Category Archives: Our Products

Uses for Thunderbird Atlatl’s Hafting Resin New Video

Not quite a 100 ways of what you can do with Thunderbird Atlatl’s hafting resin but Bob Berg shows several uses in this new You Tube video on our Thunderbird Atlatl channel.

Thanks to Peter Berg for taking the time to put this video together. Thunderbird Atlatl’s hafting resin is available in packets of two cubes or in larger packages of 10 cubes.

Hafting Resin

Happy Thanksgiving! Get ready for the holidays! Thanks22 Coupon!

Happy Thanksgiving! Over the busy holiday weekend through Monday, November 28, take some time and check out some of new items in our online catalog. We will be working on continually updating the catalog over the weekend as we prepare for the holiday season.

If you are ready to order before the holiday rush, we are offering a 10 percent coupon discount for orders of $100 or more through midnight Monday, Nov. 28. Just write in THANKS22 in the coupon section as you check out! The discount only applies to items purchased and does not include shipping.

Arrowhead Earrings, sinew, adhesives, large packs of hafting resin and, of course, our wide, variety of quality atlatls and darts!

Remember to check over the weekend for specials and new additions and save 10% by using the THANKS22 coupon.

Atlatl & Dart Kit Building- great winter time activity

Atlatl and dart building workshops are a great way to spend your winter hours! Thunderbird Atlatl offers several types of atlatl and dart kits in our online catalog.

With kits, you are able to save money and finish your own atlatl the way you want. You can put your own personal imprint or design on an atlatl you made. Fletching darts can be a little tricky but we offer videos on both finishing our atlatl kits and fletching

Kits can be purchased individually or if you have a group of five or more, we offer bulk rates for kits. Give us a call at 1-800-836-4520 or email us at contact@thunderbirdatlatl.com for more information.

In the pictures below, Interpretive Naturalist Kelley Morgan offers an atlatl & dart building workshop at Mounds State Park in Anderson, Indiana. Thank you Kelley for the pictures and for leading the workshops. More information about programs offered by the Indiana department of Natural Resources-Division of State Parks can be found on their webpage.

New tutorial videos for our Atlatl Kits

We have recently added new tutorial videos where Bob Berg explains how to put together our most popular atlatl kits: the Catatonk, Catatonk Hunter, Kanakadea and Nanticoke. (All of our kits are available to purchase in the Shop.)

Now you can follow along step-by-step as Bob shows you how to put your atlatl kit together.

You can find the videos (with accompanying text instructions) under the “Kit Tutorials” heading to the left. They’re also right here:

 

Kanakadea Atlatl Kit

 

Nanticoke Atlatl Kit

 

Catatonk Atlatl Kit & Catatonk Hunter Atlatl Kit

Premium Bamboo Darts Crafted in the Thunderbird Atlatl Shop

Our individually made premium bamboo darts are state of the art and the best you can get, with our money back, no questions asked guarantee, just like all the rest of Thunderbird Atlatl products.

I start with bamboo that I select myself from cultivated stands of Japanese Arrow Cane often called Yadake, grown in Georgia, USA. Each shaft is carefully selected, sun dried, then fire straightened and trimmed. The outer skin is scraped off, the node area is filed smooth, and then the shafts are reheated and straightened once again. After that the shafts are sanded then polished. The finished shaft is a golden brown with a lustrous copal varnish finish that is applied to the finely polished shafts. I make the copal varnish myself using traditional techniques and materials. I use many of the same techniques used in making Kyudo arrows.

The Japanese bamboo used in making these darts is one of the finest natural dart materials that we have worked with. The way I fasten the conical copper points directly onto the ends of the shaft without an intervening fore shaft has proven to be the most effective method, both for accuracy and durability. We have found through experimentation that darts that are designed with a joint, where the fore shaft and main shaft come together, have an inherent weakness. We have experienced that darts with fore shafts generally fail at the joint. We have chosen to avoid fore shafts in favor of accuracy and durability.

At the spur end of the dart shaft is a fiber binding that creates an attractive and durable dimple that is finished in pigmented copal varnish. The fletching is wrapped with fine silk thread and glued. I finish by trimming the feathers with sharp scissors to create a very fine dart. –Bob Berg

Atlatl Bamboo Darts ready for fletching at the Thunderbird Atlatl shop. Check out the finish.
Atlatl Bamboo Darts ready for fletching at the Thunderbird Atlatl shop. Check out the finish.