170#@30" elm viking bow.

[nidrinr]

OK, first of all, this is just a link to the Norwegian bowyers forum. The bow is made by Loke, and the text is in Norwegian. Anyways, a short translation:

The bow is inspired by the hedeby(haithabu)- and the balinderry bow, made from elm. 185 cm ntn. W/D is 43 mm/ 35 mm. Tillered it down to 170#@30" (From 190+ when the tiller broke..) The finish is a mix of beeswax, resin and "talg" (don't know the English word for "talg", and neither did the dictionary...)

A link to the Norwegian bowyers forum with a picture:
http://forum.bueforum.no/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1331

-Just to show what elm is capable of...   

[Phil Rees]

Excellent link Nidrinr  ... thanks
I wish I could read Norwegian ..looks like a very interesting project ... and I agree with your statement about Elm, a very underated bow wood.

[alanesq]

You can see a translation of the thread here
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.bueforum.no%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ff%3D4%26t%3D1331&sl=no&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8

btw - nasty tillering accident that !

[OlaP]

"Talg" would be tallow or lard, depending if the fat comes from beef/mutton(tallow) or pig(lard).
Cheers,
Ola

[bow-toxo]

OK, first of all, this is just a link to the Norwegian bowyers forum. The bow is made by Loke, and the text is in Norwegian. Anyways, a short translation:

The bow is inspired by the hedeby(haithabu)- and the balinderry bow, made from elm. 185 cm ntn. W/D is 43 mm/ 35 mm. Tillered it down to 170#@30" (From 190+ when the tiller broke..) The finish is a mix of beeswax, resin and "talg" (don't know the English word for "talg", and neither did the dictionary...)

A link to the Norwegian bowyers forum with a picture:
http://forum.bueforum.no/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1331

-Just to show what elm is capable of...   

 Both the Hedeby and Balinderry bows, the only Viking bows we know, were made with the tips of the bows bent toward the belly side and had only one nock in the upper end with a metal boss to keep the string loop from sliding farther down. The string had to be tied at the lower end. I suppose the bow isn't yet finished.

[nidrinr]

There are only two well known complletely preserved viking bows known.. -But there are lots of fragments and finds that makes it possible to make a good guess of what a viking bow could have been like, from more than these two.  I'm no arceologist, but I read a bit of information here and there. From what I've read I find it possible that the vikings (at least in Norway and probably in parts of Sweden) started to use two wooden bows and not only elm and yew. Either by themselves as knowledge learned from the Saami people, and/or they traded or used Saami bowyers. Their knowledge of laminating pine compression wood with a tension strong hardwood (often birch), makes bows capable of very strong poundage bows. I know there are lots of finds with fragments of bows, many of them with only the pine surviving.
 
At least I find it interesting guessing and making what could have been, not only replicating the few bows survived and recovered...   

BTW- Tiller picture is taken before the bow was finished btw, so the tips weren't bent yet. Lots of guesses have been made on why the tips are like that, but yew with those tips survive sub-zero temperatures, bows without explodes in cold, dry weather...

[bow-toxo]

There are only two well known complletely preserved viking bows known.. -But there are lots of fragments and finds that makes it possible to make a good guess of what a viking bow could have been like, from more than these two.  I'm no arceologist, but I read a bit of information here and there. From what I've read I find it possible that the vikings (at least in Norway and probably in parts of Sweden) started to use two wooden bows and not only elm and yew. Either by themselves as knowledge learned from the Saami people, and/or they traded or used Saami bowyers. Their knowledge of laminating pine compression wood with a tension strong hardwood (often birch), makes bows capable of very strong poundage bows. I know there are lots of finds with fragments of bows, many of them with only the pine surviving.
 
At least I find it interesting guessing and making what could have been, not only replicating the few bows survived and recovered...   

BTW- Tiller picture is taken before the bow was finished btw, so the tips weren't bent yet. Lots of guesses have been made on why the tips are like that, but yew with those tips survive sub-zero temperatures, bows without explodes in cold, dry weather...

 I think you are right about the Saami bows. "Finnbogi" was a Viking name and among their number full blood or half blood Saami were included. "Hornbogi" was another Viking name and some might have used steppeland bows they got from Khazar traders in Birka. The only selfbow fragments I know of are from Hedeby, and while they have different cross- sections from the comblete one, they have the self sidenocks and bent tips. If you find more information, I would like to see it.
                                                                                                             
                                                                                                   Erik

[nidrinr]

I know there are some fragments found in Bergen, clearly from bows. They are pinewood, probably pine compression wood. I know people with more info on theese fragments than I do, but they are quite well known. Also, there are some of the viking graves that were opened before good methods of preserving the wooden objects came along that have descriptions of bows. The oseberg grave contained at least one bow from what I've heard, probably made from elm. Unfortunately the only surviving evidence is the notes made by those who opened the grave..

The saga litterature is another source. What is certain from reading the sagas, is the fact that they competed in having a bow others were unable to draw. Knowing that gives a clue to believe heavy bows was quite common. The fact that those bows found suggests quite heavy bows passing 100#, combined with my personal guess that the hedeby bow wasn't the heaviest bow ever used by a viking, makes me believe they had some bows at least in the same league as the MR bows. (I like to believe even heavier than that, but that's also coloured by me being a Norwegian..  )
-But, reading about Eirik Tambarskjelve in the sagas suggests that I more than possible may be right.

Another clue to believing the poundage were respectable, is all the sources of the average strenght amongst the vikings. They often Competed in different games and sports, and as far as I know there have never been any shortage of food. In fact sources suggests a very healthy way of living, and combined with all the physical work in their everyday life I believe the average man back then would laugh at the average man today..