. And trying to use the bow afterwards....
Just gotta work harder
At least there was no issues with heat stroke!!
I imagine both you and the bow would be a bit stiff
Yeah where on earth will there be any ice for the next 5000 years.
The hardest part was finding Otzi, you know how they did it?…………….They just followed the arrows!😂😂😂😂😂😂
Having worked at Bear Archery in Gainsville for several years, I made a couple of solid Yew longbows so I kept saying, "I have done that!" Until you made your own string. I never did that. Great job!
Awesome build. Very therapeutic to watch, and most likely, for you as a bowyer, to make.
Extremely accurate shooting, it proves our ancestors weren’t just a bunch of half starved folks wandering in the wasteland. They were highly adept at making and using tools to live, and working with their environment to build strong communities.
Absolutely! If our ancestors weren't proficient builders, hunters, and warriors, we wouldn't be here!
Excellent tutorial : no useless talking; just crucial images.
Thank you.
Just watching him make that bowstring made my hands cramp.
I'm old. Hunted all my life. Watched a lot of videos. Believe me when I tell you that, that is one deadly silent weapon. Unbelievable.
I'm old an have made bows since I was a kid with only a knife. Good job young sir
Many thanks for briliant idea, and phenomenal piece of work. You are very skillful. When I was a child, my uncle made me similar bow from Common hazel wood (Corylus avellana). It was wery special present for me. I am 51 years now. I live in the Czech republic some 650 km from Otztal, where otzi's bow have been discovered... Perfect, and thank you one more time. Good luck ☝👑
Hazel makes a nice bow!
Just watched your first video, awesome. No horrible music, no unnecessary commentary, no power tools, just a pro and his hand tools. Best tutorial I've seen in a long time. Would be great to see you make a traditional English long bow. Keep up the good work.
An English longbow is high on the list for future videos. Coming soon, so stay tuned!
Beautiful craftsmanship. Old wooden bows have a heart and feel no piece of metal and cable will ever have.
Amen!
Thats really great, a true Craftsman. That bow when it was made was probably the most important and precious object he had in his life.
If our lives still depended on bows day in and day out, they'd be our most prized possession too!
@@organicarchery my life doesn't depend on archery, and my two fibreglass-laminate bows are my most prized possessions.
This was so beautiful to watch. The amount of care behind your craftsmanship is a delight. I’m excited to see more!
Thank you! More to come 🤙🏼
@organicarchery How long will a hackberry bow last? Ash to? Did it make 70?
I reckon Otzi would have thought all his birthdays arrived at once to have a bow of this quality. Could watch true artisans, and masters of their crafts work all day.
Well, his bow was a very very high quality, made of yew, and back then they had a lot of time and skill...and no TV to waste time with 😜
@@blackz9058how did they build Stonehenge their was no tv exactly
If this is your first full-length bow building video, I look forward to your next one fab!😊
When I see a woodworker, it reminds me of my late father and I always helped him make a boat out of wood when I was little
Just a genuine pleasure to watch a master craftsman at work with superb attention to detail. And, many thanks for allowing us to watch with the only "music" being the sounds of a draw knife shaving wood.
Music in videos drives me nuts. I narrate some of my YT videos.. but never music!
Hell yeah! Great stuff across the board. Nicely done Amigo 🤙
Thanks for lighting the fire for this, my dude 👊🏼
That’s some fine shooting!
@@organicarchery it was always lit my dude! Much respect!!!!
Beautiful handwork Buddy.
@@organicarchery eläke2024
Well done, the bow shows excellent craftsmanship. Keep up the good work.
One of the best instructional videos I have watched.
Excellent craftsmanship.
Greatly appreciated 🙏🏼
10/10. Pure artistry. Well done Mr Hawk. That was an absolute pleasure to watch. 👍
Amazing.... When I was a kid I made bows and arrows with what ever I find in the woods but this is a level of bow making I only dream of thanks for sharing
Had a hand-made long bow as a kid, made of hickory as i remember. Lots of whittle marks from the build, but that was over 60 yrs ago.
