I see we have many new bowmakers on the form full of questions and excited about making bows, this story is for you guys.
When I started my bow making adventures back in 1984 I was a kid that loved everything about Indian stuff but mainly the bows and arrows. I luckily had a grandfather that helped me with my intrests and showed me the skilled craft of bowmaking.
I remember my first osage bow.... it was squared in shape, had set, not perfectly straight, hay bailing cord for a string and since it was from a branch instead of good hard wood it had the pith line running down the center on the belly, you experienced bowyers know exactly what I'm talking about!
The bow was decorated with cheep paint from the local T,G & Y and I had some kind of awefull looking feather hanging off of it. Now at nine years old this was the coolist thing ever and I was a happy kid.
As I look back at the progression of my bow making over the years and some of the bows I loved so much I can't imagine how I enjoyed them like I did. As I grew so did my skills at bowmaking after my Grandfather passed it was like losing my bowmaking dictionary and I had to start learning things for myself through trial and error. I experimented with various shapes, lengths, widths and woods, I failed often but the success I had kept me going. I learned that a big part of bowmaking is patience and using good materials. Good materials!!!
I see so often inexperienced bow makers using wood that I would use for the fire place rather than a bow. You have to select good wood for a good bow.
As you do more and more bows you begin to learn about wood, wood is suprising and each piece is different even if cut from the same tree. When you learn wood and I mean really learn about wood and its properties you will see your skills improve tremendously. There are many good bowmakers here who always take the time to help answer questions but I would suggest reading all you can find about bowmaking.
In my bow making class I tell my students that archery is the common bond between all men of the world because sometime in our past no matter where you're from our ancestors used the bow and the arrow. The exception being Australia and a few Pacific islands.
I don't know who coined this phrase but i like it "if your not breaking bows you not making bows".
I hope you all continue your passion with bowmaking. Don't get frustrated, practice makes experience and experience equals skill.
Just a few words of encouragement, I'm glad to see traditional bowmaking alive and well.
Indianguy
