Great video Ivar. Good information for the few people fortunate enough to hold a real composite! I've given up making bows as a profession as I was getting sick of making the same old stuff...My bow making time can now go back to my true love - the hornbows :) I'll have a look through your channel and see what you have been making :)
That’s a magnificent looking bow, The first horn but I made I didn’t know you had to do all that and I treated it like a wood bowl and I kept trying to tiller it and get it to work right, this video would really help 20 years ago, so maybe it’ll help somebody now, One day I want to make a bow like that. Thanks for sharing
The bow is amazing looking . I was sweating with a elevated heart rate while watching the stringing and adjustment. I would be a nervous wreck if I had to adjust the limbs . What a work of art it is .
😅 Thank you! I'm sure you would manage just fine. It sure does take some getting used to, though 😄 I have never had a bow break or crack during blancing, so it seems they are quite tolerant of if.
Thank you! These bows usually have a brace height between 7 and 8,5 inches. Quite high, but it offers much better arrow flight. It's also needed for the design to stay stable
I am working on my own turkish bio composite bow. For more glueing surface of horn to the wood, I'd like to carve in a saw tooth profile. Do you do that for your bows and if so, how did you craft your tool?
I would suggest grinding and filing a scraper from a regular cabinet scraper. You will need to sharpen it regularly, since the horn is quite abrasive, so you'll need a small triangular saw file, and the cabinet scraper to make it from. You can also use the blade of a hand saw.
It's a good way of making a tidy joint. If you can fit the horns together just as nicely, you don’t need a celik, but there can't be a gap between the horns. Even the grips bend slightly in these bows.
This was just a coincidence. Normally the bows need to rest/dry at least 6 months after sinewing, before they can be bent. These bows generally become more stable with time, as internal stresses are released.
@@kviljo So when people are opening or bending the bow, the bow break. Is it because of the unbalance composition between horn, wood, sinew, and skills or is breaking more like an uncontrollable random factor?
@@jamesvuong8184 a break can have a lot of reasons, but if everything is glued well, and the materials are good, the biggest reason may perhaps be too little sinew, or uneven bend - so that some areas are overstressed. General design is also difficult, as the traditional designs are fine tuned to be just right. If you put in just a little extra reflex, it can be too much either for stress or stability :)
Well spotted! It certainly looks like there is no taper, but they usually have something like 1-2 mm taper throughout the main bending section. It is also good for these short bows to bend close to the handle, so it may be a compromise to facilitate a little better energy storage.
If you are used to seeing other bows, it may well look like this. The brace height is big on the Turkish bows. They should have minimum 7 inches, and some times as much as 8.
Thank you! A shorter string will make the bows more stable, but it was just a coincidence that I used this one. I said 7 inches in the video, but for flight shooting with a siper it should probably be minimum 7,5 inches. 7 is fine generally for target bows, though.
It depends a little. I've heard of a bowyer recommending his Qing/Manchu bow being strung all the time, due to the difficulty of stringing it. It does make them slower, but they can take itnmuch better than wood bows can, and importantly they will regain most of the original reflex if unstrung and left to relax for a longer time. - so it would seem they take little permanent damage from being strung for long periods at a time.
It can be a little tricky, actually. I normally use Dacron B50 for the Turkish bows, since it has some stretch like silk which was used originally. It's kinder to the bows, but it also means the new strings will stretch once they are put on the bow. Since I make these for a living, I have solved it by simply making a lot of strings, so I can try different ones to get the brace height where I want it. You could just twist the strings to make them shorter, but I prefer not to do that on these bows. It's a good question, actually. I will see if I can do some measurements and perhaps make a video on it.
@@kviljo thanks for the long and thorough response! Really appreciate it! Would be super happy to watch such a video in case you come up with a way. You really are an amazing craftsman
@@kviljo I notice in that seating position you have to bend your lower back. If not correctly moved (I mean your back muscles and tail bone), especially with that heavy bow draw, it could hurt your lower back. Just a reminder. 🤭
@@stefanussarintohe5161 oh! 😁 Thank you! Good reminder! I really need to treat my back better. I guess the back should be straighter, and with more flex taken by the hips?
Great video Ivar. Good information for the few people fortunate enough to hold a real composite! I've given up making bows as a profession as I was getting sick of making the same old stuff...My bow making time can now go back to my true love - the hornbows :) I'll have a look through your channel and see what you have been making :)
Thanks! Sorry to hear you dropped out, but I'm sure that makes good sense financially too. Hobbying around with hornbows sounds fantastic 😄
That’s a magnificent looking bow, The first horn but I made I didn’t know you had to do all that and I treated it like a wood bowl and I kept trying to tiller it and get it to work right, this video would really help 20 years ago, so maybe it’ll help somebody now, One day I want to make a bow like that. Thanks for sharing
Thank you! Yeah, there is quite a difference in how the materials behave :)
Very well explained!
We don't learn something every day, but today is that day!
Thank you!
The bow is amazing looking . I was sweating with a elevated heart rate while watching the stringing and adjustment. I would be a nervous wreck if I had to adjust the limbs . What a work of art it is .
