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In this post, I would like to consider the recurve bow. This topic is a little more convoluted than my discussion of the compound bow (see here). Recurve bows come in many forms and I’ll try to limit the discussion to what I think are the most important and salient points.  First off it is necessary to describe the basic form of the recurve bow. Recurve bows have a very distinct profile. The tips, to some varying degree, will curve away from the archer when unstrung. This is a very old bow design and was favoured by Middle Eastern and...

This is the final article in a series dealing with the types of bow available to the novice archer. It is hoped that these articles will dispel the fog that surrounds the decision making process as the newbie tries to negotiate the morass of information out there in the big wide world. In this article, I would like to consider a niche bow within a niche sport: The Traditional (Trad) Bow.  Trad Bows Lately, there has been a resurgent interest in traditional archery. Archers are returning to historical archery and are interested in bows typically used in ancient and medieval...

Types of Suitable Bow woods Available Not all woods are created equal when it comes to bow making. Over time societies have become adept at identifying the best woods for making bows. This was probably a trial and error process that quickly eliminated substandard tree species. As a rule hardwoods make better bows than the soft woods, such as pine. However, the premier of bow woods, Yew is an exception as it is taxonomically classified as a soft wood.     So what are the properties that denote a species suitable for fashioning a serviceable bow? A decent bow wood...