A bowyer is a master-craftsman who makes bows . Though this was once a widespread profession, the importance of bowyers and of bows was diminished by the introduction of gunpowder weaponry . However, the trade has survived and many bowyers continue to produce high-end bows.
14-440: Historically, a wide variety of bows have been produced for purposes ranging from food gathering and warfare to recreation. Who created these bows depended mainly on the type of bow being produced, but also on the quantity required. The skills required tend to divide traditional bowyers into two groups: In clans or social groups that used wooden self bows (bows made entirely from one piece of wood) bows would sometimes be crafted by
28-410: A seasoned stave; a composite bow requires a week's work, and could possibly take up to several years, starting with a much greater range of materials and skills. Self bows must be approximately the height of the archer if they are to allow a long draw, and they are less efficient in the specialized art of flight archery . Well-designed composite bows of high draw-weight give higher arrow velocity, and
42-633: Is about the same for all types of bow… within certain limits" In many parts of the world, including much of Africa, the Americas, northern Europe, and Southern Asia, the great majority of traditional bows are self bows. The first bow artifacts, the Stellmoor and Holmegaard artifacts of Northern Europe, are self bows. The Stellmoor bow was made from the heartwood of a Scots pine while the oldest Holmegaard bows were carved from small-diameter elms. In primitive flight archery competitions, bows inspired by
56-413: Is bent. Denser timbers can make narrower bows. The same design for less dense timbers results in the bow taking excessive set-string follow, or even breaking. However, equally effective bows may be made from less dense timber by making them wider near the centre. The mass of equivalent bows is closely similar whatever the density of wood; approximately the same mass of wood is required whatever the density of
70-563: The United States, many bowyers were inspired by Ishi , the last member of the Yahi , who lived most of his life outside modern culture. Ishi first contacted US citizens in 1911. His friend Saxton Pope learned some of his skills and spread them to bowyers including Howard Hill , Ben Pearson and Fred Bear . Self bow A self bow or simple bow is a bow made from a single piece of wood. Extra material such as horn nocks on
84-526: The back of a self bow must be, so far as possible, continuous. This may be achieved by using the outer, under-bark surface of the tree as the back of the bow (convenient with most white woods), or by the painstaking process of removing outer growth rings (often used with yew and osage orange ), or by making or following a cut or split surface which happens to have continuous grain (a usual approach if starting with commercially sawn wood). The density of timber correlates well with its ability to store energy as it
98-459: The bow itself is shorter. However, the hide glue that holds a composite bow together absorbs water and will dissolve if soaked; the wood of self bows is less sensitive to humidity. At the weights more usual for modern amateurs, the greater density of horn and sinew compared to wood usually cancels any advantage of composite construction. For most practical non-mounted archery purposes, self bows can perform as well as composite; "the initial velocity
112-478: The constituent materials had to be put under enormous stress and the bow's limbs needed to be perfectly aligned. These demands required experienced bowyers who were willing to spend a great deal of time crafting their weapons. Cultures such as the Mongols made effective military use of powerful composite bows for millennia; the limited records indicate that only a minority of men in these cultures ever made bows. In
126-520: The design of the Holmegaard bows perform very well because of their light, non-bending tips. In most inhabited areas, common timbers can be made into high-quality self bows. The pieces must be long enough (approximately the height of the archer), and the grain must be sufficiently straight. Denser timbers normally store energy better and can be made into narrower bows with less effort – high-quality yew allows for particularly narrow self bows, such as
140-419: The ends, or built-up handles, would normally be accepted as part of a self bow. Some modern authorities would also accept a bow spliced together in the handle from two pieces of wood. An effective self bow can be made from widely available local material in most inhabited parts of the world, with limited tools whose functions include chopping, shaving , and scraping . A day of work may be needed, starting with
154-458: The individual user; however, even with fairly simple bow designs it was often easier to rely upon a few skilled bowyers within the group. By working in groups more could be accomplished. In medieval England, for example, professional bowyers produced thousands of bows required for that country's military. These bowyers could reportedly make an English longbow in as little as two hours. Wooden selfbows normally take from 5–15 hours of work depending on
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#1732772703069168-406: The skill of the bowyer and the challenges set by the piece of wood. Modern amateurs find it satisfying to make functional self bows with beginner's skills and few tools. Cultures that used composite bows (bows made of several materials, classically horn , wood , and sinew ) had to rely on skilled craftsmen. Composite bows could be made relatively short, heavily recurved, and highly effective but
182-531: The timber. The overall length of bending wood must be about 2.3 times the draw length. Narrow bows (known as "longbows") can bend in the handle. Wider bows (known as "flatbows") must be narrow in the handle if they are to be practical, but the handle must be made thicker so as not to bend, and the complete bow will therefore tend to be longer. Self bows may be of any side-view profile ; moderate recurving can often be achieved with heat and force. Taxus baccata Too Many Requests If you report this error to
196-597: The traditional European version of the longbow . The Eastern Woodlands tribes of North America used hickory , tribes in parts of the Midwestern United States osage orange , Native Americans of the west coast used short, wide, recurved bows made of American Pacific yew, Brazilian rainforest tribes used palm wood, and many others. In Europe and North America, common woods such as maple , ash , elm , and oak make excellent flat bows , and are far easier to obtain than good-quality yew. The fibres on
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