what lbs makes it a warbow insted of a longbow

[teddybear111111]

for my reconackemts when i get asked i say 90lbs and above makes it a warbow what you say the lbs would be.
and if you do it how many arrows a im can you get off
i do 15 but only 50lbs longbow or any informasion about warbows in the past would be grate i like to say things that are facked not congetor

[youngbowyer]

i'd say from 85 lbs is a warbow and not a longbow

[nickf]

well, at first let's say a warbow is heavier and longer. the english longbow is also drawn further than a normal drawlength.
I think bows over 85# @ 30" are warbows...

hope this is a good answer for you since I didn't really understand your questions. interpunction helps

Nick

[outcaste]

If you look at the distances that were required to be shot by law at the time and weight of arrow that would be needed to go through plate armour, I would say that 120lbs (low estimate)would give a meaningful warbow. This is not to say that individual bows and archers aren't capable of achieving this at lower weights etc though.

Cheers.
Alistair

[youngbowyer]

120 lbs would probably be better if you are versing a french armoured knight however 85 lbs is still considered a warbow but it wouldn't inflict much damage.

[Rod]

Just a personal view, but IMHO weight alone does not a "warbow" make.
I don't even care for the term.

In it's heyday it was just a "bowe", even the term "longbow" had no currency until it was used to distinguish a "longbow" from a "crossbow".

These days, post Strickland and Hardy's "The Great Warbow", everywhere I go I see folks calling just about anything made of wood over 90lb a "warbow".
Even if appears to be the bastard offspring of a lawn archery bow and a fencepost.

Of course, not everyone has access to a good single stave of yew, elm or ash, nor the ability to make a good heavy bow, but I saw one recently in the hands of a bloke in an archery shop who knew nothing and cared less about the tradition or wooden bows in general apart from selling anything he could to anyone who would part with the money.

This one had as many laminations as a liquorice allsort, like a bad lawn archery bow on steriods, an overlength handle wrap that told me that the maker was in two minds as to which was the top nock, or would not be surprised to see the tiller reverse when the bow was used.

The trader puffed out his chest and called it his "warbow", to me it was nothing of the sort.
And knowing him of old, I doubt that he could string it without a struggle.

Naturally draw weight and the ability to cast a heavy shaft are a basic requirement and many folks will rely on laminated construction through either economic necessity or availability of materials, but surely, draw-weight alone does not make a proper "warbow".

What do you think?

Rod.

[ratty]

a longbow that bends through the handle and is not a victorian stiff in the handle longbow i would refure to as a medieval longbow.

if i was going to war with a medieval longbow i would want a bow over 120lb to shoot a heavy shaft 70g a good distance and to penetrate armour.

80lb to 100lb is a good practice weight to strengthen your body. but i would honestly say with the correct technique any ADULT could shoot a 100lb bow.

to denote the difference between a victorian traditional longbow and a heavy weight medieval longbow the name warbow is used to stop confusion and i think it does the job well.

ps. obviously a laminate is not a medieval longbow only self bows but they are good for practice never the less

[nickf]

let's say:
(close to) compass tiller, longer, stronger, longer drawlength ?

I don't see why many lams don't make a warbow... And drawweight doesn't count much, depending on the person, but I wonder if anybody would call a yew bow, with a compass tiller, 80"long, drawn to 32 inches a warbow, if it only pulled 30#...

yew wasn't available everywhere, and often elm, ash etc were used for these warbows.

warbow isn't a single type, it's a bunch of different types; laminated, selfbow, backed. And all of these make ENGLISH warbows.

but the English weren't the only tribes with 'warbows'... look at the cherokee d-bows, the sinewbacked warbows from the westcoast indians, the long, incredibly strong chinese hornbows, pulling way over 150#, the long papua bows shooting harpoonlike arrows, the small african bushman warbows, with poisoned arrows and under 50# of drawweight.

Nick

[Far East Archer]

Well~ This is the ENGLISH warbow forum so I think it must be we describe English bow, not other warbows....
In that time, they did not laminate woods to make warbow, so it must be selfbow.
Weight wise, well, any bow use in war is technically a warbow, whether it is 40# or 180#, doesn't really matter...

Think about it, you shot in the face at 100 yards by a 40#, it will not help if it is heavier bow, you still dead.
Though, for sake of not lowering weight so everyone can join in (its not suppose to be easy!) I would say 100#@30" at least.

Like  Ratty say, any adult should be able to pull 100#. This use to be hunting weight not too long ago, so, warbow should at least be that or higher yeah? I think they mostly start pull bow at young age, not to be able to pull, but to shoot accurately.

[alanesq]

I think if you want a bow which you can claim to be a true replica of a English Warbow then it should be a self bow, at least 140lb draw weight, natural bow string and of course have sidenocks

I don't think this is what people mean when they say warbow though, it's just to differentiate from the recreational type longbows

[triton]

a longbow that bends through the handle and is not a victorian stiff in the handle longbow i would refure to as a medieval longbow.

if i was going to war with a medieval longbow i would want a bow over 120lb to shoot a heavy shaft 70g a good distance and to penetrate armour.

80lb to 100lb is a good practice weight to strengthen your body. but i would honestly say with the correct technique any ADULT could shoot a 100lb bow.

to denote the difference between a victorian traditional longbow and a heavy weight medieval longbow the name warbow is used to stop confusion and i think it does the job well.

ps. obviously a laminate is not a medieval longbow only self bows but they are good for practice never the less

So far I'd say this is the best offering.  mainly cus I was thinking about a reply while making shavings in the workshop this arvo and it's about what I was going to say 

[JackCrafty]

What caliber makes a bullet a weapon of war?

I think we need a defintion on the type of warfare we are taking about.  IMO, most people see a warbow as a weapon that acts like artillery....and is capable of long range shooting.  A heavy draw weight is essential, of course, but we must define what distance is required first.  Perhaps any bow that shoots a 700+ grain arrow 200+ yards would be a warbow?  Just a thought.

[Yeomanbowman]

warbow isn't a single type, it's a bunch of different types; laminated, selfbow, backed. And all of these make ENGLISH warbows.

Why is this subject to negotiation   We all know medieval warbows (name semantics aside) were selfbows regardless of wood type.  It really is a simple as that.

[nickf]

well, if the old english had boo and ipe, they'd use it for sure.
please remember those old lads had no bandsaws either, nor ebay for buying staves, cars for driving them.

I think laminated english warbows are still warbows... right?

well, me being a just-16year old kid, I'm more than happy with 90#-110#, and boo backed bows... They're more than enough warbow for me

just a total off-thread question:
I noticed drawing a heavy bow to 30"+ goes very slow, takes at least some seconds,
so for today's urban warfare I'd prefer a 50#-70#@28", 56"-66" ntn bow...

what about you guys?

[triton]

warbow isn't a single type, it's a bunch of different types; laminated, selfbow, backed. And all of these make ENGLISH warbows.

Why is this subject to negotiation   We all know medieval warbows (name semantics aside) were selfbows regardless of wood type.  It really is a simple as that.

+1
I'll second that