D bows & BOM

[El Destructo]

 I realized that there are only 30 or 40 people voting for BOM, and they're probably pretty much the same 30-40 people each month, so the bows that are chosen are really just the choices of a handful of friends about each others' bows.

                                                                              ..........

[Dane]

Well, here we go.

[Hillbilly]

Let's play nice, now. I think some people take the contest a bit too seriously-to me, it's just a fun way to share our work with each other. I've won it before and it didn't change my life in any way or make beautiful women throw themselves at me en masse or cause dumptruck loads of hundred-dollar bills to show up in my driveway. Me just like to look at the purty bows. There have been some good thoughts covered. One thing I agree with is a crappy photo can shoot you down in a hurry. If I can't see the tiller or any details of the bow, I don't look at it much no matter how nice it may be. If your bow was worth spending a hundred hours of work to make, it deserves more than thirty seconds spent shooting a random pic against a cluttered background in the dark with a cellphone. Different things catch my eye, too. I love me a snakeskin-backed osage recurve as good as the next guy, but I've seen so many of them that they don't catch my eye as quickly as a well-made bow from some species of wood that isn't commonly used, or a different style of bow, a well-made replica, etc. A nice bow made from a difficult, knotty, twisty, piece of wood that I know involved weeks of work to get finished impresses me more than a three-hour bow bandsawed from a board with rasp marks still on it. One thing that often gets my vote, too, is a good-quality bow made by someone who hasn't made hundreds of bows. We all know people who can turn out nice'uns by the truckload without breaking a sweat, but it's an accomplishment worth rewarding for a person who is newer to the game to make a bow that gets your attention. The type of bow isn't as important to me as the overall level of craftsmanship, and how well it is designed and tillered for the type of bow it is. Finish work does help, it shows that you think enough of the weapon you just created to take the time and effort to make it all it can be. If you don't care enough about it to at least spend the effort to sand the tool marks out, I'm probably not going to put the effort into voting for it. Crude and primitive are two totally different things.

[sailordad]

in my humble opinion
BOM is just a beauty/popularity contest.it seems that there is a constant in the contest.
mot "D" bows look more primitive than bows that have pistol style grips,fancy tips and recurves,snake skins etc.
if certain individuals make a bow(you know it will be pretty) and they are almost guaranteed to win
why is this,well like i said.they make pretty bows,which in turns makes them popular so they get votes
pretty bows dont always corolate to good shooters
that why i dont enter bows(when i make one)
i like bows that are functional,that doesnt always corolate to pretty.
even though i dont post a lot of pics(anymore) i still make bows,just finished one,got three more in the works
most times if i post a pic,its a bow i am working on and have a question.
i dont feel a need to post lots and lots of finished pics.i have never been much of a people person or one that realy cares what others think
as long as i like my bow,and the person i am giving it to likes it,thats all that matters.not to mention i dont have access to snake skins and antlers for overlays.
so tha fanciest part of mine is usually the tongue oil finish.

as far as polishing a turd goes.
well i think the ROLLING STONES said it best
"you cant polish a turd,but you can varnish it"

[half eye]

Man I'm lovin this. Ya say the contest is just for fun but man there's a lot of hackles up in the air. I don't even know who dreamed up the categories cause they sure aint the same as anybody else's. This stupid old man allways thought there were self bows, backed bows, and "compound" bows (what you guys call laminates). Never knew if ya back a bow with sinew, skins, silk, canvas and all the rest it's a self bow.....but god forbid ya back it with wood and all of a sudden yer into laminate territory..........I think it's funny as all get out.

Supposedly there is near 3,400 members on this site so how come ya never hear nothin from most of 'em? Just a few people ( me amoungst 'em) If everything is as friendly as everybody keeps saying how come most of the new guys are askin for help with their hat in thier hand, or not at all? Thought the site was supposed to be for sharing information with like minded people, not how far up the flagpole ya can pee. That's exactly what any "contest" is about, otherwise it wouldn't be called a contest. When ya win something over 20 or so people all that gets you is being a big fish in a real little pond.

I really hope everybody keeps speakin up, got to run, turds need polishing dont ya know.
Rich Rousseau
half eye

[KenH]

Hey Rich;  did you catch Mythbusters awhile back when they proved you actually can polish turds (and did so on camera) using the ancient and primitive Japanese techniques of Dorodongo??

[half eye]

I'll have to check that out....might help me save some time.
Rich

[Barrage]

Wow.

But anyway, I like BOM.  Nice seeing all the work put into the bows being displayed.  Don't really care who or what wins.  And personally I seem to be drawn to the shorty bows, so I guess not everyone is voting for the snakeskin osages...  

