Although this is the latest bow I've finished, this bow has a special history that goes back to my first day as a bowyer-in-training. See, my friend Dave who introduced me to bow making, led me to the woods behind his house a couple of winters ago to find a sapling that I could make my first bow from. We trekked for an hour, taking down a hickory tree and splitting it into staves along the way, before coming across a nice, straight ash tree. We halved the trunk so that we each could make a quick D-Bow when we returned to his house. He taught me some basics while I took the bark off with a draw knife. Unfortunately, as I worked this sapling down over a period of weeks, the bow dried sideways, making a "boomerang" shape. So, for over a year, I left this unfinished bow to lie to the side until I learned how to reshape wood.
Now, nearly a year and half later, I finally finished this first bow attempt. This 64" ntn ash bow draws over 50# at 26". I had originally targeted the bow for drawing at about 45#, but the linen backing made the bow much stiffer than anticipated. Unfortunately, the elements and my foolhardy attempts at reshaping the bow without adequate heat caused some checking throughout the handle and limbs, therefore leading me to back the bow. Because of the ugliness of the jagged linen, I decided to hold nothing back with the decoration. It is not a real D-Bow and it is not modeled after a particular native style bow, but I did feel inspired by a Choctaw replica bow I found on the net. The bow was spray painted black and decorated with hand painted acrylic designs. The handle is wrapped suede lace. "Ravensnake" as I've named it is not a particularly wonderful shooter, but it certainly does well considering its humble beginnings. I would even go as far as to say this is a bow that should never have been. But after many arrows, it certainly hits hard and is unique to add.
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