Making my own bowstring

Billy, a viewer of mine, sent me a load of retted flax. With the able help of my friend Mark, I make an authentic flax (linen) bowstring for my longbow. How well did it turn out? Er... well, watch and see!
Correction: while chatting, I say that the reed boat that crossed the Pacific was called the Kon-Tiki. The Kon-Tiki was a different boat also sailed by Thor Heyerdahl, which voyaged in the Pacific. The Atlantic voyage was made in the "Ra II'.
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[@Anime-Control]

A Lindybeige video about a relatively niche topic with a generally exploratory nature and a “we’ll figure it out” attitude? An instant classic

[@loso8381]

Its not two hours long :(

[@ScienceDiscoverer]

@@loso8381 The magic of time warping.

[@CottonTailJoe]

Yes

[@AmTrFilms]

Isn;t that every video of his?

[@45calibermedic]

And he knows a bit about it. Not everything, but he has some background knowledge from his study of history and archery. Just the sort of thing that stimulates wonderful discussion in the comments. We need way more of lindy explaining old words and ideas while exploring traditional and historical life.

[@HeisenbergFam]

Bro casually returned after a month just to make an authentic bowstring, respect

[@edgarbanuelos6472]

Very British the more I think about it

[@colinmackay92]

Far longer than that. His last legitimate video was many months ago. His most recent content was just the interviews. They were awesome. But this is the first classic lindybeige video in quite a while.

[@Milamberinx]

Probably filmed 5 years ago and not been edited too. Anyone an expert on ageing Beigemen?

[@CausticTitan]

Dude you are everywhere

[@VoidVagabond]

​@@CausticTitan I thought I was crazy for noticing this.

[@TreeFrogOnATree]

Can't wait for episode 6 when you raise your own standing army!

[@joeyjoejoejrshabadoo4311]

It'll be released 2 years from now like the sword forging series.

[@badusername9903]

making my own grand levee, i cant wait

[@bashkillszombies]

Episode 4,308 you mean.

[@humor86]

Only if they're still using forks!

[@crisisOstrich]

Nothing stops an arrow like a good Frenchman

[@_Mentat]

It seems to be the lot of Frenchmen to be skewered by English arrows.

[@johnmcmanus7809]

Mad Jack Churchill decided the Germans also worked well in this regard.

[@ClashClash89]

I have met multiple German seniors pocking their heads into active archery ranges… so mad jack probably had some very cooperative targets. ;p friggin nominees for the Darwin Award…

[@michaelturner2523]

And you know what the only good Frenchman is...

[@blurby]

enough flax to make a hundred bowstrings, or enough flax to try 100 methods of processing

[@PerfectAlibi1]

I go with the latter, or enough for 99 failures... XD

[@abyssaljam441]

@@PerfectAlibi1 99 failures but the bow rope ain't one

[@Gordons1888]

'Two guys who know a little bit giving it a go' That's the mentality that built the empire

[@Brave_Sir_Robin]

I think the thing I love most about this channel is how every episode is a complete roll of the dice. You never know what you’re going to get, and yet it’s always absolutely fascinating. Bravo

[@NorroTaku]

like a box of chocolate

[@galankaufmann]

Typically, bowstrings are waxed. This strenghtens the cord by sticking the fibers together, reduces fraying and waterproofs it somewhat in the bargain.

[@DStein22]

I never knew it would be entertaining to watch people make a bowstring for 40 minutes

[@GaborSzabo747]

If it's a Lindybeige video, it is interesting!

[@Logan_93]

36min

[@CR0SBO]

"Couple of guys, who know a bit, giving it at go" feels like a perfect series to enjoy. I for one will look forward to the spoon whittling episode, and the flint knapping one too of course!

[@simonspacek3670]

"How do you know that you cannot make a bowstring, if you never tried to make one?" A lot of things is quite easy (but still time consuming) if you give it a try. Can you mix concrete? Well, it is easy, just try it. On your third try you will be pretty good. Make sling from string? Well, first two or three were a bit rubbish, but the next one was good. Sew trousers? Version 4 was not bad and version 5 I had for few years until the fabric fall apart.

[@man.inblack]

If you want anything flint, chase up Phil Harding and his hat on Time Team. He’ll smash out Stone Age tools in cut off shorts.

[@Earthenfist]

@@man.inblack I'm personally a fan of Will Lorde. He's got a KZbin channel and talks about a lot of Neolithic stuff.

