Really jazzed on these little guys!
My good same exact birthday havin' buddy, and paddle mate for Boundary Waters trips shot the short bow I recently made myself and instantly said..."no way you get to be the only one on the trip with one of these!" and commissioned one.
Dug through my wood pile and found a little stave that he and I picked up a few years ago off the side of the road where a huge hedge row is. Which is pretty cool since other than me dragging him out to that hedge row that day (he has a large truck
) his involvement with my bows and wood collecting is zero, and like that he has a connection to the wood in a way. Ended up being a heck of a piece of wood for being a gnarly rotting piece of road side waste, and not a knot in it.
Finished at 47.5 ntn 42# at 20" and is keeping about a half inch of reflex just like mine. Though his has a slightly naturally delfexed handle, and mine has a naturally slightly set back handle. It's backed with dog bone rawhide and has wenge tip overlays.
The other bow in the one pic is also 47.5 ntn and pulls 41# at 22" and is bamboo back and bamboo belly experiment.
More pic when the finish is fully cured.