Sweet archery

I made the effort to get my bow working again today, but it seems it’s not as simple as I expected. Or perhaps it will be simpler. First problem was the string. I took the broken piece back to the market and was sold a better replacement. This one is waxed and has a loop at one end already. He’s still selling the plain type, so I guess that’s a cheaper version for people who know what they’re doing. I imagine that he was laughing at me for thinking it could be used as is, but he was nice enough not to show it.

Next problem was the arrow tips. I notice that he’s now selling arrows with coloured threads circling the bamboo behind the fletching, but I stuck with my plain white ones. If I get mixed up with someone else, I’m sure to get the better deal anyway. I had the superglue with me, as someone had told me that it was the right way to secure the tips, but our practice session had proved that wrong. The kind shopper that translated for me, told me that I had to heat the tips to make the metal expand, then fill them with sugar, then put them on the arrow so that the sugar grips when the tip cools.

So, the next step is to buy some sugar.