Author Topic: Longbow Tech Question  (Read 25818 times)

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Offline Hawkeye1974

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Longbow Tech Question
« on: July 21, 2011, 11:28:17 am »
I have been watching a documentary on youtube about longbows called the Weapons That Made Britain.  On the show the host traveled to a museum where they are researching the Mary Rose. One of the researcher's show him a bunch of bows recovered from the wreckage.
He explains to him that based on carbon and other tests they have learned that the longbow tips were designed to bend like recurve bows.
He had a couple made with the recurve feature, thenshot them against other standard longbows. It seemed the "custom" longbow shot further and was more proficient.
in fairness the guy was a really good archer but....

Anyway my question is has anyone tired this type of bow? Would it really work? And why haven't we heard about this before?     
If a guy can fire 3 arrows 125 meters he not only deserves his own movie.  He deserves his own reality show!!! 

-Anonymous

Offline Hawkeye1974

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2011, 11:33:10 am »
If a guy can fire 3 arrows 125 meters he not only deserves his own movie.  He deserves his own reality show!!! 

-Anonymous

Offline adb

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2011, 05:13:01 pm »
Yes, it would work. A recurved limb will store more energy than a straight limb, thereby increasing cast. None of the tips on the Mary Rose bows I'm aware of (or seen first hand) are recurved. Whether this was done in period or not, is up for debate. I think the youtube producers have taken liberties with poetic licence.

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2011, 05:58:15 pm »
I flip my tips on my hackberry longbows all the time.
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline Ian.

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2011, 06:14:24 pm »
Put simple the MR tips are not recurved. There is evidence for bows on the continent being slightly recurved but never the English bow.



Edited as to not cause offence.
« Last Edit: July 26, 2011, 08:09:18 pm by Ian. »
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Offline Et_tu_brute

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #5 on: July 21, 2011, 07:52:15 pm »
I would disagree with the statement that Chris Boyton is not an expert on heavy weight longbows - he knows a vast amount on the subject. Chris is a terrific bowyer makes many types of bow amongst them heavy MR style longbows and I've seen a number of them - I believe Simon Stanley has at least one.

mikekeswick

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #6 on: July 21, 2011, 08:06:00 pm »
Yes recurves store more energy by keeping string angle low but a recurve has to be heavier than a straight tip to stay a recurve and on an 80 inch longbow extra mass at the tips would be a disadvantage. The MR bows are NOT recurved and I doubt very much wethewr any English longbow (warbow) ever was.

Offline Hawkeye1974

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #7 on: July 21, 2011, 08:59:18 pm »
Okay, I am not an expert, hell I am barely a novice.  But if anyone watched the videos (I think its part 3) isn't the guy at the museum an expert on the Mary Rose and/or longbows? If so why would say they were curved like a recurve bow?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaZ6pQiYclo&feature=youtube_gdata_player
If a guy can fire 3 arrows 125 meters he not only deserves his own movie.  He deserves his own reality show!!! 

-Anonymous

Offline CraigMBeckett

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2011, 06:00:21 am »
Hawkeye1974,

Because of so called iconographic evidence (pictures to most of us) that appear to, and indeed do, show English archers using bows with recurved tips and also because of the exposure of the English archers to Burgundian bows,  which did have recurved, tips, and, as has been suggested, with a recurve the performance is likely to be better, there are people who argue that the English Bow therefore must have been recureved as its unlikely that they would let such an "improvement" go to waste. The truth of the matter is there may have been recurved bows used in England but on the whole there is no evidence of recurves being widespread.

As for why would someone from the Mary Rose Trust agree, well you may have been watching a program in which two like minded individuals were taking part.

**EDIT** having looked at the program, at least in part I think you need to have another look at the part where you said the Mary Rose bloke agreed, The man in question is or was the keeper of the artifacts, the Collections Manger, he is/was probably not an expert in the bows. I did not see him agreeing nor disagreeing in fact he was not in the shot when the claim about recurved tips was made.

I have no idea if tests have been done with bows at warbow weights to see if heat bent recurves will stay in ir will pull out, perhaps someone who has will let us know the result?

Craig.
« Last Edit: July 22, 2011, 07:52:53 am by CraigMBeckett »

Offline Del the cat

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2011, 06:18:46 am »
AFAIK there were no bows with recurved tips found on the Mary Rose.
BTW That clip has about 12 parts and is a triumph of presentation over content...any idea which bit has the pertinent info in it?
Del
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Offline CraigMBeckett

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2011, 07:15:10 am »
AFAIK there were no bows with recurved tips found on the Mary Rose.
BTW That clip has about 12 parts and is a triumph of presentation over content...any idea which bit has the pertinent info in it?
Del

Decided to have a look and was disappointed to find that the program is an old one, I have seen it before and read of the disagreement of many with the use of the air cannon for the  penetration tests. Anyway to answer your question the pertinent bits are the end of part 3, bits of part 4 and a tiny bit of 5, did not watch any more so maybe the second half of 5 and the remainder also have some bits on it.

Craig.

Offline Ian.

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2011, 09:50:50 am »
Its not a program for anyone interested about the history.

« Last Edit: July 26, 2011, 08:09:46 pm by Ian. »
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Offline Phil Rees

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2011, 06:19:10 pm »
I was at the Fraternity shoot when  they were filming... basicaly Mike Loades said what the program makers wanted him to say.

Offline Michael C.

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #13 on: July 22, 2011, 06:46:53 pm »
good grief here we go again  ;D ;D ;D ;D
"Friendship makes prosperity more shining and lessens adversity by dividing and sharing it."

Cicero

Offline Ian.

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Re: Longbow Tech Question
« Reply #14 on: July 22, 2011, 07:29:27 pm »
I was at the Fraternity shoot when  they were filming... basicaly Mike Loades said what the program makers wanted him to say.

Im quite glad to hear that, I think Mike is genuinely knowledgeable on the subject.
ALways happy to help anyone get into heavy weight archery: https://www.facebook.com/bostonwarbowsbows/