Bent Arrows
Occasionally you will find a bent arrow. You can usually bend these back into shape using your hands, being careful not to use too much pressure or the arrow will snap. There are also commercial arrow-straightener, although I haven't seen one for wooden arrows.
Separated Barbs
Gently teasing them between your fingers helps them 'hook' back together.
You may not get a perfect result.
Flattened Feathers
It happens, you shoot in the wet, and your flights go haywire.
Tip: When you retrieve arrows from wet grass (as I do frequently), you should try to avoid pulling the flights through the grass, or dragging them backwards. It doesn't help if the arrow is very well embedded, sometimes you can't avoid it.
The first thing to do is to try to avoid using arrows where the flights have flattened. This will mean that they are much faster and less stable in flight, making you more likely to miss the target! Let them dry out. Preferably this should be on a flat surface with the flights sticking over the edge. You don't want to add additional pressure to the feathers by lying them directly on a surface. As the shafts will also be damp, this will help the whole arrow dry.
Caution: Do not dry too near a heat source as you're at risk of your arrows twisting.
If they have totally flattened, then you need to steam the feathers.
Warning: Take care when doing this, as you could scold yourself, or worse, cause the arrow shaft to twist!
Boil water, either in a pan or a kettle, and turn the arrow flights in the steam. The feathers should gently open and fill out again. If they don't, then let it dry and try again.
It may be that they never open fully again.
Warning: Take care when doing this, as you could scold yourself.
The final result.
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