Handles

[Fox]

I can’t figure a handle that I like! I like the feel of a pistol grip style but really don’t like the look, I’ve tried the bulbous style and can’t get it so it’s comfortable, and have tried numerous others and none that I really like. I shoot like you shoot with a D bow so I’m just pinching between my palm and fingers

[mmattockx]

I like the feel of a pistol grip style but really don’t like the look

In this case I would say that what feels good is more important than what looks good, but everyone has to find their own balance of form vs. function.


Mark

[BowEd]

Handles are sort of a personal thing the archer has to resolve himself.Very important though.

[Pat B]

Once I started using a bulbous handle I rarely went back. I think it was Dean Torges's "Hunting The Osage Bow" that got me started with bulbous handles.
 A handle style is a personal thing.

[RyanY]

Have you tried a mild concave shape for the belly of the handle? I’ve made a few like this and found it very comfortable.

[Selfbowman]

I like a handle with a arrow rest most importantly . Then it depends on the archer from there. I have more pistol grip requisite. Arvin

[Dances with squirrels]

I'm with Pat. I used Dean's book to build my early selfbows and found the bulbous grip naturally fills the contour of my cupped hand making the hold comfortable, stable and repeatable. It's its own locator.

I also like how it helps create gentle and seamless flow to see and feel throughout the bow, rather than seeming a collection of individually shaped parts. It integrates especially well in bows with radiused bellies. A bow with that sort of flow is just plain sexy... to me anyway.

Folks shouldn't judge the bulbous grip on just one specimen. It can be shaped a variety of ways. I have some bows that Dean made and each grip is a bit different, as are many of mine. Some more round, others more narrow and deep... but they still maintain the flow. I build up a small shelf with leather, just enough to support the arrow, and it fades out in all directions under the handle leather so it can't be hardly felt or seen.

[BowEd]

Good post....Handles are very important.A lot of us have been influenced by the old professor.I'm in that group too.

[Eric Krewson]

I make a semi bulbus handle, while shaping I close my eyes and grip the handle, it may feel bulky and uncomfortable at first but I remove the pressure points a little at a time until it fits like a glove.

All the handle wood in the picture will be covered with leather. I roll the top and bottom of the leather for a more finished look. Don't stich the leather on and prefer a neat glue joint.

[gutpile]

thats nice Eric.. I prefer a low wrist grip.. bulbous handles work great for me.. the high wrist,deep throat grip is something I just can't get used too when I compare to low wrist..... to each his own.. gut

[Pat B]

I generally add a "hump" of leather on the back of the bulbous handle to fill out under my fingers...

[Jim Davis]

Long ago I settled on a perfectly straight handle. There is no possibility of it not feeling the same every time I grip the bow. I heel the handle loosely and never have to think about the grip. With or without back padding, this was standard for thousands of years.

[Morgan]

I like a very minimal handle, just enough meat to keep it stiff in the middle if that’s what I’m going for or not if I’m wanting or the stave is wanting to be a bend in handle bow. I always lay the handle out a certain way on a stiff handle bow to rough out, but end product pretty much never resembles what I laid out. I just shape to feel and then blend everything together to flow. If I’m gonna be shooting it a lot, I want it to feel good and natural in my hand.

[Selfbowman]

I like them this way

[bradsmith2010]

I like the handle to be as to be small but not bend,, unless its a bendy design,
a flat bendy style is fine for me too,,
I usually just make it fit contour of the bow and go with that,, once I get used to it,, any reasonable handle is ok,,
I dont like a bulky handle, but every one is differernt,,so do what shoots best for you,,