😅 Thank you! I'm sure you would manage just fine. It sure does take some getting used to, though 😄 I have never had a bow break or crack during blancing, so it seems they are quite tolerant of if.
Truly amazing insights as always from a master bowyer!! I hope to purchase a bow from you soon, Inshallah. Thank you for these gems that you upload :)
Thank you for the kind words! I'd be happy to make you one, some day :)
Lovely work of art Ivar!
Thankyou,an extremely helpful tutorial. Beautiful bow..
Please make a series of tutorial videos of how to build a hornbow
If I find the time, perhaps I will some day :)
The real honorable weapons are swords spears maces axes and bow and arrows
Archery died the day someone invented the contact recurve.
Wow .... Amazing bow ..... but a sting a little bit short ?? how much the brace must be ?
Thank you! These bows usually have a brace height between 7 and 8,5 inches. Quite high, but it offers much better arrow flight. It's also needed for the design to stay stable
I am working on my own turkish bio composite bow. For more glueing surface of horn to the wood, I'd like to carve in a saw tooth profile. Do you do that for your bows and if so, how did you craft your tool?
I would suggest grinding and filing a scraper from a regular cabinet scraper. You will need to sharpen it regularly, since the horn is quite abrasive, so you'll need a small triangular saw file, and the cabinet scraper to make it from. You can also use the blade of a hand saw.
How high is the brace height? Ok, you just answered. Lol
What purpose of celik at turkish bow? Is that ok if turkish composite bow not using celik between horn belly?
It's a good way of making a tidy joint. If you can fit the horns together just as nicely, you don’t need a celik, but there can't be a gap between the horns. Even the grips bend slightly in these bows.
Hey, I am curious. Why do you need to let the bow rest for 7 months?
This was just a coincidence. Normally the bows need to rest/dry at least 6 months after sinewing, before they can be bent. These bows generally become more stable with time, as internal stresses are released.
@@kviljo So when people are opening or bending the bow, the bow break. Is it because of the unbalance composition between horn, wood, sinew, and skills or is breaking more like an uncontrollable random factor?
@@jamesvuong8184 a break can have a lot of reasons, but if everything is glued well, and the materials are good, the biggest reason may perhaps be too little sinew, or uneven bend - so that some areas are overstressed. General design is also difficult, as the traditional designs are fine tuned to be just right. If you put in just a little extra reflex, it can be too much either for stress or stability :)
Beautiful bow. When I see pictures of old bows, there is almost none thickness taper along the limb. How can you achieve even bend then ?
Well spotted! It certainly looks like there is no taper, but they usually have something like 1-2 mm taper throughout the main bending section. It is also good for these short bows to bend close to the handle, so it may be a compromise to facilitate a little better energy storage.
It seems that the string is too short and the brace height is too long. Is this the correct string length and brace height for this bow?
If you are used to seeing other bows, it may well look like this. The brace height is big on the Turkish bows. They should have minimum 7 inches, and some times as much as 8.
@@kviljo Thank you for this.
Great bow again !
Brace height : Do you use such short string (and higher brace height) on special purpose ?
Thank you! A shorter string will make the bows more stable, but it was just a coincidence that I used this one. I said 7 inches in the video, but for flight shooting with a siper it should probably be minimum 7,5 inches. 7 is fine generally for target bows, though.
Is it ok if composite bow always in string position?
It depends a little. I've heard of a bowyer recommending his Qing/Manchu bow being strung all the time, due to the difficulty of stringing it. It does make them slower, but they can take itnmuch better than wood bows can, and importantly they will regain most of the original reflex if unstrung and left to relax for a longer time. - so it would seem they take little permanent damage from being strung for long periods at a time.
How does one figure out how long the string has to be for a Turkish bow?
It can be a little tricky, actually. I normally use Dacron B50 for the Turkish bows, since it has some stretch like silk which was used originally. It's kinder to the bows, but it also means the new strings will stretch once they are put on the bow. Since I make these for a living, I have solved it by simply making a lot of strings, so I can try different ones to get the brace height where I want it. You could just twist the strings to make them shorter, but I prefer not to do that on these bows.
It's a good question, actually. I will see if I can do some measurements and perhaps make a video on it.
@@kviljo thanks for the long and thorough response! Really appreciate it! Would be super happy to watch such a video in case you come up with a way. You really are an amazing craftsman
@@sidschukowv6677 Thank you!
I'm afraid that back bend would compensate later on. I really hope not.
What do you mean? 😅
@@kviljo I notice in that seating position you have to bend your lower back. If not correctly moved (I mean your back muscles and tail bone), especially with that heavy bow draw, it could hurt your lower back. Just a reminder. 🤭
@@stefanussarintohe5161 oh! 😁 Thank you! Good reminder! I really need to treat my back better. I guess the back should be straighter, and with more flex taken by the hips?
Many archer have lower back and middle trapezius problem. I'm one of them.
that would be nice bow for my 8 yr old bow :)
check out my pvc bows