Shag Bark Hickory VS Pig nut hickory

[Stick Bender]

Hi guys  does any body have any exsperience with these 2 types of hickory , I have only used red hickory & pecan in the past haven't used shag bark & was wondering if there is much difference between the two ?

[crooketarrow]

 What are you calling red hickory. Hickorys been my favoret white wood for ever. I've made maybe 11 or 12 shag bark bows as many pig nut. 2 shell bark hickory bows. 2 water hickory. The water hickory were light poundage bows 40 and 45 # bows. So I really can't say much about water hickory.

  But I think shag barks a little harder wood and picks up less moisture. But any hickorys good to go.

[Stick Bender]

Red hickory is same thing as Pig nut  probably should have titled it Pig nut VS Shag Bark

[crooketarrow]

 Sorry not called that in WV.

  I lean to wards SHANG BARK. It seams to have a tad better cast.

[Buckeye Guy]

My Hickory bows are just about all Shagbark , I love it

[JonW]

My best hickory bow was mockernut. I haven't made alot of hickory bows but I have used every type available to me. I like them all.

[PatM]

You can compare numbers on this site. Pretty close to each other. Scroll down for the rest of the hickories.
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/pignut-hickory/
 

[Danzn Bar]

I've made bows from both.....pignut is my favorite....
DBar

[Onebowonder]

I've made a few out of Hickory, and have been most pleased with Pig-Nut and MockerNut.  Shagbark seemed to be just a bit more inclined to SOAK UP the Missouri Humidity and took set more quickly (...though this should likely be blamed more on the bowyer than the bow wood!)

OneBow

[Jim Davis]

You can compare numbers on this site. Pretty close to each other. Scroll down for the rest of the hickories.
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/pignut-hickory/

Or, if you want the original numbers that the "wood database" lifted theirs from, go here: http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/research/centers/woodanatomy/techsheets_display.php?geo_category_id=2&genus_commonname_criteria=c&sorting_rule=1a

Pignut hickory has the best numbers.

[BowEd]

I've made quite a few hickory bows....Pig and shag both.There is'nt a whole lot of difference to me.Both take heat treatment very well and above average.They will take different designs well too.It's just plain tough stuff.A few numbers different in the density figures is'nt much and  it does'nt sway me one way or the other when I make a bow out of either.

[Pappy]

I prefer Pignut and have made a bunch from both. Both are fine but pignut in a little denser it seems to me.
 Pappy

[Eric Krewson]

To me hickory is hickory, I do like to cut it in deep woods where it had to grow long and hard to reach sunlight. I once cut an 8" sapling that was 50 years old, very dense stuff.

[JW_Halverson]

To me hickory is hickory, I do like to cut it in deep woods where it had to grow long and hard to reach sunlight. I once cut an 8" sapling that was 50 years old, very dense stuff.

Density compared between species is a false trail.  At the two ends of the spectrum are yew and osage.  But within the species, a denser piece is generally going to perform better. 

I would encourage you to pretend you are Eric Krewson and wander deep into the hickory woods. Find something in the deep shade, something pipe straight, something not too far from the truck....and take it down! 

[Jim Davis]

Don't overlook modulus of elasticity and work to maximum load. Those figures are  related to how much energy it takes to bend the wood and how far it will bend before it begins to start taking less additional energy to bend it. This last is the yield just before breaking.

It is true that both will make a good bow and it's really not possible to compare a bow of shagbark to a bow of pignut. There are too many other larger variables. I save my shagbarks to bear good edible nuts. The pignuts aren't good to eat anyway and the wood is that little bit better.

Jim Davis