[zenmonkeyman]

I may as well weigh in here.  I personally love the contest.  If nothing else, compiling each month's entries into a thread makes for easy browsing.  It's an amazing resource for anybody looking to steal I mean learn and apply some great ideas.

It's also a good motivation to improve.  If there wasn't some competition of some sort in all aspects of life, we'd be North Koreans.  No possibility of reward or recognition, no incentive to work.

I tend to vote for pretty or unique bows, with the exception that I'm a little sick of "Osage, can you see?"  Snakeskin has already become for me, like Sailordad's tag line "the Harley Davidson; THE thing to ride".  It's like tattoos.  When everybody thinks it's cool is when its coolness is long past gone.  Sorry, I'm probably pushing a few peoples' buttons right now...    Snake looks cool, but unless there's something else to it, it won't get my vote.  I'm also slightly biased against The Usual Winners.  I'll vote for them, I have immense respect for the quality and consistensy of their work, but I tend to look for reasons to vote for somebody else.

If it's not functional and hunting weight, it won't get my vote, usually.

I really, really, REALLY want to win the contest.  I like hats; free hats are best; and trophy hats are best of all.  And that's why I wish everybody would participate.  When certain makers of outstanding bows refuse to enter, it cheats the monthly winner out of some of his well-earned respect.  Because who's to say one of those unentered bows wouldn't have gotten more votes?  It's not a real win if the competition forfeits.

Above all, the competition IS fun.  This whole site is about fun, and the contest is our monthly recognition of the fun, our Oscar ceremony, our Stanley Cup. 

In closing, please vote for my D bow when it shows up.  My forehead is getting tragically sunburned.   

[Dane]

I will always vote for your bows, Zen, as buddies always take care of each other It's rigged, you know.

Rich, you know that humans are like that. How many organizations and clubs have you belonged to that only 10% of the members do the work, and 90% are never around? At my gun club, 30 maybe show up regularly to general membership meeting, and the other 200 you only see around if you are lucky, and asking them to help with work parties or whatever is a fantasy. To expect all the members of this site to actually vote is like hoping everyone will vote for the mayor or local dog catcher.

Dane

[NTD]

Great point Dane.  What are the figures for presidential and congressional votes, something like only 40% of the pop. votes, and shoot that's something that actually matters.

[dragonman]

Well I think I did manage to stirs things up a bit there , I dont like being too nice ,it aint honest . Better to be honest and speak your truth, we should all be able to handle a few un-nice words from time to time. I dont actually have any bow preferences, I appreciate craftsmanship, in any style and any materials, although I do prefer natural materials, skill and patience are where it is at for me. As for competition I believe it brings out the best in people, if it isnt taken TOO serious. I also beleive more people should vote for my bows next time, I was well dissapointed this month,

[NTD]

DragonMan, you got 8 votes this month, that aint bad   If you'd have gotten the wood near the fades bending more on that BBI and I didn't have a bow in the race, I might have voted for it   Josh had a deserved win.  His skill has jumped like crazy in the last 6 months.  It's probably because of that fancy new bandsaw his wife bought him  

I think my improvements are partially a result of the BOM contests.  It's a measureing stick for me.  I'm happy if I have one more vote than my last bow.
I don't know why Half Eye is so bitter, I mean he did win BOM recently.  He doubts the friendly sharing atmosphere here but yet after a VERY short time of being part of the PA community he's published articles in the MAG, won BOM, and turned peoples worlds upside down as to the integrity of the back of quarter sawn wood.

[dragonman]

I was only joking about the dissapointment, but thanks NTD. I actually voted for Josh too Whose bow was the fastest though?, theres the real test.

Half Eye is real helpfull if you ask him stuff!!

[NTD]

Man I'm lovin this. Ya say the contest is just for fun but man there's a lot of hackles up in the air. I don't even know who dreamed up the categories cause they sure aint the same as anybody else's. This stupid old man allways thought there were self bows, backed bows, and "compound" bows (what you guys call laminates). Never knew if ya back a bow with sinew, skins, silk, canvas and all the rest it's a self bow.....but god forbid ya back it with wood and all of a sudden yer into laminate territory..........I think it's funny as all get out.


Rich Rousseau
half eye

I agree with you that a vegetable fiber, rawhide or sinew backed bow is not a self bow.  But only a few of those bows are made a month, if at all.  Sure it'd be nice to have a category for true primitive bows made with stone, and for non wood backed bows but we'd be votng on only a couple bows in those categores.  It wouldn't be much fun to me to pick one bow out of two in a contest.