Favorite vs. Best bow wood

[Alaric]

I’ve been reading through past posts and have just finished reading a long thread on the best bow wood. I found it very interesting and occasionally amusing but was surprised that all the arguments defending this or that wood focused solely on performance of the bows that can be produced from it or its availability.  I haven’t worked with that many different woods yet but as of this moment my favorite bow wood is Yew but not because of the quality of the bows that can be made from it or its availability (I have to get it from the opposite cost), but because I like working with it, I like the look of it, I like the feel of it, I like chasing those thin rings in that creamy sap wood.  I don’t make wooden bows to make the perfect weapon to feed my family, if I needed to hunt food to survive I’d use my Doug Hill longbow not one of my own, I make wooden bows because I like making wooden bows, I use Yew when I can get it, if I get bored with it and find I enjoy the challenge of working with willow what further defense does it require. I was surprised not to hear the argument “The best bow wood is the one you enjoy working with the most” here, I’ve heard it from many wood workers.
 I was also pleasantly surprised that despite the passion with which many hold their views on this subject the discussion remained very civil unlike many forums I have been on.  I’m happy to be here with such a good group of people

Richard

[turtle]

Im sort of partial to osage. Might be because its what i made my first bow from, or because ats easy to get around here, most people consider it an undesirable tree. I do have a short knotty piece of yew, but i havnt worked up the nerve to try it yet. Besides osage i have tried hickory,ash,red oak, and flowering dogwood. Have some black locust drying so will give it a try sometime.

[SLIMBOB]

Interesting topic.  I have worked mostly with Bois D' Ark.  It's readily available here in Texas.  It's tough as nails, dense, easily steam or heat bent, tolerant of less than perfect tiller, and I think beautiful.  So, after thinking about your question, and my answer, Bois D'Ark is first for me.  But on the other hand, I really like Black Cherry which has none of the above qualities except beauty.  And I am falling fast for Hackberry,(considered a big weed around here) which also has none of the above qualities, and is the equivalent of the homely looking girl in the corner, that you just found out could REALLY DANCE!  Which girl is the most beautiful?  Which is the most fun to be around?  Which would make the best wife, the sexiest, the smartest, the....So many woods and so little time.

[tattoo dave]

I think that hickory might be my favorite...thus far. Lots of different woods to still try out though.

Tattoo Dave

[Traxx]

Most often,

I hear what wood,people like best for working properties or for what makes the best performing bow,but rarely do i hear about what woods,best suit the climate for which they will be used in.For example...
Hickory has a poor rep for those in a humid climate,but for those in extreme arid conditions,it can very well be the best choice.

[JW_Halverson]

I make wooden bows because I like making wooden bows,

Richard

There is a certain elegance to that circular logic!  That, and I resemble that remark.  To me shooting and hunting with a handmade bow is completely secondary, I'd even give it up but I won't give up makimg bows.  Journey vs. destination sort of stuff, ya know?

Traxx said a mouthful in regards to hickory.  Where I live it don't grow at all...but it makes great bows here. 

I think I like hackberry best.  Something about the way it works and how I have had such good luck with it.  Next choice is osage that has been aged a good long time.  Chasing rings on it is downright fun.

[Badger]

  I think plum may be my favorite wood. I know I get the most excited about the prospect of getting some. Last night I think I layed awake all night because I had to meet a tree trimmer at 5 am to pick up some plum staves that I showed him at dies at the hospital he works at. He cut the wrong ones and it was badly twisted and cracked from drying. I finished the split and spent 4 hours steaming a 7 foot section with a full 180 degree twist, I got 90% of the twist unwound and then upon debarking I find it is ate up with bugs. Well monday morning he says he will have the right one cut for me, looks like it just died recently.

[MWirwicki]

Maclura pomifera, Hedge Apple, Horse Apple, Bowdark, Bowdock, Bois d'Arc and of course, Osage-orange.   All the same, depending on where you're from. 

Making my first "osage" selfbow was intimidating to me.  Way back then, all of the talk about humps, bumps, undulations, pin knots, spring and summer growth rings, etc. scared the bejesus out of me.  Especially because I paid $50 for the stave, 20 years ago.  It was my second bow.  We didn't so much, narrow the tips back then.  We were just learning about it.  We didn't steam in reflex or make corrections with a heat gun.  We discovered that, later.  I picked a naturally reflexed, small diameter stave with decent growth rings and went for it.  I won the Eagle Eye at Denton Hills with that bow.  It eventually developed a little lift in front of a pin knot that I fixed with a sinew bandaid.  The next year, I took my first archery whitetail with that bow.  It accompanied me on a caribou hunt, an elk hunt and a moose hunt.  Fearing It may eventually break, I retired that bow.   

I've lost count how many osage bows I've made or helped make, since then.  Hundreds, I suspect.  I've made nice bows from several other woods to experience and sharpen my skills in the craft.  To me though it's resilient, forgiving, tough and versatile.  Capable of constructing bows of many different styles.  Osage #1 still lies above my mantle.

[osage outlaw]

Mine would be osage.  I am blessed to be surrounded by it.  Like Matt said, it has some great properties for bow making.  You can make a lot of mistakes and it will still make a decent bow.  I love the color of it and how it darkens over time.  And when you chase a ring, it's like unwrapping a christmas present. 

I'm pretty fond of HHB also. 

[Justin Snyder]

Living where bow wood doesn't grow I cannot afford to be picky. I really like a lot of woods, but like Traxx said, some are better based on climate. I find that yew is not a great wood for our area. After testing MC of a lot of woods I found that yew just dries to much in my climate and explodes. Hickory which is well known for being great in dry climates can be a bit temperamental. If I keep it inside or at least in the shade while working it, it produces awesome bows. If however you leave it outside to long or in the sun for a couple of hours before it is sealed it will check, end of story. I do like oily woods for my desert climate. The oil seems to keep them from drying to much or too fast. Ipe is awesome for drying to optimum then not loosing MC.

All things said, most woods are great if you treat them right. But even the old reliable can be messed up by a operator malfunction.

[Traxx]

Good to hear that,about Ipe.Ive got some here to work.Do you back it with Bamboo,or Hickory?How does Bamboo,hold up to our Arid climate?I gave away,my previous bamboo backed bows,so i never saw how they held up in this dry climate,after prolonged exposure.

[Justin Snyder]

Good to hear that,about Ipe.Ive got some here to work.Do you back it with Bamboo,or Hickory?How does Bamboo,hold up to our Arid climate?I gave away,my previous bamboo backed bows,so i never saw how they held up in this dry climate,after prolonged exposure.

I prefer to back with bamboo, it works great in our climate. 10 years later I still have the first bow I made and the boo is in great condition.

[Alaric]

Next choice is Osage that has been aged a good long time.

I have an Osage stave that has been standing in the corner of my workshop for the last 20 years, do you think it's properly aged yet? 

Richard

[coaster500]

Kind of depends on the day..... I'm more the favor of the day with my favorite....if my arthritis it kicking up Hackberry might be the ticket. If I'm looking for an adrenaline rush there nothing like a chunk of ERC!!! Feeling nostalgic well the it's probably going to be a piece of Osage.....  Had a rough week at work then I might not choose by type but more by degree of difficulty so it absolutely absorbs me in the process and blacks out the worries of the week???

Looking for some HHB just because I want to try it....  so many woods and so little time!!!

[vinemaplebows]

I have access to all the pacific northwest top woods...........for durability vine maple without a doubt, but for my self I love Cascara. For some reason I try to make bows fgrom things most people would throw away...that is a challenge to me!