Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: jturkey on September 30, 2011, 01:30:07 am
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i am just wondering i hear a lot of people using rawhide and having never worked with it other than indian designs being ainted on them for crafts for the kiddies. in order of backing materials i figure bamboo and hickory would fall 1 and 2 correct me if i am wrong. then it would be like silk linen paper bagscotton matirials oh o forgot sinew that would be one of the top 3 as well which ones am i missing and in what order would you place them in. :-\
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Trying to organize these into "best to worst" categories is like trying to quantify beauty. Too many variables, too many biases, too many cultural issues, and too much simply can't be added up to make a concrete score.
Some are better than others at certain jobs. For instance, sinew can add weight to a bow that comes in a little light. Thin goat rawhide or antelope hide adds imperceptible weight but is unbreakable. Sinew, even with varnish over it, will suck water out of the atmosphere and lose it's best attributes quickly while rawhide soaks in the varnish and is nearly submersible. Boo is a bobbproof backing, but nearly impossible to mate on a stave bow without the use of powertools to plane everything dead flat.
It's best to list the good and bad points of all the backings you are intersted in and then compare it to the conditions you are going to carry your bow. I have one bow that I shoot in the yard that isn't even sanded out. It's been like that for years, covered with dirty handprints, grass stains, even some red wine stains. But it shoots on warm and dry summer days just fine, but being hickory it would be the last choice in the world to hunt Roosevelt elk in the rainforests of Washington state. Poor thing would drop from 50# draw weight to 8 lbs and stay bent at full draw until it got back home to South Dakota!
What conditions are you going to carry the bow you are interested in backing?
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There are two types of backings. One type for support and insurance and one for performance. Wood, boo and sinew are for performance. The others(rawhide, silk, linen, burlap, paper) will give you some reassurance but little if any performance.
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I'm no expert but bamboo is great it can let you use pretty janky wood and still make a bow. I have never used sinew but I understand it adds strength and performance as well as draw weight . rawhide is something i have used and it might not add to performance but it will keep things together even if there is some pretty bad flaws ( like splinters lifting and such). linen and silk will keep (some) splinters from lifting but won't keep it from failing like rawhide will ,that is just my humble experience . so
(1) bamboo
(2)sinew
(3)rawhide
(4)silk,cotton,and linens
i would rather not use a backing if i can get a good back naturally :)
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But SA has been known to conceal natural good bow backs with snake skins. I have proof!
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Silk used prperly is a performance increasing backing. This has been known for years. You can blame Tim Baker for telling ewveryone that gluieng an old tie to the back of a bow was the best one could do with silk.
Pre-stretch it and put on several layers and there will be a mrtked difference. There is an old Popular Science article from the 40's showing this.
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I use silk for protection not for performance but never thought of using several layers for performance. Need to look into that a little more. Dean
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The weave of the silk can also be a factor. I recently removed a silk back to apply a hickory backing and the silk kept tearing across the back, but would not tear along the length of the back. Basically the silk was offering minimal protection. Make sure the weave of the silk/cloth is running with the back of the bow.
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Great discussion! No one mentioned my favorite and most used backing. The only backings I've ever used are burlap, silk, linen, sinew, air and rawhide. I've never used wood or bamboo. Good bow wood is so plentiful in NH that backing bows with most of the above makes little sense for me. In my yard, there's black locust, oaks, maples, beech and air.My favorite backing is good old fashioned air. It's reliable and inexpensive though I understand that good air is hard to find. It never sucks in moisture or lifts on me. Not much of it is needed. It is light...just a few molecules of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor and some other gasses work wonders in keeping a bow together. Since is is so light it doesn't add much weight to the limbs so that performance doesn't suffer. I can sit in my stool and look at the grain in my bow on those days when I didn't feel like getting up at 5 AM to go hunting and action is low which is most of the time. I think I'll do a late morning hunt with my air backed osage bow today. BTW my hunting arrow is sinew backed since I wrapped the trade point, fletching and self nock with it. :) Jawge
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great info here, what kind of backing properties would fish skins have? such as halibut, salmon, lingcod, or sturgeon
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Maybe so Jawge but the odd time you have mentioned splinters popping through your air backing. ;)
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Yup, Pat, and those become tomato stakes. LOL. I won't hunt with anything but air backed. Jawge
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Like I said too much good bow wood around here to back bows.That's why the local tribes did not back bows. Jawge
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They didnt use steel points either Jawge, mostly because they had none. If local tribes had TBIII or URAC around at the time, I bet they would have backed plenty of bows! That being said I agree with George, air is my favorite. I do back bows that require it.
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"They didnt use steel points either Jawge, mostly because they had none." Of course they did, PD. Where do you think the term trade point came from? They cam from traders. They would also use metal from pots and pans, etc. to make points. I remember going to Harvard's Peabody Museum and looking at board bows on display. No kidding. I know a board bow when I see one. They'd take boards from wherever and make bows out of them. Jawge
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jwhalverson- ya i did but those skins pretty cool :D thanks to criveraville.
patm- how many layers did the use? i may have to try that w/the silk one day.