Is there anyone here who knows a source for sweetland forgewood shafts? I would like to find some before I'm too old to be able to use them,I am pushing 75 years so I am running on borrowed time already.GOD BLESS.

I know a few folks on here have'em, but they will not sell, or spines too heavy, or price too high if they will sell. They are the best, but ???

Pm sent

I believe the equipment was sold and the shafts will be made available again.

Lucas: I partly disagree with you. The equipment has been sold, but the shafts will never be made available again. Bill Sweetland made the statement many years ago that the only material that his shaft could be made of was POC, because of its unique properties, the oil within the POC when subject to heat and pressure becomes a glue that holds the shaft in compression. Other woods do not have that ability. He came to that conclusion because of the research his father did during the first world war, trying to make armor for the US military. Other woods would compress but would no stay in compression for any length of time. The forgewood shaft was the result of his fathers research!

Bob

I donated a dozen to the PBS banquet. Go there in 2 weeks and bid on them!

Or go to Alaska frontier archery and buy new ones. They still have a lot of stock.

I think the new ones are alaskan hemlock or something. Someone needs to make osage shafts. That would be the bomb

Last I read here or ? The equipment was rusting away in some storage barn. That hemlock wasn’t popular when it was offered back in the 90’s. Even if, and it’s a big if, the machines were made to work agian you’re looking at a start up cost of close to 100K. And that’s doing it on the cheap. Got to sell a ton of shafts to recoup that to a group that maybe is 10-15% of the archery industry. I wouldn’t hold my breathe.

Thanks all.I will check out the website.GOD BLESS.

There may still be some shafts available from Alaska Frontier Archery, but, as Bob pointed out, they're not made of POC. I believe it was Alaskan Hemlock or something like that, as Mr. Swhweister notes.

Jack Harrison, one of the three partners who bought the equipment from Bill Sweetland, got a development grant from the state of Alaska provided for developing indigenous businesses. Thus, the choice of an Alaskan wood. They made pretty good shafts, but they were even heavier physically than Sweetland forgewoods of the same size.

The shafts that Killbuck is talking about are the Alaskan made forgewoods. I've seen them. Nice shafts.

Sweetland forgewoods are excellent shafts. I've collected them over the years from 50# to more than a hundred pounds in spine. I have some 70# spines that are as skinny as my Easton Axis carbon shafts, even skinnier on the tapered nock end of the arrow -- 7/16. Don't really want to sell any. Good luck in your search.

One other note. I haven't seen any of the Alaska produced shafts in diameters smaller than 5/16. Don't know if they made them smaller or not. That is pretty small, and one probably doesn't need to go to a smaller diameter, but a lot of Sweetland shafts were smaller yet.

BTW, I mistyped in my previous post. The nock end of my skinniest Sweetlands are 7/32, not 7/16.

Too bad that somebody doesn't refurbish the equipment and get to cranking out the FORGEWOODS. AMAZING ARROWS! Remember reading about them in BOW & ARROW (??)

I went to the ALASKA FRONTIER ARCHERY site and came away confused? In one way, it sounds like AFA is continuing the FORGEWOOD process, but when You check on shaft pricing, it SOUNDS like a going out of business sale. Anybody got BETTER INFO??

Bought some shafts from AFA about a year ago. A little pricey. Finished arrow is 796 with 125 up front. They use mountain mohogony.

I have a dozen fletched that were too short for a friend who found them on eBay...they are really nice shafts and incredibly stiff for the diameter. Given the scarcity it is hard to find them and harder still to get folks to part with them. Craigslist and eBay are the best bets and you need to know how to recognize them.

When I was a kid and just beginning to bowhunt back in the 1950s my dad bought me some Sweetland compressed cedar shafts to make into arrows. They were the "Battleshaft" grade (a lessor grade than the "Forgewoods"). As I recall that's what a lot of fellows in the club shot back then. Seems to me too there was another grade of the compressed cedar arrows made by Bill Sweetland,...a grade other then "Forgewood", or "Battleshaft". Anybody recall this? Was the top grade the "Supreme"? I don't remember for sure, does anyone know?

I'm not aware of more than two grades. I have some shipping tags around somewhere, but don 't remember where I put them. I remember that some of them say battleshafts.

