Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: stuckinthemud on January 09, 2016, 05:08:29 pm

Title: most beautiful timber?
Post by: stuckinthemud on January 09, 2016, 05:08:29 pm: Not the most beautiful bow, or the best bow-wood, what do you rate as the prettiest bow-wood?

For me, for the time-being its character yew: two-tone colour and all those curves.....
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: TimBo on January 09, 2016, 05:53:53 pm: Eastern Red Cedar, if it stayed reddish-purple...which it doesn't. Yew is pretty hard to beat.
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: Hrothgar on January 09, 2016, 06:20:18 pm: Osage orange gets my vote, the grain in ash can look really sharp when its stained.
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: bubby on January 09, 2016, 06:37:02 pm: I've seen some ugly bows, but it wasn't the woods fault😉
Lots of pretty woods tigerwood epe yew osage hhb but they are prettier drawn ready to let fly
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: dirthas on January 09, 2016, 06:37:31 pm: The prettiest I think I've seen in person is red cedar, but the look of laburnum really impressed me when I saw it on here: http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=41863.0
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: Bryce on January 09, 2016, 06:58:00 pm: Hands down....yew

(http://i1346.photobucket.com/albums/p696/Bryce_Ott/DSCN1143_zpsf8a1196d.jpg) (http://s1346.photobucket.com/user/Bryce_Ott/media/DSCN1143_zpsf8a1196d.jpg.html)
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: richardzane on January 09, 2016, 07:26:15 pm: I sure like persimmon ...with the light sap wood against the dark
but that yew of Bryce's is sure purty
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: bubby on January 09, 2016, 08:09:59 pm: (http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt320/bubncheryl/Picture012-1.jpg) (http://s623.photobucket.com/user/bubncheryl/media/Picture012-1.jpg.html)
(http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt320/bubncheryl/Picture016.jpg) (http://s623.photobucket.com/user/bubncheryl/media/Picture016.jpg.html)
Black walnut and paper birch is pretty
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: wizardgoat on January 09, 2016, 08:12:47 pm: Yew and Rocky Mountain juniper get my vote.
I really like the darker coloured Osage too
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: osage outlaw on January 09, 2016, 08:13:33 pm: Curly osage

(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/bows%202015/SDC17635.jpg)

(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/bows%202015/SDC17272.jpg)

(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/bows%202015/SDC17274.jpg)
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: DanD on January 09, 2016, 08:28:48 pm: My 2 bow I ever started was a beutiful walnut stave that with no warning what so ever exploded during tillering, I thought that it was going to be the most gorgeous bow when I got done with it but fire wood it became, lol
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: PatM on January 09, 2016, 09:29:50 pm: I like the look of Snakewood.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=snakewood&biw=1356&bih=593&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiUrZvTlp7KAhUB0h4KHX4jA3gQ_AUIBigB
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: Limbit on January 10, 2016, 03:44:42 am: Ebony...but don't tell anyone I said that! Yes, it makes a good self bow if you have the money to buy it and are willing to trust the words "legally harvested" . Looks like obsidian when you are done sanding it.
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: Del the cat on January 10, 2016, 05:00:08 am: Yew... did anyone say Yew yet? O:)
Or just maybe Yew ;D
I think Bryce proved the point with his pic (I'm still droolin').
Most of the pretty laminates are merely mimicking the two tone Yew look.
Del
(Laburnum (AKA Golden chain etc) is also pretty)
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: Dances with squirrels on January 10, 2016, 08:32:41 am: Yew.
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: PEARL DRUMS on January 10, 2016, 08:34:15 am: Yew gets my vote. No other wood can be so damn nasty and pretty at the same time, when handled properly.

