Primitive Archer

I even owned a Watusi horn bellied Dryad longbow many years ago that was drop dead beautiful, but it was very sluggish.  I thought at the time that it must have been the added belly mass.

I remember those Dryad bamboo-backed, horn-bellied bows, they were great-looking bows. It’s interesting to know that they were slow, because they seemed very fast. The physical mass of this kind of bow is the main thing to consider. The heavier ones I made (98# and 70#) are fast, but that’s because they are strong relative to their mass. This bow is also quite heavy but has a lighter draw weight, so its performance may suffer. I have to make chrono tests. Making low-draw-weight bamboo-horn bows can be difficult, although "Simk" has succeeded at this very well.

What Del said it’s going to be closer to 4.5 to 5# per inch.

Pure sewing silk tends to be too weak for whipwork because it’s designed for needlework, not load-bearing wraps. Look for silk that’s meant for upholstery, bookbinding, or leatherwork, as these are usually stronger and more tightly spun. Some traditional bowyers also use silk-covered linen or silk-covered polyester thread — the silk gives the look you want, and the core gives the strength.

Those salmon skins look very cool. Very authentic looking.  Very well done. 

Glad to hear everyone is getting back to normal. Good on Matt for checking in on Bob. It’s been brutally cold and windy here lately.

Pappy I wonder if you could use one of those heater for water troughs for your fish tank.

Bjrogg