This is the latest bow I have made. It's a so called "continental longbow", which is a historical design that was produced in France and Swizerland and until the 1800s. This kind of bow was made out of laburnum, which is a small tree native to the southern part of the Alps. Its wood is extremely elastic and stressable which makes it one of the best, if not the best bow wood native to Europe.
For this bow, I used two laburnum billets that are spliced together in a reflex position. This bow is slightly heat treated. Its length is 65.5 " ntn and draws 42 lbs @ 27 ". It has a reflex of 4 3/4 inches and its maximum width is 1 3/16 inches. The physical weight without the leather grip is 14.5 oz. I'm really happy how it shoots. It's a really fast and nonetheless foregiving shooter.
I also want to mention that the bow is made out of natural materials only. the splice is glued with sturgeon glue and the roe deer antler tips are glued on with hide glue. The grip material is made out of vegetable tanned leather that I glued on the bow with casein glue. The entire bow is sealed with linenseed oil and several coats of shellac. The only non natural material I used is the 10 strand FF-string, as it´s made for a customer.
I hope you like it. Constructive feedback is always welcome.
lonbow
