horn bow without horn?

[Badger]

  I think the reason horn bows are horn bows and wood bows are wood bows is because they perform best if we design them t suit the materials they were mad from. I have never seen a wood bow built like a horn bow perform as well as a wood bow designed as a good wood bow. LOL>

[BowEd]

I don't know as much about bow making as I would like but but I gotta ask myself on a comparison between wood bows and horn bows where do the bows' limbs work.On a wooden bow you want it spread evenly throughout the limb most times.On a horn bow and I mean a turkish style one it works in a lot smaller area like about 6 to 8 inches close to the handle.To me the speed horn bows get is from that small working area.Very hard to get wood to do that.

[loon]

Mollegabet bows look like Han dynasty horn bows, but without an angle at the lever transition or setback handle to me. Guess one could do a nice Han-like wood bow if it's sinew backed in the working limbs. The compression pine siberian/scandinavian bows look kind of like Manchu bows sometimes.