Hello, I cut a stand of European yew saplings last month, full of knots and pins, which I will try some experimental stone age technology on, like semi-HLD. Before I try something crazy I made a type of bow I am already familiar with. This quick dried yew Holmegård came from a 1 3/4 -2" sapling. It is 66"long and pulls #43 with the tie-on nocks all the way out. If I move them in an inch its closer to #50. String follow is 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch. The grip section is quite shallow and there is a certain "give" in the handle which I believe often was the case in primitive bows. You hardly ever see any deep handle sections of old bows. Hope you like it /Aksel