Archery tools you don't know you had

Archery is a pretty niche activity and the kit we use to look after our bows is fairly specialist. A string jig or a fletching jig can't really be used for anything else. Although we guess a bow press could be used as a rack in the medieval torture sense. However the good news is there is nothing to stop us using everyday tools and items that have little connection to Toxophilia to aid in archery tasks. Sometimes they are completely logical and sometimes they can be a bit bizarre. Lets look at at three bizarre ones ..

I don't floss but my bow does ...

Once you graduate from using brass nocking points (which are heavy, metal .. \m/ .. slow your string and wear your tab alarmingly), the search is on for a more suitable material to create nocking points on your string. Now you can use nocking point thread which is quite a bit stiffer and robust than normal thread (if a little steep cost wise) - ideal for those chunky aluminium arrows. But those delicate carbons, whats best for them? Well the nocking point thread is still useful if you don't overdo it. A cheaper and even lighter option for carbons is dental floss. Dental floss is covered in wax which means it can be sealed onto the string with a little heat. Its is very light, extremely strong and can take quite a bit of wear - even when on its last legs it can still take 15 mins to get the stuff off! You can find a guide on how to tie floss nocking points in our library area.

A very sensible tool, that costs little but can save you a lot of frustration is a stitching un-picker. This tiny little dressmaking tool is designed to easily and quickly remove the stitching in hems, seams, pockets and buttons. The un-picker is made up of two features. It has a pointed tip for precise gathering of the thread for unpicking. But once you have isolated the thread, there's a sharp blade behind the point to cut the thread which you can then remove. Why is this useful? Its due to the way dental floss or serving thread is locked onto your string. These are put on (using nail varnish, hotmelt and/or heat depending the material used) to ensure the nock point stays put for as long as possible. Even when they start to fail, the nock points are usually very resistant to being removed and you do not want to be waving a knife or a pair of scissors around near your string. Cut a strand on your string means you'll lose power and the string will start to come apart. A stitching un-picker is about the safest way to remove a tied nock-point.

Another freebee tool you have at the back of a drawer is the nock removal tool .. you might know it as a "screw". Nocks being made of plastic have a tendency to break. The most annoying break you can get is where the visible part of the nock shears off, leaving the haft of the nock inside the arrow. With nothing to grab with pliers, you cant replace the nock as the back of the arrow is bunged up. So how to remove the remains? Well the screw is the star here. Nocks normally have a hollow core, so the plan is to screw the screw into the plastic haft of the broken nock then pull out with pliers. Your job here can be made easier with choosing a good size of screw so it bites into the plastic as you insert. Heating the screw so it melts its way into the plastic giving a tighter grip is even better. Just don't burn your fingers. Finally, using a rubber sheet like a jar lid remover from Lakeland or bit of an exercise band to get a good grip on the arrow, you just pull the screw and the nock haft pops out. Now just replace the nock from your spares .. you did buy spares didn't you?

So there you are. Three common everyday items that can be used to improve the quality of life for archers. If only there were common everyday items that could improve our shooting!