Great workmans ship on your bow .
There's no better wood for a first bow than hickory!
Your art and video are amazing, when I watched it I realised how advanced Otzi was - without the modern tools he made it around 5 thousand years ago !!
Our ancestors were incredibly skilled at making bows with stone and copper tools!
It takes a lot of talent and hard work to do that young man. Beautiful work. Thank you for sharing this content.
Amazing craftsmanship, you’ve given us a peek into an ancient skill. I’d like to see you make the arrows and discuss draw weight, range, and the animals that could be harvested with this bow. Cheers
Absolutely amazing work. Love it!!!
Awesome build. Thanks.
I think we have all long awaited this moment. I’m excited for the wealth of knowledge that will be this channel
Loving this channel already!! Definitely here for the long haul!! Loved the string making, it was an interesting twist you were doing. I haven’t seen that one before!
It’s known as a 3-ply reverse twist. Makes for a more round string than a 2-ply.
Paul here, I've just seen your site, Ive been making wooden bows in Perth Australia for 32 years and still can't stop, it's fantastic for me to see men all over the world making great bows like you are, good on you mate.
Glad to hear it! Wishing you the best in your bowmaking endeavors from across the pond!
What wood do you use, any Aussie varieties?
Thoroughly enjoyed this
Best bow making video I've seen in a while!! Great look and build! I hope to see more in the future and to copy some myself!!
Many more to come! 👊🏼
Absolutely beautiful work. Whoever wins that piece will have a true work of art!
Definitely. That is an heirloom quality piece for sure. Don't think if I was lucky enough to win it, I'd go hunting with it. Hopefully this beautiful bow will earn pride of place as a collector piece.
@@Erebus.666.nah, go hunt it. You can’t properly appreciate a tool without using it for it’s intended purpose. Art can be more easily carved…and non-functional
Quiet and powerful. It's all you ever need. Outstanding.
Great to watch the process and see the fantastic finished bow!
Amazing work! Otzi would be proud. I have made a few self bows but nothing as amazing as that one.
Great job. I've been making selfbows for about 25 years and really enjoyed seeing you work the stave down. I have hackberry on my farm but haven't used it to make a bow in many years. Your video has me thinking it's time to harvest some for a future project. I like your 3 bundle string as well as the bowyers knot...all cool. Thanks for sharing.
Hackberry makes an excellent bow!
It's very light and snappy for sure...I made several bows from hackberry when I first started, but I haven't used it in a long time. Now that I understand more about using heat to shape as well as harden white woods, I plan to try it again. Thanks!
Bob
@@organicarchery
Could you tell me why people call these bows self bows now,never heard that until this present time.
@@user-cw5cz5vr5i A self bow or simple bow is a bow made from a single piece of wood.
This is so relaxing.
Thank you
6:45 i am thoroughly impressed by that free-hand line. a good indication of a experienced craftsman is a steady hand, and hell you've got those of a surgeon. Fantastic work
Much appreciated! 🙏🏼🏹
Nice job. Thanks for not ruining the experience with background noise. Nice to hear sharp tools cut into wood. Can’t wait to see another creation.
I look forward to you making a cross bow from the early 100s AD! You have a very nice shop and excellent skills! Making the bow string was most interesting!
Yea, I would like to see a crossbow as well.
South Africa.
Suitably impressed along the way and looking forward to more builds
Outstanding. Look forward to seeing future builds.
I am so excited to see this! I wish I could have raised up enough money to get one of your bows. Maybe one day I can take a class. In the mean time, I’ll be watching and learning! Semper Fi!
Hopefully you’ll win a bow someday in the giveaways! Semper Fi 👊🏼
I learned a lot from you, from the metrics to giving the bow it's shape with cutting tools...I know the length of my arm will determine the pull and length of arrows and so on ...I like primative technology and new as well... amazing how ancient basic weapons could down deer, bears and even mammoths...
