Looks like an authentic primtive stick bow to me. Great candidate for February Self BOM
Bow of the month would be cool !
Here are the other pics Justin. Some of the whip ending comes from the tips. The natural grain of the wood bends toward the belly at the tips.
I wish I would have taken a picture of this stave when it was given to me. It was seriously trash wood. The guy that gave it to me was going to burn it. He handed it to me and said " Here ya go make a bow from this, I dare Ya". I think he was joking and was trying to get rid of his junk.
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