short osage question

[bigfish]

i am building a short osage  bow with   sinew backing the question is should I make it bend in the handle or just make the handle as short as possible to get the most working limb

[Springbuck]

  Up to you.   Short bows can have very small thickness and width dimensions and still be pretty stiff.  So, it depends on how short, how long you intend to draw it, and the stave.

  It's a good idea to have a shorter bow bend a lot in the middle, and have lighter stiff tips to avoid a very stacky draw and poor F/D. I'm reminded of Baker's 48" hickory recurve from the TBB with 2" wide limbs and only 1/4" thick or so.   So, if the stave is tiny and only an inch wide, make the section pretty deep, the tips stiff, and get your bend in the middle.  If you have the width and a bit more length, make a small handle, keep the width, and get a lot of your bend in the first 2/3 of the limbs.

[Pat B]

On short bows, sinew or self, I like to get the limbs bending back into the handle so I can feel the handle give right at full draw.

[bradsmith2010]

what they said  you can do either and tiller to fit the design,, I have been hunting with bend in the handle sinew,, but some of my best bows are stiff handle,, just what you like to shoot,,,,