[@seeriktus]

Don't be afraid to leave it uncut, doing long ones like this can be kind of therapeutic

[@ivan55599]

Yes! Finally a continuity of series of "Ancient versatile crafts, as demonstrated by an incompetent".

[@tedferkin]

Mildred: Harold, you remember that strange bloke next door. He's got another bloke with him and they are hitting straw with a pretend sword then trying to make spaghetti with it A few hours later... Harold: Mildred, he seems to have used the spaghetti to make a bow now.

[@adamcetinkent]

Harold should keep an eye out.

[@grailknight6794]

​@@adamcetinkent"eye" see what you did there 👀

[@collinvickers2345]

I appreciate how genuine Lloyd is. It doesn't get any more classic than shooting a cardboard box with a homemade bow - didn't we all do that as kids? :)

[@16m49x3]

we yes. But our children will not be allowed to

[@amonickerofprofoundpretention]

@@16m49x3 you could just... allow them to?

[@16m49x3]

@@amonickerofprofoundpretention I bet the government will find a way to ban homemade bows...

[@Valkbg]

I didnt. But I did make artillery pieces out of cork and matches

[@IFarmBugs]

Cardboard boxes were rare but the apple trees had plenty of apples

[@nickharvey7233]

My Mum's family were in the linen trade in Ireland for generations (Ireland was one of the global centres of the industry). That wooden sword thing you refer to will be a scutching knife - we still have one hanging on the wall...

[@JasonKenway]

Your Merlin impression was spot on, one of my all time favourite films and soundtracks.

[@lindybeige]

I am a dream to some, and a nightmare to others.

[@Hrogthar]

YES! Been missing a classic style Lindybeige long form video. Thank you.

[@Wintermute909]

Same here!

[@thothtahuti5509]

@@Wintermute909 and here! ❤️

[@Spindlegrind]

Same… the Ukraine bollox was making me rethink subscription.

[@thothtahuti5509]

@Spindlegrind fair enough, too. I like his classic style, but I couldn't get into them, i did watch the first one and then stopped watching. I'm sure it was well intentioned, I just prefer my politics and politicians dead and in the past (*dark humor). I'm glad to see him back in his "wheel house", which oddly is almost ANYTHING else, this is the first subject he ever covered that didn't leave me riveted in the moment and more knowledgeable by the end :) ❤️

[@jphilb]

Glad I stayed to the end for the sing along.

[@Tentin.Quarantino]

Fun fact: all Englishman are imbued with unerring accuracy with a bow, provided that the target is a Frenchman.

[@Spritofjazz]

Saw this before the French invasion, thought it was a joke. I should’ve known better

[@bickyboo7789]

Does anyone know where I may acquire an archery target in the shape of a Frenchman?

[@Tentin.Quarantino]

@@bickyboo7789 why, Agincourt, of course 😁 Or France, but those ones tend to move about a bit.

[@huskiefan8950]

My wifes family is ojibwe, natives of Canada/Minnesota, and her dad told me something cool one time. He said that in the past their tribe would kill a turtle, and cut a spiral pattern around the skin of its outstretched neck(2 person job) in such a way that you ended up with a long skinny "rope". They would dry the skin, twist it tightly and tie it off, and they used that as bowstrings, successfully. It was like he was passing on some sage wisdom. That was a cool moment 😎

[@MelkisgoedvoorJan]

The fact that I have been watching your entire back catalogue this month but didnt get this new video recommended says something about the algorithm

[@KUBABUBABU]

we ❤ marks physics lessons

[@wolfkillerq9363]

Ah just in time, I was wondering how to make a bow string from scratch!

[@andytopley314]

I thought Kon-Tiki was trans -Pacific and made of logs. I believe Lloyd refers to a prior adventure of Thor Heyerdahl with the trans-Atlantic reed boat relating to Egyptians travelling to the New World.

[@atspoonermom7652]

Yes, Kon-Tiki was green balsa logs starting from Chile and sailing west with the Pacific currents. They lashed it together with hemp rope, likely originally made in a similar fashion to the flax bowstring! However, where Kon-Tiki was 1947, the Thor's reed boat voyage crossing the Atlantic was 1970, so it was later, not prior.

[@lindybeige]

Yes, the Ra-II was the boat I was referring to. I got the names mixed up. Sorry.