If Brycey boys pic wasn't enough.
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: blackhawk on January 10, 2016, 10:16:28 am: In no particular order yew,osage,black walnut(tho not a fan of its soft properties),all junipers,black locust,ipe,jatoba,and one that hasnt been mentioned yet european buckthorn. Whitewoods that look good when dyed i like elm,hackberry,dogwood,hophornbeam,vine maple,ash,n sometimes the oaks. .... guess i just like em all!!! Lol :laugh:

But this is all futile as we all have different tastes,opinions,etc...beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: DavidV on January 10, 2016, 01:49:43 pm: I've had some really good looking hackberry when it's fine grained and has a bit of gray heartwood. Osage would get my vote though.
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: Pat B on January 10, 2016, 01:52:21 pm: Aged osage has always been my favorite but aged mulberry and aged black locust look very similar. Any old bows, no matter what wood was used have a certain appeal.
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: Bryce on January 10, 2016, 11:26:35 pm: Quote from: PEARL DRUMS on January 10, 2016, 08:34:15 am
Yew gets my vote. No other wood can be so damn nasty and pretty at the same time, when handled properly.

If Brycey boys pic wasn't enough.

You get that stick from me? 8)
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: chamookman on January 11, 2016, 03:53:06 am: Osage is My favorite Bow wood - hands down, but Yew is the prettiest by far. Bryces photo nailed it ! Bob
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: Pappy on January 11, 2016, 05:37:32 am: Same as Bob, Yew ant my favorite bow wood but it is the prettiest to me overall. :)
Pappy
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: The Gopher on January 11, 2016, 09:07:41 am: I might have to agree with European Buckthorn, Was it Misslemaster that turned out some spectacular bows from Buckthorn?

Added link: This is one that i was remembering...
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,38265.0.html
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: BowEd on January 11, 2016, 10:17:42 am: I like em all.
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: Stringman on January 11, 2016, 02:15:57 pm: Umm, this stuff.

(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s670/cotton7611/597D60C7-B2B5-4DC7-B56D-C4D639F53598_zpsbif4qekt.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/cotton7611/media/597D60C7-B2B5-4DC7-B56D-C4D639F53598_zpsbif4qekt.jpg.html)
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: wapiti1997 on January 11, 2016, 07:34:40 pm: KY coffeetree is awful purtey! ;)
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: Badly Bent on January 11, 2016, 10:55:20 pm: I don't know that I have a favorite but I sure do like the variations of grain, color and character that can be found in buckthorn.
Cream sickle osage is pretty cool as well, I was given a stave of it from paulsemp and it sure is striking in appearance.
Also I am fond of black locust, it has pretty grain in my opinion. I've seen some beautiful yew as well and it also is hard to beat.
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: LittleBen on January 12, 2016, 06:09:15 pm: Hands down, claro walnut.

Also shedua,
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc450/Benjaminklein/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-53.jpg) (http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/Benjaminklein/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo-53.jpg.html)

Figured ipe
(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc450/Benjaminklein/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_0123.jpg) (http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/Benjaminklein/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_0123.jpg.html)

So many it's hard to choose .... Nice piece of king wood .....
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: JW_Halverson on January 12, 2016, 06:19:47 pm: As long as it is a working bow, I can find something beautiful about the grain of ever last one of them! If I know the bowmaker struggled with it, if the piece of wood has an unusual story, or if it travelled far or thru some convoluted route to get here....well so much the better. And best of all, if it gets gifted to some kid and their face lights up, that's where it becomes the most beautiful of all.

And THAT folks, is why I really keep coming back here.
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: RyanY on January 13, 2016, 09:03:28 am: I'd have to say Buckthorn. Every piece I've handled has beautiful figure and the mix of color between sap and heartwood plus what comes out with heat treating is just phenomenal. Plus it makes great bows! ;D
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: NOMADIC PIRATE on January 13, 2016, 12:01:58 pm: Zebrawood,

.....ho boy, if I could make a good bow out of a good piece of Zebrawood I would be in heaven ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: hochgaertner on January 13, 2016, 05:10:08 pm: Laburnum

I like osage, yew and laburnum

Peter
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: blackhawk on January 13, 2016, 06:02:10 pm: All the laburnum (golden chain tree) bows ive seen are pretty sweet colour...one of these days id like to get a hold of some n make a bow...i havent ever used it.

I like that grain in the handle Peter..nice. thanks for sharing!!! :)
Title: Re: most beautiful timber?
Post by: Springbuck on January 17, 2016, 12:43:20 pm: Goncalo alves, back when I was making a lot of backed bows.