Turkish thumb rings?

[Rhinegold]

Almost all of the thumb rings Ive seen in pics and videos are of this type, with the lip oriented toward the thumb nail:

http://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/images/thumbrings/lipped.jpg

But in flipping through 'The Book of the Crossbow' (which has a small section on Turkish bows) I came across this illustration showing an old style with the lip oriented backwards so that the draw weight is pulling the ring forward, instead of against the pad of the thumb.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=ippFTALwyV8C&pg=RA2-PA14&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U3cVDa3LGQhRT5-NgImmUIQ8D8UgQ&w=685

Has anyone tried to use this style...comments?

[Shadow Walker]

Never used either one. I intended on making one but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Rhinegold]

The article also mentions that old Turkish arrows often had PARCHMENT vanes...never heard of that one either!

What other cultures have used animal hides for this purpose???

[medicinewheel]

I heard of parchment being use for flightbows on turkish arrows (not a 100% sure, but parchment has been used somewhere, that's for sure),

BUT...

NEVER EVER use a thumbring with the lip backwards (see 'Kay's thumbring book'), because it will break or even rip off your thumb if the string gets behind it! Imagine a 150# hornbow...and the string gets stuck....pain....P A I N !!!!!!

[medicinewheel]

That second link did not open for me at first, now it did:
That's absolutely dangerous, to do it that way; the illustrator had no glue what a thumbring looks like, even!!!! No figure shows a correct position of the thumb, either!

The first link shows a correct picture; the lip is to protect the tip of your thumb.


If you ever want to try: at least read Kay's book first, or better, go ask someone to show you how it works!

[Rhinegold]

the illustrator had no clue what a thumbring looks like, even!!!!

Quite possibly...the book was first published in 1903. Here it is in its entirety:

http://books.google.ca/books?id=ippFTALwyV8C&dq=the+book+of+the+crossbow&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=wqXeSoL4FMSg8AbEsthu&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false

[shikari]

I second what medicinewheel said,never shoot with the lip back with a thumbring.I make my own from water buff horn and get a crisp relese.They did use parchment on flight arrows but not often,it was also used as a covering for the bows ,more like a canvas for the decorations before the final polishing.Incidentaly a lot of the mughal bows had raw goathide and some were painted directly over the hideglue  and then polished.

[JBL]

The only way I shoot now is with a thumb ring.  One thing I can tell you is the fit of the ring is the most important aspect of the thumb draw.  If it does not fit right you could/will hurt yourself.  Different cultures had different types of rings in shape and in material used.  Some like the Chinese are just cylindrical rings others are tear dropped and very heavy looking, many are small tear dropped and some have grooves.  The ancient Turkish texts recommend leather thumb rings becaise the release is even smoother than with other material.  Once you get used to the ring and feel comfortable with it, it is actually more "natural" than fingers.

[Rhinegold]

The ancient Turkish texts recommend leather thumb rings because the release is even smoother than with other material. 

How thick would the leather have to be?