A guy (complete newbie) got in touch with me... he'd wanted to make a bow and had been sold the "Italian Yew" stave to make a 50# bow for £300 (about $460
)
He brought it to me as he was frightened to use it. I said I didn't think much of it. It was full of knots and had a big sideways bend. I said I'd do it for him but it was a struggle to even lay out a straight bow on the stave.
I think I did it proud...
The irony is of course that the bloke who sold him the stave could now justify it as a "good stave"... well maybe yes as a character stave for an experienced bowyer but not to a newbie!
My customer told the seller of the stave that an experienced bowyer didn't think much of it. His reply was that the experienced bowyer obviously hadn't used Italian Yew before and that it's completely different to English or American Yew
.
Well I tried to keep an open mind and treat the stave on it's individual merits.
You'll be shocked to know...
It was much the same as any other Yew I've worked
.
I've had harder, softer, darker, lighter, coarser and finer grained.
It was funny, when he was showing me the stave I picked up an English Yew off cut from the floor, the ring count was twice that of the "Italian Yew".. his jaw dropped a bit.
Anyhow it's 78" ntn. I did a nice subtle arrow plate using an offcut of horn from the tips which had the central pale core in it.
Just to finish the story, I've just started working on another Italian Yew stave from a warbow that had a crack near the tip. I've been given it to make into a ladies bow (oddly 50# at 28" again... tough lady
) This is the most awful brittle Yew I've ever worked... which ever way I try to work it, even with a razor sharp spokeshave set fine and used at an angle it just tears. It's rasps all the way on this one.
Just shows you can only judge on the individual stave (IMO)
Del