[@tomw86]

You randomly showed up on my suggested videos - but yet we did student radio together more than 15 years ago. Hello old friend :D

[@Bluemilk92]

Hours of flax into bowstrings. I'm having horrible Runescape flashbacks.

[@mormonboy25]

Love the casual admission of lindybeige nearly hitting the deck second time abseiling due to overconfidence. Goes to show we are all susceptible to the donning-Krueger effect

[@Bigfoot_With_Internet_Access]

We bigfoots have to make everything ourselves out here in the woods

[@maxpowers9129]

I loved this episode. Trying to do things our ancestors mastered helps show just how human and clever they really were. It's easy to act smug thinking we would know better, but the truth is very few people can replicate the level of technology from the past, and fewer still could replicate our current technology when starting from scratch.

[@shaneintheuk2026]

Replicating our current level of technology would be impossible without millions of people working together. Creating a chip fabrication plant from scratch requires a ton of other factories to create the parts.

[@himan12345678]

​@@shaneintheuk2026 the thing no one seems to get is that recreating current tech after a hypothetical collapse wouldn't be from scratch. It would be from salvage/ruins. It could be from scratch, and the more time has passed since such a collapse the more and more likely it will be from scratch. But it would most likely be from salvage. Which a single person can do. I'm currently in the process of doing electronics fabrication from salvage actually. My biggest hurdle is stealthy "dumpster diving" into landfills. Which wouldn't be an issue really in a post collapse. But if you want to counter that it took many to make those original parts, then yes. But it also takes many (not humans) to make rocks and trees and other natural materials for humans to then process. No man is an island.

[@shaneintheuk2026]

@@himan12345678 interesting and viable in the short term but longer term I think it would be extremely difficult. Once the easy salvage is gone, trying to educate the next generation becomes a massive problem. How do you get people to degree level when the population is much smaller and everyone is trying to survive. David Brin’s The Postman discusses it nicely.

[@Lanka0Kera]

Few people know the basics of past technology because people don't care about museums that try to keep the knowledge alive. I know *how to* work flax into thread because both my parents took care of a museum for common household *stuff* as it'd had been around late middle ages tech wise. Never done it myself, but I know how to - and especially *why* some parts of the process are required. I know ye-shite-tonne of past-common stuff that have absolutely no use in modern age. Taught when I was a kid, now in mid 30 a lot of them are things I'd like to actually try to make by myself just to see if I can...

[@joshuabacker2363]

@@shaneintheuk2026 Depends on how genetic intelligence was affected by a collapse and what sort of population one has to work with, and what level of knowledge or skills were retained. Salvage would make trial and error much less necessary though, because just having an example to work from is what makes it possible for non-geniuses to make things. It takes a rare and intrinsic talent to come up with, say, the idea of the printing press. But once it's been done, it's relatively easy to copy.

[@TheMightyZwom]

"I'm starting to get something a bit hair-like" Not only this, but it's also beige!

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

I've read the books. But Arny is so iconic in that role it's so hard to seperate the character from the actor.

[@Munisk52]

I absolutely adore your "lets just try it and figure it out" approach sir, thats after all how learning is done best!

[@Wintermute909]

Im so glad we're back to normal vids.

[@BlookbugIV]

What were the not normal videos? I’ve not been keeping up.

[@13goodbye]

Constructive suggestion: spin thin strings of full length flax furst, then ply several together ( opposit spin) then there will be no joins and enough twist onnthe fibres to lake them stable. Can spin with a drop spindle or a long stick rolled along the thigh

[@therealcarlxii]

I didn´t know that it was called "abseiling" in English. As a native German speaker it´s always funny for me to hear German words in the middle of an English conversation

[@NewcastleFlyer]

Nice to see my former physics teacher again

[@sdd4735]

have a feeling he likes lasers

[@lindybeige]

Your feelings are accurate.

[@lesliefranklin1870]

Keeping civil while you string us along. Great first attempt. By the 100th bowstring, I'm sure it'll look professional.

[@ConnorLandonFreeman]

I'm not five minutes in yet, but this is already amazing. Lloyd denies us a video for a million years, then makes one about bloody bowstrings! The man is a hero!

[@Henri.d.Olivoir]

Wake up babe, Lindybeige released a new video

[@nodrog302]

Lmao. Was think exactly that and ready to type but you beat me to it.

