I have a friend named Tony who is an excellent bowyer. He sticks to the primitive end of bowyering and has a definite style he prefers, namely, bendy handled R/D profile osage selfbows. His nocks are particularly distinctive, they are really petite. I really like this style of bow so I asked him to craft me one when he found time. In spite of going through some serious trials and tribulations these past few months, he found time to make a bow for me. I got an email from his wife earlier in the week, and I was champing at the bit to get over and see my new bow but only had time to get it last night. I had high expectations, and even so I was extremely surprised with what he turned out. Well maybe not surprised, but definitely in awe of his skills.
Stats on the bow are as follows: 57" n/n, 50lb@27", roughly 1.25" at the handle and tapering to just under 3/8" at the nocks. I had to throw in a pencil to give you the true perspective of the size of his nocks. Because of their size and the very small loops he uses on his FF strings, you HAVE to string and unstring using a stringer. Lots of character in both limbs. R/D side profile, tillered so all wood is stressed evenly at full draw. This is evident in the full draw shot, where you see the outer limbs look fairly straight. This is because they are bending farther due to their initial reflex. This is the smart way to tiller such a profile IMHO. Rubbed with a little red stain that resides primarily in the spring wood, its subtle but you can see it in the wood in pic of the bow's name. Finished with Formbys tung oil, my favorite finish for osage. Has a leather grip and mink strike plate for a Native American feel.
I'd like to sibmit this for BOM for him. Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I am enjoying shooting this bow.
[attachment deleted by admin]