A bow this powerful would certainly take down the largest of big game with a well-placed arrow!
This was great to watch.thank you.
functional work of art! beautiful!!
Now wait a minute. I'm like 45 seconds into this video and I see that you're making a bow from Hackberry. I'm SURROUNDED by Hackberry trees and now I'm finding out they're solid enough for bow building when I've been hanging on to and not using my Osage Orange because I was saving it for when I finally felt confident enough in my abilities to make a bow?! Hackberry? Really? Should I go for it? I'd have to cut one down, which is not a problem I'm not kidding when I say I'm surrounded, to get it to start drying. But I'd need to know fairly soon so I can start the process. Wow. Hackberry. That's the craziest thing I've heard this week.
Hackberry is an excellent and under appreciated bow wood. It behaves like elm in many ways, which is considered a top-shelf bow wood. It makes snappy bows that are smooth as silk and light in the hand. As with all whitewoods, make sure to protect it well from moisture. Hope this helps!
@@organicarchery Fantastic news. Thank you, my friend! I'm gonna select a tree to harvest for the materials within the week.
Beautiful work with no distraction, no audio, nothing but get it from start to finish. You remind me of the big Indian on the movie( one flew over the cuckoo nest) He was very quite as well. I enjoy watching a quality artisan. Thank you for your extraordinary work of art🤪🇨🇱👍💪
As I recal from the book, He was the only sane one of them all. And the only one to get away.
amazing build, I bet you could sell a bunch of those. Otzi is a hero of the traditional archery community
Nicely done.
Thankyou for sharing.
Beautiful work. Thank you for showing us your skills.
Yes Corey!! This is amazing!!!
WOW...just WOW!! Beautiful job!
That was a pleasure to watch you make that thank you 👍
Great job.
The quality of your work shines through. 👍
Really enjoyed this sir. Thank you!
What an amazing piece of functional art!
Happy to subscribe ! Love the build
Beautiful work. Thank you for sharing.
Beautiful work.
The best bow build video out there! Great work, great tools and shop.
I enjoyed every minute of this video. Thanks!
That’s a bad ass bow man. Love it. I’ve always lived Otzi inspired builds.
Cool. I'll be looking forward to more instruction. Thanks for sharing the time and knowledge
An absolute work of art.
What a pleasure to watch a craftsman at work
Fascinating, thanks for making the video.
Nice work! Very motivating, I'll keep watching & learning.
Very nicely done! Your work is top notch. Thank you!
Fascinating to watch! Beautiful workmanship.
Gorgeous work!!
Nice work! Both the bow and video. I look forward to more like this.
Beautiful work… looking forward to more videos!
Thoroughly thoroughly elegant result !
Enjoyed this! Brilliant craftsmanship
Just WOW . Amazing craftsmanship .
Amazing video. Thanks for sharing your craftsmanship.
Wow! Very beautiful bow...
Mad skills, my brother!
Oh my. I’m falling asleep. So soothing.
Awesome - What an excellent craftsman. Well done.
What a refreshing new style of TH-cam Video No BS just the right information. Awesome 👏👏
Great build!
I build bows myself but I've learned quite a bit watching you. Thanks for the upload. Look forward to the next one
That turned out great !
Beautifully crafted piece of art.
Absolutely lovely that man!
Good Gawd. That was a masterclass on how it’s done. Plus, I love a clean shop. Outstanding. I subbed.
Amazing skills and so comfortable with the camera, excellent content. Looking forward tagging along on this journey.
Dude I’m so excited to see the next video, it’s good to see you here sharing your experience with us💪🏽🤟🏽
😁🤙🏼
It's a work of art. Beautiful!!!!
Phenomenal bow! That string is incredible
Awesome talented gentleman!