I doubt POC forgewoods will ever be made again. On the supply side, there just isn't that much POC available, at least not inexpensively. On the demand side, an awful lot of folks are and have moved to carbon arrows. If forgewoods were made again, they would be expensive to make and the market of people interested in and willing to pay the price would be small. I would be one of them, though.

The Alaskan Hemlock did not compress as much as cedar. Using my old and somewhat faulty memory mine were 65# spine and when made up to an arrow with broadhead they were 750 gr at 28.5"and 11/32" Very tough shaft. I shot one with broadhead into the cement basement wall 6 times from 20 feet with 65# bow the shaft finally buckled behind the head but did not break.

Ive bought several dz. shafts from Alaska Frontier archery very nice shafts!! they are compressed mountain hemlock, using the same equipment as Sweetland!!!!! they are 5/16th shafts and mine have maintained that diameter!!! they make a heavy arrow, so if you don't want that then wounld'nt be for you! spines are from 60lbs all the way up to 100lbs. last time I looked! Its stated on the web page that the shafts are Battle shafts which were the lesser quality!! however my experience has been that quality wise they are better than anything out there nowdays!!!If you can shoot a heavy bow over 70lbs and want a good wood shaft give them a try!! you will end up with a 700+ gr. arrow, and they are nearly indestructible!! most of the posts on here are just guys blabbing to hear themselves talk, and know nothing!! go to the web page and read___!!!! then make your own determination!!!!!!

No need for the Zinger, TT. I didn't see a comment on here that was critical of the Alaska Supply forgewoods.

Of course, some of us have only been shooting sticks for 60 years or so, including Sweetland forgewoods as well as those made by Alaskan Archery Supply. No way could we have as much knowledge as someone who has actually bought a few dozen of the latter.

Sheesh.

BTW, that Web page information has been up and available for folks to read for about 20 years. Glad you found it.

Orion, FYI I have a little more experience than buying a few shafts! Been bowhunting since I was 15yrs old. and just turned 73 yrs young last Nov. I'm sure you have a vast store of knowledge!! Sorry I ruffled your feathers not directed at you!! But it seems there is always a lot of misinformation passed on these threads!!! I have read the web site several times, but didn't know its been available online that long 20yrs? I wish more people would read it before responding with a post that's not correct??

I thought that the AFA web page said bow weights starting at 50 pounds? Did I miss something?? Sorry if I gave bad info.

Understood, TT. We're all just trying to do our best. I got a little carried away in my response as well. I apologize.

Being from Myrtle point Or, just a couple miles from the Home of Rose city Archery. Port Orford cedar is still widely available. There are a couple mills here that cut it. The problem is that the best comes from down aged trees, and a lot of that is on private and timber owned property. Rose city as an employer is subsidized by the government, meaning they are guaranteed timber bids to this wood. plus the private contacts that they have. I doubt that they will ever run out of wood. Wapiti Archery gets theirs from privately owned land mostly. There are lots of Port Orford still out there, it's just that the best comes from downed aged trees, and a lot of that is in private ownership.

I have an original Sweetland sales brochure and dealer price list from the late 50's or early 60's.

According to the original literature that I have, there were actually 4 different grades of Forgewood shafts...

-Supreme Grade

-Battleshaft Grade

-Hunter Grade

-Practice Grade

I'm a little swamped right now, but I'll post some pics of everything later today when I get a chance.

It's pretty cool!

You guys might cry a little when you see the prices though.

If we only had a time machine...lol

Brochure front cover...

Very interesting. Thanks, Brandon. Most of my forgewoods are 9/32 to 1/4 or 5/16 to 9/32. I had thought their 30- or 31-inch length meant that someone else had shortened them before I got them. Nice to know that's the factory length.

Had some 11/32 shafts a few years ago that spined more than 100#. Sold them to a fella who shot bows a lot heavier than mine.

The finish and grain on all of my shafts seems excellent. Don't know how I might differentiate them re the various qualities, i.e., supremes, battleshafts, hunters.

One set has a textured finish, however. Don't know what that means. Battleshafts, perhaps? I know at least one of the tags I got with this set of shafts did say Battleshafts on it. Sure wish I cojld remember where I placed those tags.

BTW, those head shrinkers were another ingenious invention. Though one can mount a 11/32 ferule broadhead on the skinny shafts, it uses an extra 1/4-1/2-inch of arrow length inside the ferule and looks kind of weird. The 15-grain head shrinkers solves those problems, and, because of their positioning, may even strengthen the connection.

