This is Raven. I built this bow for my brother in Alaska.The bow is 68" long and draws 50# @ 28". This wood has been drying for about 37 years. (I cut it in 1990 and comparing the weathering to a nearby fence post, it had been standing dead for 20 years.) The dark line running through one of Wolfs tracks to Eagle is a fine crack. I had a hard time getting to one growth ring on the back because of the cracks and checkering from drying.. I got past all of the rest of the cracks but this one. I was afraid I'd run out of wood so since this is in a static part of the bow, I chose to leave it cause it would do no harm there. The narrow area a few inches up from the grip was caused by a knot in the stave I split off from this one. The effects of that knot transferred into this bow. I had to keep it thicker at that point to make up for being narrow. The natural recurve in the upper limb was caused by the limb that was in the tree above this stave when it was alive. Between the two knots, the narrow spot and the recurved tip, I found this upper limb to be rather challenging. The lower limb was a text book limb, but when coupled with the upper limb made it interesting to get them to work together. I added the Spirits of Eagle, Wolf, Bear and Bison on the back and Raven on the belly. It has been an honor to build this bow for my brother. I thank the Spirits for their help and guidance for the privilege to bring this bow out of this fine piece of wood .
Mitakuye Oyasin (We are all related)
Steve
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