[@meyr1992]

everyone knows lindy’s viewers consist only of the male variant of the humans

[@Henri.d.Olivoir]

@@nodrog302 lol

[@Henri.d.Olivoir]

@@meyr1992 yes

[@BlookbugIV]

body pillows aren’t sentient

[@siprus]

Authentic bowstrings were often coated with beeswax. Modern sorce often state that this is to protect the string from water, but it might also help to bind the strings together.

[@crapphone7744]

You have the best viewers, ever. I love that a viewer just sent you the raw materials randomly. He knew you couldn't resist trying it. As hard as the work looked, it sure beats following the north end of a south bound ox pulling a plow. Better a journeyman than a peasant.

[@krystallinecestmoneau1358]

it's so nice that Lindy is still making great videos since all this time , his videos have been a companion of mine for a while now , and I like it !

[@AngloSaxonWheatFarmer]

This is the beautiful thing about newcastle, the history, the lovely buildings. and knowing somewhere among us Loyd is making bowstrings his back garden

[@khodexus4963]

On the Conan anecdote, what you said is actually incorrect. Arnold got cast because he was the only body builder who DIDN'T have to lose weight to lift his arms because he had been training in a slightly different way that allowed him to retain more flexibility than was typical of body builders of the time.

[@lindybeige]

I have heard this said specifically of Arnie and Conan.

[@gazzatron9956]

I would have loved Lindy to be my history teacher

[@egallagher41]

Welcome back "Lindy" we missed you🤠

[@consoya]

With sprinkles of trivia and anecdotes, love it.

[@rickfordmorningstar130]

That you RP Warhammer absolutely makes my day.

[@konsyjes]

I wonder what people used to pre-stretch the string during the middle ages, if anything; to stress it until it settles. Your accuracy is very gratifying to watch ;)

[@piotrektiger8633]

Truly some great impressions😆

[@zetachaox]

STRICTLY NO MUTTERING "I wasn't muttering! I was just mumbling!"

[@wobblysauce]

Sent you enough for a bow string… and many attempts.

[@GavTatu]

there are some great vids of old gents making flax.... its amazing ! conan... i read so many when i was 12/13 year old... i was enthralled !

[@ethelredhardrede1838]

That was not only the best Nicole Williamson impression I have ever heard, its the only one.

[@JoeyVol]

Love ya, Lindy 👋 You’re someone I’ve routinely searched for once every few months for almost a decade now. Here’s to the decades yet to come! 🍻

[@perfumedmanatee6235]

Threats of friendly cooperation. Devious.

[@BlackTess-1666]

That was a brilliant Nicol Williamson impersonation.

[@leemasters3592]

@SallyPointer has some great videos on making cordage from plant fibres. Also some on repairing knitwear which might also interest you @Lindybeige considering your collection of lovely knit jumpers.

[@j.q.higgins2245]

What a forking hell of work! Based on the foliage in the background and on the progress you made, it dawned on me that you must have recorded this video in early autumn... ... of 2018. 😂 Well done!

[@gluehoof573]

This is one short step away from watching two middle-aged men braid each other's hair for half an hour. I couldn't look away.

[@collinvickers2345]

It seems likely to me that our ancestors would have used a hackle kit and carding comb for this sort of thing, but it looks like a pair of dining forks will work in a pinch.

[@abyssaljam441]

they just had to wait for the fork to be invented first?

[@Logan_93]

Lindy you were right about the composer. It was Basil!

[@radosaworman7628]

excellent end card

[@pandakicker1]

Ohhhh Lindybeige, I always love your goofiness. Please never stop being yourself. Blessings and hugs from Texas!

[@Waster_War_Boss]

Excellent video as always thank you

[@hodgeman]

I made a trash bow from a tree branch, strong elastic and some real arrows.... it went dangerously far, all the way across the park (was much more careful after the first launch). The branches break, but are easily replaceable.

[@teamidris]

That moment when you find yourself explaining to the postman that it is flax and not the pelt of cousin It :o)

[@Luddite1]

I love the fact that you did a survival course where the squaddies were deferring to you regarding orienteering and yet you trusted them to set up the ropes which you used to abseil !!! Your a brave man sir I salute you

[@WalterBurton]

Mark is a real trooper.

[@Severalangrybees]

This kind of content is a favourite for me. Watching you try stuff out is great

[@user-po4ct5rq3w]

Another use of tow was to load dueling pistols with when you want to get rid of your troublesome nephew.

