Hawthorn Bow

[Marc St Louis]

Thanks for the compliments guys. The Hawthorn that grow up here are fairly small and this one at about 2" in diameter was a big one. Hawthorn does have thorns and in the Fall it has a clump of bright red berries that are edible but the berries have 3 large pits in them with very little flesh on them. Bears like to eat them when they are ripe

To cold to be doing any shooting up here Justin, -35 tonight with daytime highs of about -20.

I did use the heat gun Chris but only to take the deflex out from the top limb.

Yes if the bow had broken I would not have been happy but it was good to see how well the bow took being held back at full draw for such a long time.

Lennie. I think I have read that Hawthorn also has medicinal properties.

[Gordon]

I always remove the string when if I think I'm going to be showing a bow around folks that are not familiar with wooden bows. That's because invariably someone will ask me to brace it and then hold it. Then it only takes a split second before they have the string by their ear.

That's a cool bow Marc. I've got a few hawthorne staves - you've got me thinking...

[koan]

Marc that is a testement to your ability..great bow....Brian

[Woodland Roamer]

Nice job on that one Marc, you got a lot out of that piece of wood. There sure is something about these bows that makes people who don't know much about them want to pull them as far as they can and then hold them there as long as possible.

Alan

[GregB]

That's a good lookin' bow from a knarley piece of wood!

[Marc St Louis]

Gordon.
Generally that is what I do also but the man I passed the braced bow to claimed to have used a traditional bow before and said he used to go hunting with it. In fact I think he said he had made bows in the past, he was an older fellow.

I have passed unbraced bows to guys that didn't know anything about bows that bend the bow backwards by grabbing the tips with their hands and the handle against their chest. This is especially so when the bow is not your standard looking bow. You come across all types over the years and the only way to be sure is not to pass them the bow at all, but then you don't arouse curiosity that way.

[AndrewS]

Looks like a nice bow, Marc.

[broad_head]

Hi Mark
               Very nice bow, I am glad to see someone else using hawthorn. I have made a couple of bow from it and found it to be a very strong wood even when it is full of knots. Here in the UK it can grow to large size but I prefer to cut small branches.
I will post a few pictures of my bows when get chance.
                                                                                         Peter.

[OldBow]

Good Job, Marc.  I have made a few hawthorn bows and have a dandy branch curing under my deck. Hope it turns out as well as yours. We'll look at it again next week for Jan Self Bow of the Month.

[Pappy]

Great looking bow Marc,nice profile and I love the character.Nice job.
   Pappy

[tpoof]

inspiring bow there Marc !!!
This spring I went walking along the river banks that were just loaded with Hawthorne shrubs...
after  a half day of hiking and searching I found some pieces that may make a bow,,,, maybe..
closer examination revealed twists and spiral grain that I'm not sure is workable.
They sure like to grow gnarley!!!!!

So they sit, waiting.
waiting for some inspiration...
Now that I have some I just may see what suprises are instore....

Did your bark look like this? I'm thinkin a Hawthorne is a Hawthorne,,but....
If I have any luck I'll post, if not....
Oh ya,, love your bow!

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[venisonburger]

Great looking bow, the unstrung pic really shows the character of the wood. You did a perfect job of tillering it.
VB

[uwe]

As mothern nature gave it, some chips as a firestarter and the bow is finished. I like these kinds of bows.
Well done. Is this a special american wood? I don`t know the name. I think I didn`t read it in PA, nore in TBB.
Regards Uwe

[SimonUK]

Yes, as Peter said, we have lots of this in the UK, but I have never seen anything I could make a bow out of - far too many branches.

And yes, they say it's bad luck to bring this stuff into the house 

[Marc St Louis]

I know that further South Hawthorn grows to a bigger size, it may even be a different species because the thorns are much bigger. My sister lives by Barrie and there are some growing there at least double in diameter but they seem to branch out sooner.

The bark did look like that tpoof

It's a good thing I don't live in the UK