Thanks Brandon! Anyone have a Forgewood fish arrow, I have not seen one?

There is a company I can't remember the name that supposed to be selling them this spring or summer. I think the company is in canada.they have a website and Facebook page.just can't remember the name. Don't know what wood is used.

New never shot. Hunters

Came with Bear Razorheads installed. Order form just like the above is in the box.

I have a dozen Battleshafts.

Here's some pictures of the box and labels and an arrow.

They came with Bear Razorheads mounted on Headshrinkers. I pulled the greenies and mounted target points. Good thing I did as the glue was pooched.

Here's the fletching and cresting.

Now the cool parts...the box label.

The re-order card...it indicates a weight of 460-479 but on the box the owner wrote they were 584 grains total weight. Must have been with the head weight included.

It's a miracle these thing worked at all being they were intended for 50-55 lb. bows!! With 584 grains in a 55# bow they were much too light to penetrate anything by today's standards! No "momentum!" ;>)

Here's the box...owner's name and intended purpose...I have all 12 and they seem unscathed so seems he never connected with these.

They are a fantastic arrow to shoot but I would feel lousy if I busted one up killing a deer. But I may give it a shot one day, hope for a solid pass through and spend the 30 minutes waiting to take up the trail cleaning it up!

Hey, you should never, ever feel lousy from busting one of those treasures. For a very reasonable fee I can keep watch over them for you, and guarantee that YOU will never bust one.... (heh heh heh...)

Really- Great find; but I actually need about 70 - 75 lb. spine and at least 30".

Hello guys, I’m Surewood Bob, one of the owners of Surewood Shafts and I live in Eugene, OR, home of Bill Sweetland and Sweetland Archery. When I was a 15 year old kid (now 71), I visited Bill’s shop many times and eventually became good friends with Bill. Several posts about Bill (Bob Burton) are very accurate, and I can add a little more. One day, I asked Bill why he stopped making his compressed arrows. He said “two reasons; one, you guys quit buying them and #2, I couldn’t get the quality of wood I wanted. Understand that Bill was an absolute perfectionist and demanded the absolute best. Obviously, hundreds of thousands of cedar shafts have been made since Bill quit making Forgewoods. I have been lucky and have been able to get my hands on a few dozen of Bill’s arrows. My good friend Dave Doran was a very close friend of Bill’s and unquestionably had more knowledge of Bill’s process than anyone I know. Unfortunately, Dave passed away almost a year ago now. Here are a few pics of my collection.

Beautiful arrows. I see there are some head shrinkers on the box in the middle.

Yes, and I still have a dozen head shrinkers that I bought from Jay St Charles a few years ago. I can’t bring myself to hunt or even shoot these arrows. Such a big part of Oregon Archery history. I want people to enjoy them long after I’m no longer able to do so.

Most of the Forgewood arrows I've found over the years needed new feathers and refinishing, so that's what I did with them. Also managed to find a fair number of bare shafts. So, my arrows don't follow the Forgewood color/cresting patterns.

I do use them. I have this uncanny ability to lodge the arrow in the off side shoulder. When I do that, the buck usually breaks it off on the run. I guess I consider that as good as any way for the arrow to go. Of course, on slightly more broadside shots, I usually get a pass through.

Also carry a steel tipped blunt for a practice shot now and then or for small game when the opportunity presents itself. Really hurts when I break a Forgewood on an unseen rock. (A direct or glancing hit on a rock is about the only thing that will break them.) It's happened a few times. I try to be real careful in picking my shots.

At my age (almost 72) and the rate at which I've been using them, I believe I have a lifetime supply with some to pass on to the next generation. :>)

Meant to ask, do any of the arrows you have show a very modest texture, and, if so, can you associate that with a particular grade?

Pretty sure all of mine are the supreme. Well, that’s not entirely true. I have a few hundred old Sweetland arrows that I got from a local Community College here in Eugene. They stopped offering archery classes and were told to just get rid of all the bows and arrows. Fortunately for me, my brother was supervising the PE department, so I got a lot of the stuff. They are painted full length and lots of broken nocks and missing fletch. I have completely stripped them and refinished them for my grandsons and they look great. Some of my heavy spine supremes were just bare shafts, so my good friend David Lawson from Wilderness Custom Arrows made them up for me. I had him duplicate the cresting and fletching from some original Forgewoods, so they look identical.

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