BOM Definations

[Bevan R.]

With the (sometimes) heated discussion about BOM and all, as a newcommer I would like to have someone explain the 'official' definitions for the 2 categories.
I always thought a selfbow was a bow without any added backing, tips, handle materials. Just a piece of wood that the bow maker tillered into bending.
Believe it or not, I had a NIMROD I used to know try to tell me a selfbow was a bow you made yourself. 
Shouldn't there really be 3 categories? Selfbow, Backed, and Laminated/Composit for example. (Although after what has been said in the other thread, may also a Polished TB class)
I do not make selfbows (my definition), I make backed flatbows. Usually backed with hickory -or- bamboo -or- some type of cloth. I do not concider snakeskin a backing, only a decoration or a way to hide something.
To me, a self bow would not even have a skin on it. Backing by Air & Prayer only.
I also would not class wood backed bows as laminates. To me laminates means multi layers (more than 2) of material making up the limb. Be it layers of wood, some animal materials like horn & bone, or fiberglass.
Anyway, I would like an 'official' clarification of the class determinations.

[George Tsoukalas]

That is correct. A selfbow is unbacked. It is one piece of wood or 2 backed at the handle. A bow backed with wood, sinew, rawhide, etc is a backed bow.  A bow made of 3 or more layers of wood, sinew or horn is a composite bow. The Turkish horn bow is an example of a composite bow. I don't know how this all syncs with the BOM classifications but those are the commonly accepted definitions. Jawge

[Justin Snyder]

What George said...........

Selfbows are bows with no backing on them. Usually one piece of wood although they can be spliced at the handle or have a riser and/or tip overlays glued on. We actually blur the lines a little because we include sinew backed bows in selfbows even though they aren't.

Laminated bows would be wood or rigid backings or multi layer bows, but we include any backing beside sinew in this class even though it isn't really a laminate.

We know the definitions aren't really precise for BOM, but we really don't care.  You cant have 300 classes and it seemed like a logical place to split when we moved from one class.

[youngbowyer33]

so if a bow has a glued on handle(1 piece) and also has a fiber backing it is actually not considered a selfbow?

[Bevan R.]

Thanks George & Justine. I think that is what reasonable folks think also. Just don't understand how backed bows are classed as selfbows in the BOM stuff.

[Badger]

You can build up a handle with either wood or leather and it will still be classed a selfbow, you can also use tip overlays and still be classed a self bow. They put quite a bit of thought into how to judge these bows and I believe most accept this as being the best of some compromise. A sinew backed bow I believe is in the tradition of self bows. A wood backing allows the bowyer to achieve shapes that would not be as easily attainable with a selfbow, not mush different than you might see in a multi lam bow. Steve

[George Tsoukalas]

I agree with, Badger.   A bow backed with wood is not in the selfbow class is it? If yes, then it should not be for exactly the reasons Steve listed for its advantage. But hey listen being a Celtics fan right now I'm mellow. Jawge

[NTD]

I mentioned this in the other thread and Justin touched on it here as well.  Backed bows are lumped with "self" bows because not enough of them are made to be put into their own category.  You'd be voting on 2-3 bows in the non-laminate but backed bow Category.

BOM categories are just an easy way to group some bows for people to vote on.  It is not an "in stone" method of labeling bow types.

[sailordad]

my definitions of self and backed bows are easy
what ever bow pics i find in the BOM category for self bows are self bows
and what ever bows pics are in the lam category are laminated bows

[Josh]

my definitions of self and backed bows are easy
what ever bow pics i find in the BOM category for self bows are self bows
and what ever bows pics are in the lam category are laminated bows

   I like this answer!   

[Pappy]

I agree with Jawes ,as long as what ever it is backed with such as snake skins don't enhance or protect the back ,[ Just for decoration]I conceder it a self bow,but here we have curved the rules a little for the reason Badger has stated. There was a lot of talk about this and most concedered this  a good compromises. 
   Pappy

[Hillbilly]

The main reason that sinew/rawhide/fabric etc. backed bows are lumped with selfbows for BOM is as has been said-not enough of each type to warrant a bunch of categories, and someone has to do the work to organize, run, and write the BOM contest. Don has done this and done it well for many years strictly as a volunteer, and there would just be too much work involved to make the contest worthwhile if it got too complicated. We've been through it many times, and if it gets nitpicked and technicalitied-to-death, it would probably cease to be. As Steve said, when you start gluing wood laminations together is when you really start to change the overall character of the bow. Bows with simple protective backings such as fabric or rawhide are technically not  selfbows, but they're a lot closer to being a selfbow than to being a laminate bow, as these backings don't add to the performance of the bow, they are mainly "insurance" for protection of the back in cases where the grain is suspect or there could be other problems in tension. Sinew is a gray area, as it can change the performance of the bow as well as protect the back; but generally, we just found it easier to lump soft backings with selfbows and hard backings into laminates. That fits with the personalities of the different types of bows, anyway.