osage question

[mcginnis6010]

Does anyone know how Osage handles as a bend in the handle bow? I have two seasoned staves that have some knots in them but otherwise straight.  Oh and the the knots aren't huge the largest is about the size of a quarter and is located 2 inches from one of the tips.

[Thesquirrelslinger]

Does anyone know how Osage handles as a bend in the handle bow? I have two seasoned staves that have some knots in them but otherwise straight.  Oh and the the knots aren't huge the largest is about the size of a quarter and is located 2 inches from one of the tips.

I would probably shoot for a stiff handled flatbow, as that is the best design for Osage. I am not sure how well it would handle a bend-in-the-handle bow.  It would also be much easier to do a stiff-handled bow than a bend-in the handle flatbow, as it requires the highest degree of tillering skill to make- I am nowhere near that skill level... TBB mentions it once or twice.
-Squirrel

[JW_Halverson]

Name a design that does NOT work well with osage.  You can write them all down in the following box: []

The Southern Plains tribes built bendy handle bows for killing bison, for cripes sakes! They take a heap more killing than some thin skinned, pencil-ribbed, puny white tail*!

Many tribes in the southeast also made bendy handle bows in longer designs used from hunting on the ground, too.  Fact is, osage will take far more bend than most bow woods because of it's amazing balance between compression strength and tension resistance.  Yup, if you hanker for a handful of bendy, I say satisfy that craving!

*Up to and including any monster bucks out of Saskatchewan and Manitoba!

[mcginnis6010]

I am gonna use the second stave as a flatbow but I would like to try a bend in the handle because I haven't made one yet.

[mcginnis6010]

Thanks JW for the encouragement and do you think that I should be worried about that knot being so close to the tip? Ill try to post a pic today.

[JW_Halverson]

You know what?  No.  Think of it this way....that close to the tip does now allow much leverage, so there is not much strain on the knot.  The closer to the handle, the more leverage you got forcing a bend. 

Nothing much to worry about there in the failure department.  On the other hand, if you leave extra wood around the knot be sure to compensate by leaving a little extra weight on the other limb's tip to balance things out.  That way both limbs will have similar harmonics and reduce felt hand shock. 

[Josh B]

yep....what Jw said!  Josh

[Thesquirrelslinger]

Hm... I got the idea that a bend in the handle bow would be hard with a handle riser.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Osage makes great everything. There are no limitations, its been proven enough times over by many,many, many great bowyers. Warbows, short bows, statics, long bows, ELB's, bendys, NA and the list goes on. I rarely give knots a second look with osage, it has proven it worth to me a few times already.

[osage outlaw]

What Pearly said.  Osage makes great bend in the handle bows.

Squirrelslinger: have you had problems with osage bend in the handle bows?  Or just more sucess with osage flatbow styles?   

[JW_Halverson]

Bend in the handle precludes any riser.  And that's why they are soooooo verrrry easy to make.  No transition from bendy to stiff and wide to narrow to stiff and wide and back again to bendy!  If the bow tapers fairly uniformly from the grip area where it is widest to the tips where it is narrowest, then the thickness of the bow varies much less than a stiff riser/nonbending handle bow is, too.  That helps make tillering a breeze.  I tillered a straight stick horse bow yesterday in 20 minutes using a jack plane!  I had a fiished bow, ready to shoot, with less than an hour of work.   

Mind you, it is red oak and I am cursed with red oak.  It will fail and fail soon.  Especially since red oak board bows do not make good 36" horse bows!  I was just using it for an example. 

McGinnis is required to post pics of this one, though! 

[Josh B]

I think you might be a little confused slinger.  A handle doesn't neccessarily entail a riser.  Its simply where you hold the bow.  Josh

[George Tsoukalas]

Osage bend in the handle bows are awesome. Bend in the handle bows of any wood do a great job at energy storage and if the handle does not bend too much, they are remarkably efficient. Jawge

[mcginnis6010]

Thanks guys I'm pretty excited to start working my first Osage bow so far all I've been able to use is hickory, oak, maple, black locust, and cherry. Don't worry JW I will post pics.

[Thesquirrelslinger]

I think you might be a little confused slinger.  A handle doesn't neccessarily entail a riser.  Its simply where you hold the bow.  Josh

I know that... I am thinking of those West Coast bows that bend in the handle that have risers. A riser is a stiff section with a different crosssection than the rest, usually thinner so it can be gripped better.