Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Airborne890 on January 22, 2016, 12:39:30 am
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Hello! I have been reading these forums since I started making bows. This is my first post on a finished project.
This is a sinew-backed Yew heartwood bow as crafted by the native peoples of the Pacific Northwest.
This bow was handcrafted using steel and stone tools. It is pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia) layered with 3 layers of elk sinew. The tips are wrapped with sinew and stained with red ochre (natural iron-rich earth pigment). The back is also painted with red ochre designs. The bowstring is a 2-ply deer-backstrap sinew string. The belly of the bow has been finished in a coating of bear fat to slow moisture absorption and then burnished with an antler to compress the wood fibers.
The bow is 40" long and pulls 55 lbs at 24" draw.
Thanks for looking
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Additional pictures
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That is an outstanding bow, great job
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welcome on board, that bow is a looker!
very nice work and your pics in that landscape are beautiful!
Keep up the great work and let us see your other bows.
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That's a great bow! A+ for authenticity. I bet it's fun to shoot.
Pacific yew is Taxus Brevifolia. ;)
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Thank you for the clarification Weylin!
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Bravo! That is a great and beautiful bow, and what a way to introduce yourself to this forum!
joachim
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Beautiful work...
Del
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Outstanding - very nice ! Bob
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Welcome, I like that a lot,very nice work. :)
Pappy
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Welcome realy like the paint beautiful job
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I will welcome you also. Mighty fine bow.
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Thanks for showing this over here as well...saw ya post it on FB n liked it ;) you did a great job on a killer combo use of materials...the unbraced says it all :)
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Very nice work of art there.It shows.How wide did it end up for ya at it's widest?
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Well done! 40''...Wow!
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Awesome work Airborne, what a great combo
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Killer bow Airborne, I hope you continue to post your work cause that bow there is quite nice indeed. I like everything about it.
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That's quite a first post! Great job on the bow.
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I appreciate the kind words. Thank you. This bow is 2.25" wide at the widest point on the limb. I was pleasantly surprised by the resilience/springiness of yew heartwood. I am currently working on more bows of this style in juniper and trying to get my hands on some calocedrus decurrens (incense cedar) to test out the hook-nocked style of the sierra Miwok. Will keep everyone posted.
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I've always admired that style and yours looks great. Excellent post. Welcome to PA.
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That's a great looking bow! Have you seen the video on youtube, a clip from the 50's of an old native making one of these bows the old school way? It's great to watch.
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nice work well done. looks totaly authentic
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The reason I ask is at this time I'm doing an ironwood bow that I've floor tillered to about a 60# bow.It's 64" long.I plan on heat treating in at least 3" of reflex.I started out almost 2" wide.Lucky thing too because I accidentally took too much wood from one fade in thickness.Down to 9/16" thick so I had to do that on the other limb too of course.It still has a mass weight of 21.00 ounces almost finished dimensioned out which puts it in the 60# range according to the mass theory by Steve Gardner.Which I trust whole heartedly.Your bow is an exception to this of course but still the thinner but wider theory works.Most people have seen the hickory bow in the TBB that's 48" long pulling quite an overdraw[I think 27"] with 1/4" thick limbs.Great job again.Thanks for showing your bow.
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Excellent little bow. Well done!!! 8)
The species name is always written in lower case letters and the genus is in caps(Taxus benifolia)
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I have seen the ethnographic video on the Yurok Elder making these bows. Wonderful piece.
Pat thank you for the clarification. I have learned so much from these forums and continue to learn every day.
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That is an outstanding little bow! Great job!
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Old sinew just loves those thin wide limbs to crank on.
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well done, very cool, and welcome
chuck
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Wow!! That's a pretty one! Good work.
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sweet lil stik there, love the art work as well :)
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very nice, thank for sharing :)
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That's a sweetheart. :) :)
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That is a sweet bow. Job well done.
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Awwww, what a cute little, tiny, baby bow! I bet it could even kill a squirrel... even if the arrow had to pass thru a bull moose to get to the squirrel! >:D
Looks like you really know your beans when it comes to eeking out excellent tiller on those shorties. That's not the easiest thing in the world to pull off. Well done, sir. Well done, indeed!
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Thanks for showing such a nice bow. 2 1/4“ wide is quite large for a heartwood bow. How did you do it? Use a large tree or seriously decrown the stave?
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That bow is a joy to behold! The photos and backdrop ain't too shabby either. :)
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It's great to see you take a break from fighting white walkers to make a sweet little yew bow!
I love seeing this bow replicated, it's for sure on my list. You nailed it, those short wide limbs
are very tough to tiller. Great job! Where do you live?
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There is a certain measure of Jon Snow there, except this one obviously knows something....lol
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Thanks again for all the compliments. It's very encouraging sharing my crafts with like-minded people.
Tanneur- I used a very dense piece of yew and cut through the rings with no regard for the back. The sinew was more than enough to compensate for the inconsistent back.
Wizardgoat- I am knapping out some dragon-glass points for the arrows to this set (in preparation of the white-walker invasion). I live at Castle Black, but you should have known that. Hahah. I am currently living in Colorado Springs but hail from Israel.
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Wow! How'd I miss this one. And welcome, I think you will fit in, here. I really like how you used the natural pigments, great looking , little bow.
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Some more pics