WHEN CAN YOU CALL YOURSELF A BOWYER

[Blacktail]

IS it a certain amount of bows..or a certain amount of broken sticks...this is some thing i have allways wondered...if you make one bow do you get the title...at times i call myself a bowyer..but,i dont really feel like one.. when did you feel that you could call youself a bowyer...so,what do you think..john

[makenzie71]

You're a bowyer when you build a bow.

[Jesse]

You're a bowyer when you build a bow.

I agree. If you make bows then your a bowyer. Maybe just an amateur backyard bowyer but a bowyer none the less.I think someone that sells bows for a living would be considered a professional bowyer  but most of us are just recreational bowyers. As far as I know there is no degree you can get that determines when to be called one.  If you make bows then your a bow maker/ 'bowyer" in my opinion.

[FlintWalker]

I think when you can make a bow of a predetermined length/weight/draw length,etc...more times than you can't...Then, I'd say you're a "bowyer".
 IMO, other than that, you're just making a bow.

[sailordad]

I think when you can make a bow of a predetermined length/weight/draw length,etc...more times than you can't...Then, I'd say you're a "bowyer".
 IMO, other than that, you're just making a bow.

i agree,but disagree at the same time.
a journeyman bowyer can make a bow of a predetermined length/weight etc.
an apprenctice bowyer can make bows,may not the intended draw weight but a bow none the less
just like in most labor type occupations there are those with the abilities to do the job and get it done,and there are those that can do the job and get it done right.

me i am an apprentice bowyer with a knapping addiction
oh ya i made a slow pretty one last night too(point not bow)

[rileyconcrete]

Well do you think the Indians that made bows new about poundage?  I think they just made a bow to fit the person.  I dont consider myself a bowyer. Only because I havent made that many bows.  All the bows I have made I couldnt even tell you the poundage.  I just make them to my likeings.  I dont think that really matters.  I think if someone can take a piece of a tree mark it out, shape it and make a bow to a persons likeing and do it like it is a second nature, then that is a true bowyer.

[The Gopher]

a bow does not have to be the correct length weight etc, to be a bow. if I'm stuck in the wilderness and I make an assymetric sapling bow with aweful string follow but it is good enough to kill a rabbit, then it is a bow, and i would be a bowyer. The distinction should be; professional, apprentice, ametuer, etc.

If i use the bow to smack the rabbit over the head, then it is just a rabbit stick, and i am a caveman 

[Michael C.]

Send me one of your best bows and I will tell you if you are 

[El Destructo]

                                          I'm just an Old Fashioned............Wood Butcher...........

[nathan elliot]

I'm sure plenty of people will have an opinion on this one. I remember Rod once commenting that making a few bows does not constitute one being a bowyer. For me its just a label, and I hate labels. That said, Marc St Louis, Rich Saffold and Chris Boyton are all the kind of craftsmen I would want to emulate. There are loads of other bowyers out there, I know quite a few here in Germany. Perhaps it's when people want to buy your bows.

Nat

[canidsong]

assuming you've made a functional bow, you can start calling yourself a bowyer. just ask yourself how much you want to mean it.

[Badger]

       I look at it the same way I look at a plumber for instance, I fix all my own plumbing but am not a plumber. I would not consider someone a bowyer unless they had acheived journeyman status in at least the style of bow they specialized in. I have made a lot of bows but don't consider myself a bowyer mainly because I haven't taken the time to master the finishing aspects of bowyering. As a journeyman truck mechanic I know we have many different areas that we have to qualify in to be considered journeyman, I think of it the same way with bows and arrows. Steve

[Parnell]

And I quote, "Do or do not...there is no try."

As far as the rest goes - it follows my signature tag. 

[Pappy]

Badger if you ant one nobody is, :)I don't conceder myself a bowyer,I am just a guy who loves to build bows.  I guess if it matters to you and you build bows call yourself a bowyer.
   Pappy

[Del the cat]

As someone else said, I don't like labels.
My pet hate label is 'expert', if I had to define 'expert' it would be 'the man who can put right his own mistakes'.
Maybe the same applies to 'bowyer' ?
We all make mistakes, the trick is to keep 'em small and be able to get around 'em.
Buying flowers sometimes helps  
Del
(PS, I think you'll know when you are a bowyer, cos that's what people will be calling you)