Some idle thoughts on a bendy bow

[Tradslinger]

I recently made a bendy bow, mainly because it was about the only way to use a piece of Osage. It ended up 58" nock to nock, about 40# at 26". I put a simple leather wrap on it for the handle with a raised end for the arrow to rest on. It just looked so simple pf a bow compared to my ridged handle bows, especially those with reflexed tips. I was shooting my three Osage bows, just for practice and to see how they all compared in terms of my ability to shoot them. After a lot of bad health issues plus having had the covid virus, I struggle to string a bow without a stringer. But the simple bendy bow is one that I can string without the stringer. Then as I shot it more and more, the better I shot it and the more fun it became. In fact, it is now my favorite bow to shoot. At 40#, it is easily legal enough to hunt with and it may be the bow that I hunt with the most. After all, it is shorter for my stand hunting or blind hunting plus goes thru the woods so much easier. I also thought that it was the easiest bow for me to build so far and I plan to make more of them. Some day I may end up with something like black locust or other woods to make one out of, who knows, my days of harvesting wood in the woods are pretty much over. All in all, I can see why my ancestors used them so well, the sheer simplicity of them. Yeah, my love for bows is still strong after all of these years, I have just lowered my poundage due to age and health issues. The bendy bow, may be my new go to bow for both building, hunting and just shooting. Gotta love it! Jerry

[George Tsoukalas]

I am glad for you. Jawge

[bradsmith2010]

I love shooting my bendy handle bows, they are as good as any,,

[Fox]

Bendy handle bows totally my favorite 

More fun for me to make, and just as fun to shoot 

[Yooper Bowyer]

I do make more bendy handle bows than not, but I feel that on the whole stiff handle bows are a shade easier to shoot consistently, especially if you don't know how to hold a bendy handle bow.

[Fox]

I do make more bendy handle bows than not, but I feel that on the whole stiff handle bows are a shade easier to shoot consistently, especially if you don't know how to hold a bendy handle bow.

See my problem with stiff handled bows is I don’t know how to hold them 

I always shoot like I’m holding a bendy handle, pinching lightly between my palm and tips of 3 fingers
And is always a little weird on stiff handled bows (i Probly need to learn to make better handles)

[Yooper Bowyer]

What did you learn on?  The first bow I ever shot was a kid's fiberglass recurve when I was about 8.  I only learned how to hold bendy bows when I started making them.  Of course I handle found cross sections differently than rectangular, but you get the idea.

[bradsmith2010]

usuallly a loose grip,, and letting the bow balance in my hand, works most the time,,

[Bob Barnes]

interesting subject that needs a few pictures... 

[Tradslinger]

I got my first bow about 1965 or so, a small wooden bow. a couple of years later, it was a fiberglass bow, believe it was a Ben Pearson. I made a lot of bows back then as a kid and a teenager as well as a lot of arrows from whatever I could find. I remember one stupid moment after making a decent bow and spending all morning making a really good arrow. I had found a piece of steel along the railroad tracks that made a perfect arrowhead. After finally getting it attached really well to my arrow, I had to try it out. So I shot it into a stump and broke it off inside of it. I later "borrowed" one of my dad's hunting arrows, also Ben Pearson, and immediately lost it while shooting at a rabbit in the underbrush. Over the years I have shot just about everything but always come back to the simple stick and string. The bendy bow is my favorite bow now. While they may look almost like nothing more than a flat stick, they can be awesome weapons as they have been in the past for so many. I just wish that I had known more about them years ago when I was much younger and more able to get around. And they take up so little room! I didn't know what to expect with the bendy handle but it feels very good in my hand.

[Onehair]

I would love to see some pictures as well. Wanting to build one soon, Do you narrow in the handle at all or same width as the limb?

[stuckinthemud]

I love shooting bendy handle stick bows but although I always use a relaxed open grip I like the reasurance of a wrist strap for when that grip gets a bit too relaxed ....