Not thrilled with osage

[E. Jensen]

Is anyone else not overly thrilled with osage?  I just finished my first osage bow and I don't know, doesn't seem to be as amazing as I've heard.  I've made a mulberry bow which I love, hackberry, hickory, red oak, yew, all turn out really nice.  I know it makes a good bow and I know the fault lies with the bowyer and I need to revisit design.  I guess what I'm saying is working with osage isn't as instinctive to me as other woods.  I think I'm not used to how heavy it is. 

[Jim Davis]

It takes less Osage to do the same work as white woods.  I spent the first 12 years or so with ash, hornbeam and some locust. Five years now with more Osage and I like it very much. I still like hickory, but the shine is gone from the rest. I'll use them, but with less hope for a great bow.

Jim Davis

[osage outlaw]

Lets see some pictures of the bow.  What are the dimensions of it?

[huisme]

I've not even made a handful of osage bows so I don't have a lot to compare either way but locust consistently gives me more thrills and performance than any of the osage I've used. I'm looking to get my hands on more osage of course but it'll be a while before I find room to work among my beloved locusts

[redhawk55]

I think osage is the best bow wood.
But it is a very heavy wood!
No other wood is able to stand such narrow or short limbs or tremendous overdraw.
Regular designs will never benefit from its outstanding capablities.
Osage is the perfect wood for somehow "extreme" bow designs.
Michael

[mikekeswick]

True Redhawk.
Go narrow/short and strain the nuts out of it!! My first couple weren't all that until I realised the above. Now I don't make them much over 1 1/4 wide and probably an inch or two shorter than whitewood bows.
That said i've got my best performance out of locust. Consistently.

[Dances with squirrels]

It's common to overbuild osage bows when coming to them from woods that can't do what osage can. It's just a design thing. Push its limits. You'll figure it out.

I came from the  opposite direction... I started with petite, short, radius-bellied osage bows drawing stout weight, and dealt with underbuilding other woods until I became familiar with their limits too. All part of the learning process.

[Roy]

I will take all the Osage anyone wants to send me:) It's the best wood for bow building...

[Eric Krewson]

Osage varies a lot in in weight and density, there is just OK osage and there is great osage. When you work with a piece of the great stuff you will always think of that piece when you think of osage. 

[E. Jensen]

Its 1-1/4 tapered to 1/2".  It is long though, about 70", and thin ringed.  Eventually I might pike it I think.

[osage outlaw]

What draw length are you drawing it?  I'd suggest shortening it several inches and thinning the tips.  See if that makes it any better. 

[rps3]

It took me a few bows to realize how great osage is for all the reasons mentioned already. Keep at it.

[E. Jensen]

About 28" and it is pulling about 55-60#

[adams89]

As for the wood itself, Osage ain't my favorite bowwood,BUT from a Bowyersperspective  Osage is by far the best,
- very easy to work
- very easy to steam
- easy to dry ( even quickdrying is possible)
- excepts tempering very good
- can get violated a lot
- ............. the list is endless and Osage is just the only wood with all those characteristics, that's why I like it very much but it's not my favorite.
If I have to rely on it , I always choose Osage.

[Dakota Kid]

You could cut it down 6" easy. For me, my few osage bows are 4"-6" shorter than my white wood bows. I tend to keep my hornbeam bows closer to the osage dimensions however. You can push that one a little farther than other white woods in my experience.

Looking back I think osage is a little more forgiving to new bowyers which helped my confidence a lot. It is hard to work and tough on tools, but will accept novice tillering & over bracing a little better. There's something about having to chase that ring as well. It gets you all zen before you actually start making the bow. It slowed me down a bit which also is a big help for a newbie. I would say I broke more white wood than osage in the beginning making the same dumb mistakes.