The thing is he was willing to talk about anything and everything except the one thing we were asking about. Inspiration for doing something and the evidence you actually did that thing or two different topics. We all were discussing his claims and he came along maybe not to stir up trouble but to try to get us to go along with what he was saying without providing anything of value. Also lied about the contents of his site and got called out for it. I don’t hate the man and I have nothing against him personally (I don’t know him) but the way he was dodging the questions seems to tell us everything we need to know. The burden of proof is on the one who makes a claim.
I wish he would tell us, but he's avoiding giving away the information he's trying to sell. I'm perplexed by this expectation that he would freely spill the goods. Would be pretty stupid business. I also wish to see some good science on his method of heat treating vs others, as many were asking for. I'm guessing it just doesn't exist to show at the moment. Good science on bows is hard.
He did not lie about the contents of his site. He was accused of saying that he rediscovered fire hardening. He denied ever saying that. Then a quote from his website was thrown at him, "But what if there was a technique that would make whitewood bows immune to moisture? What if this technique was forgotten after archery was supplanted by the modern firearm? And what if, centuries later, this technique was rediscovered by a modern primitive archer with an innate curiosity of ancient ways? That’s what led to experimenting with fire-hardening that gave birth to Fire Dancer Bows"
People here fixated on the fact that the word "forgotten" is in that quote. But that quote is not talking about heat treating. It is talking about
his specific method of heat treating. Saying that
his specific method was forgotten is not saying that heat treating was forgotten. This is where reading comprehension starts to be criticized.
I wouldn’t expect to instantly see the best bows ever either, but he does keep saying that they are. We’re not the ones setting impossible standards. This would be a very different conversation without these kinds of bold claims. Claims and information don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. People do, but not when they say they are doing the best work around. That kind of talk has to be earned or proven if you don’t wanna raise some dust
Firstly, I agree that his claims are very hyperbolic, and I wish they weren't. But it's worth noting that he also says his bows weren't built to be speed demons. He didn't claim to have the fastest bows.