[@Logan_93]

Gosh, if i were a make-a-wish kid, my wish would be to spend one day nerding out with Lindybeige.

[@rbrooke2379]

Now this is the beige content I love

[@joshuawalker301]

Seeing him with friends it's always great. 😃

[@DmncPalm]

Thank you for the video, Sir Beige

[@adwarfsittingonagiantsshoulder]

Intersting topic. It seemed like eons passed since the last upload from Lloyd, glad to see him back ! I hav'nt done any bowstring for years, and those where made out of dynema or fastflight... really cool to see one made out of natural fibers. Even with modern materials, I needed loads of trial and error and a lot of time to make, so I'm very impressed by this video ! As alwais this channel is full of suprises and a lot of fun to watch.

[@Pillowcase]

For the first 15 minutes I was thinking a violin bow, and was slightly surprised Lindy also plays violin.

[@haldir108]

This isn't a podcast, and that's a deliberate choice. I wonder at the things that could have been.

[@RealMoukeycat]

If this is an example of "Bush craft" I keep wondering if the forks were naturally sourced. I tend to doubt it. It's the wrong time of year in England for the forks to be ripe.

[@blunderingfool]

We have these wonderful inventions called greenhouses, I had a haul of spoons in the dead of winter last year!

[@RealMoukeycat]

@blunderingfool so you're telling us it wasn't true bush craft. I was imagining Lindy went on a long walk in the countryside to sorce the forks. But all he did was pop into the garden.

[@LeBiggles]

Me wondering why Lloyd uploaded a video at 1am but what does it matter, it's a proper Lloyd crafting video.

[@aewtech]

I used context clues to determine abseiling is British for rappelling!

[@lindybeige]

Oh yes! I edited that bit out, sorry. I meant to leave it in. Whoops.

[@bashkillszombies]

Tow is MUCH stronger than regular flax. It's also what duck is made out of (well, was, now almost all duck is fake, and / or cotton). It's where a tow rope comes from.

[@ginojaco]

You need finer fibres, to twine them more tightly, neater joining in, and then... double up the fine twine to make a thicker twine.

[@t.r.l.4377]

Finaly the "old" lindybeige is back!

[@mojom.9221]

Our Beige Saint has returned. Hello Again Lindybeige. Glad to see you again.

[@hawkeyesgirl2244]

I think if you guys had info on flax to linen processing it might have been helpful at the beginning. When he described the tools he needed it made me think of this immediately. Rope or yarn the processing overlaps! Love for this channel! ❤

[@rogersmith7396]

Washer rollers for the first part then a spinning wheel.

[@adamcetinkent]

Good to know that even the most respectable house has a mangey old Sainsbury's bag for life in the corner of the garden.

[@mattfleming86]

It has been an absolutely hellish week.. I needed this. Thanks Lindy!

[@anth2300]

These flax were grown on my allotment 👍😊

[@KronosGodwisen]

What I really appreciate is going to that extra step to test it against wizardry.

[@Runenmensch]

There I was, thinking I couldn't like you more and now you share your love of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay! Absolutely love it 😄 Bummer that talk did get cut

[@piokul]

You can also make very strong string from nettle. In a more bushcraft and less agricultural setting. Nice greenish colour!

[@Par-Crom]

Apparently, the best period to gather them would be in May - June. You can cook nettles to make delicious soup too !

[@heraldreichel1971]

There used to be a process called "London Shrinking". Possibly anachronistic both ways, but probably people knew about textile shrinking and what it does before it was an industrial process? Some people in the 1400s certainly knew that a wet rope tied to a boat would pull it off a sandbank when it dried where manpower had failed.

[@williamreed9590]

Thanks for your footage. I was recently tasked with making a primative bow and string at an American Mountain Man event. It worked marvelously.

[@PaulojnPereira]

The Chumping Thing that Katchumps. Reminds me of my former Woodworking teacher naming all his jigs.

[@nobodyanderson4353]

Loved the frenchmen.

[@EightFaun]

We love you Lindybeige!

[@ianhelyar9553]

14:40 grunting in an Austrian accent! Well done Lindy!

[@mjp152]

"I have a wooden sword and an assortment of forks" - dear god, I love this channel...

[@isiTsotsi]

He's double forkin it ladies and gents.

[@filmfan4]

I like the Merlin impression!