Selfbow longetivity

[sleek]

Please tell me there are pocs of these Mary Rose bows at full draw! And, if they did this, then why is there debate over the strength? We should know what some of them weighed. Did they plot a fd curve?

[steve b.]

I know a guy who has made and/or sold between 1000-2000 primitive and modern traditional bows.  I asked.  He said that as far as he knows none of them has ever broke.  The one's that break, break during tillering.
My personal experience is that the "older" bows are more likely to break, especially the laminated bows, to the point that I refuse to pull one when I recognize it as 60's or early. 

[Hrothgar]

Sleek, There are pics of these bows. A good source of info is Robert Hardy's book on the social and military history of the English longbow. Much care was taken to remove the saline and to dry the staves. A few did break. After being submerged for 350 years at the bottom of the sea its hard to know precisely how much the wood may have changed.

[missilemaster]

self bows last a good long while if made of good wood and are treated properly. But lets always remember that it is still a piece of nature and anything can happen.