Does recurving a self-bow help with performance?

[Selfbowman]

Can’t  remember but I think so. The Boo backed comes off the caul. But sometimes I will tweek the selfbows to my desire. The heat treat happened while forming the bow on the caul. I sometimes go back and heat treat the blank at brace. I should keep better records as I remember less with age.🤠

[Badger]

     I think without question recurves have a higher potential when looking at top-performing bows. But in real life examples more often than not recurves add stress to the bow and that creates more set and they end up at about the same speed as an R/D bow. When I was first starting out I would often recurve bows that lost too much reflex or took a bit of set. I never gained anything from it and usually lost. A recurve has to be designed as a recurve from the start for better results.

[Pappy]

Not sure about performance but it does make the smoother to shoot with less stack at least it does for me.
Pappy

[BowEd]

Putting enough width on the inner limbs to handle it is the key far as I'm concerned.Holding reflex over the long haul takes a lot of practice.
The outer limbs don't don't need the width as they don't carry the load as much at full draw.
For flat bows the width opens the arrow pass channel to being more center shot.
Can't explain it any better than that.
Pushing the envelope on bows is when you find out the differences between woods and the differences within it's own species.
It's been said before many times.While tillering listening to the wood.
Of course it's not always a success,but making the same thing over and over does not teach you more either.
When attempting these adventures a certain amount of self initiative is needed.You can't be afraid to fail.

[ssrhythm]

My understanding is that the main point of static curves is to reduce string pinch on a shorter bow, thus making it more forgiving.  Correct?

It will reduce nock pinch some, but the most impactful result is that the string angle will be lower at any given draw length, so the stack will be significantly reduced…yes, allowing for shorter bows not stacking like mad.  And if the mass necessary to keep the curves static does not reduce speed as much as the speed gained by the tips being forward, then “performance” would be enhanced…if by performance, you mean speed.

[mmattockx]

I know that this is one of those questions where someone can invariably say “It depends … on the wood, the tiller, the mass etc…”

So let’s just say you execute everything perfectly with great bow wood …. Does recurving a self bow gain you significant performance?

Or would heat treating a bow into a reflex deflex profile be more appropriate/ easier to execute?

I might as well throw my $0.02 in as well...

The biggest indicator of performance (in terms of energy storage, which is the potential performance) seems to be where the tips are in relation to the handle. The farther forward the tips, the more energy is stored. So, if you keep the tips in the same location how they get there doesn't seem to matter that much. Whether you reflex the whole limb or use recurve tips or an R/D profile the end result will be similar and will result in similar stresses in the bow. They won't be identical, but they will be all in the same ballpark.

What recurves mostly do is provide a smoother draw with less stacking, which can be a significant benefit all on its own. A lot of people also like the look of recurves and there is nothing wrong with caring about the aesthetics of your bow design as well as the performance.


Mark

[Selfbowman]

Putting enough width on the inner limbs to handle it is the key far as I'm concerned.Holding reflex over the long haul takes a lot of practice.
The outer limbs don't don't need the width as they don't carry the load as much at full draw.
For flat bows the width opens the arrow pass channel to being more center shot.
Can't explain it any better than that.
Pushing the envelope on bows is when you find out the differences between woods and the differences within it's own species.
It's been said before many times.While tillering listening to the wood.
Of course it's not always a success,but making the same thing over and over does not teach you more either.

Spot on Ed!
When attempting these adventures a certain amount of self initiative is needed.You can't be afraid to fail.

[BowEd]

After reading Jim Hamms' thoughts years ago and after making them I believe it is true.
Getting the best of both worlds with wood in a long bow and a recurve a 62" to 64" bow fits.
With the recurves getting shorter as the bow becomes shorter overall.

[Gordon]

I've made a handful of recurve bows and frankly I haven't discerned any performance improvement over my go to design which is a straight bow with slightly reflexed tips. That said, recurves are helpful in reducing stack when building very short bows. A nicely executed recurve bow is easy to look at.