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Crossbows - Everything about Building, Modding, and Using your Crossbow Gear

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» 12th Century Chinese Crossbow Chronographed
by stuckinthemud1 Fri Nov 24, 2023 3:50 pm

» Crossbow Stock
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» Colletiere a Charavines continuing experiment
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» [solved]Skane/Lillohus crossbow thread
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» jens sensfelder
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by Andy. Fri Jan 06, 2023 12:29 pm

» Wood Prods
by stuckinthemud1 Fri Dec 30, 2022 12:47 pm

» Colletiere a Charavines crossbow
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» Fiberglass H-bows
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» Bad Antler
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» Anyone make their own bolts?
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» Qin/Han lock drawings
by kenh Fri Sep 23, 2022 8:16 pm

» stirrup dimensions?
by stuckinthemud1 Thu Sep 01, 2022 1:49 pm

» Skane/Lillohus lockbow information needed
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» need help contacting le musee Dauphinois Grenoble
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+2
kenh
mac
6 posters

    Secret techniques and processes

    mac
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    Secret techniques and processes Empty Secret techniques and processes

    Post by mac Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:16 am

    I am interested in hearing peoples feelings about "trade secrets" in modern medieval crafts.

    Do you have any proprietary processes that you do not reveal?
    Do you know others who have secret processes?

    Please feel free to elaborate.

    Mac
    kenh
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    Secret techniques and processes Empty Re: Secret techniques and processes

    Post by kenh Thu Feb 14, 2013 8:20 pm

    Trying to keep a craft-secret today seems pretty futile.

    In mostly pre-literate times things were passed down by word of mouth from master to apprentice and keeping other craftsmen from knowing everything you knew made sense that 'knowledge is power'.

    When craft guilds came along the secrets weren't so secret except within a given guild. No mason cared how a tanner did what he did and vice versa; but a master mason cared that any journeyman he hired had a certain craft-standard knowledge base and knew how do do certain things.

    What matters to most people today isn't the process; but rather the end result. I don't care what you do or how, but will what you make do what you claim it will?

    The secret to really good Coq au Vin isn't the wine. It's a really old chicken cooked low and slow. At least in America we seldom see a chicken more than a year old; much too young to make good Coq au Vin.
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    Secret techniques and processes Empty Re: Secret techniques and processes

    Post by Geezer Thu Feb 14, 2013 8:27 pm

    Trade secrets? Nope, don't have any and don't believe in 'em. If there was some really hard-to-get material, I might sit on a source... though currently I don't have any of those either. What you see is what you get, and if you wanna know how I did something, all you have to do is ask. Geezer
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    Secret techniques and processes Empty Re: Secret techniques and processes

    Post by Hotspur Fri Feb 15, 2013 12:02 am

    I look forward to gleaning the ‘trade secrets’ with the next project.

    Back in the 60s my dad made a crossbow based on that old Popular Mechanics article from 1944 -

    http://www.vintageprojects.com/archery/crossbow-leaf-spring.pdf

    I recall it was quite the work of art despite his limited source material. As a 21st century 'web-hobbiest', my main problem is assimilating a near infinite amount of info, like drinking from a fire hose.
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    Secret techniques and processes Empty Re: Secret techniques and processes

    Post by stoneagebowyer Fri Feb 15, 2013 2:31 am

    Mac, I do know a craftsman who does have some closely guarded secrets. He is an atlatal and dark maker. He has developed some proprietary method of heat treating wooden and cane darts, and is very closed mouthed about it. I think it is more a personality quirk of his, rather than his fear that a host of dart makers will steal his ideas and market share, though.
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    Secret techniques and processes Empty Re: Secret techniques and processes

    Post by panne Fri Feb 15, 2013 7:42 am

    i'm not one to withhold any "secrets". i only keep the secret long enough for me to complete the first one and get the kinks out. if i figure out a different way to get something done, i'm more than willing to share. i don't worry about someone making money from what i share, since most of what i do is tedious and time consuming. i know how long it takes and what it costs. if they do it correctly, then sell it for less than i do, they usually won't last long. projects built for the love of it and projects built for profit seldom coexist in one object.

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