Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Weylin on June 07, 2017, 09:52:17 pm
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I've been admiring the leather work of Lee Slikkers on facebook for some time now. If you haven't seen his work you should check it out at slikkers split cane and leather goods. I've been wanting a fancy quiver for a while now so I approached Lee and asked if he was up for a trade. Thankfully he was and we worked out what he wanted for a bow and what I wanted for a quiver.
He liked the look of a past molle I had made so we went from there. I broke a hollow-limbed oceanspray molle that was my first choice. That opened the way for this yew molle that turned out better, I think. It was a slightly deflexed stave to start with and I wanted to mess around with the ratios and profiles of the design. I keep coming back to these modified mollegabets. They are fun to make and are great shooters. I made a rounded wide working limb and shorter reflexed levers. Since I reduced the sapwood I decided to back it with rawhide for some added insurance. The sturgeon skins are there as a cosmetic accent. The bow is 63" ntn and pulls 52#@ 28". It has a smooth draw, zero hand shock and shoots nice and quick. Lee is planning to use it for some Michigan bucks this Fall. I hope it comes through for him.
Enough about my bow, I want to show off the amazingly awesome quiver that Lee made for me. It is somehow exactly what I wanted while at the same time completely exceeding my expectations. We designed in based off of my effective but homely hunting quiver. There was a lot of back and forth discussing measurements, design and artistry. His final product shows his incredible skill with leather and his attention to detail. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4245/34322666834_6f0a73a77b_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/UhYD4Q) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4277/34781272570_0290c6e5c5_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/UZv7zh) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4289/35127654926_1c0bedd667_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vw7pYS) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4196/34358018563_57a1f72dde_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Um6PUp) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4287/34358016273_45a801d2d6_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Um6PdV) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4214/35002587682_f8fb9133bb_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vk4pR5) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4234/34358021853_050eb85486_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Um6QT8) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4242/34358038083_8dc4969103_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Um6VGX) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4205/35167664955_f07005bd3e_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VzDtyX) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4263/35167662335_a6a07cc050_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VzDsMM) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4211/35127652776_23d764e17c_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vw7pkN) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4228/34781200550_b0166227eb_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/UZuKay) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4197/34322661104_928153c4fa_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/UhYBn3) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4225/34781274220_4134fbdb45_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/UZv84J)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4195/35037608231_c28cde5b62_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vo9UeD) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4277/34323391114_1bf7c1c11f_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Ui3mnq) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4267/35037614551_d42668983d_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vo9W7B) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4263/34358677803_f1796a3129_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/UmacSB) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4289/35037618701_a3cd61bb51_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vo9Xma) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4214/35003294512_642ea94836_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vk82XN) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4279/35003297972_1b7bc955d1_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vk83Zs) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4241/35003300502_0414c000d0_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vk84K5) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4206/34781851730_63af9b9238_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/UZy5JN) (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4207/34323423874_1804a16b8b_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Ui3w7f)
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Both the bow and quiver are exceptional. Very well done for both of you and Lee, Weylin. :OK
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WOW . .. . x2!
I noted your decision to back the outer portion of the working limbs. That's exactly the area I've experienced tension failures in molle-type designs. Will definitely try backing in next attempt.
You guys have done mighty good. Congrats to each!
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Thanks, Pat!
Thank you, Knoll. The whole working limb is backed with rawhide. The sturgeon is glued onto the rawhide and isn't really adding anything besides some looks and a little mass. (sturgeon skin makes great backing, I just don't think they are doing much glued to the rawhide.)
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Saw it earlier and i still don't know who got the better end of the deal. Top work all around
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Looks like a couple guys who know what they are doing. Two great pieces
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Wowzers! Great trade for both of you. Exceptional craftsmanship by both artists!
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Like bubby said, don't know who got the best deal. Looks like both of you.
Bjrogg
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Inspirational. :)
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Amazingly beautiful! Both the bow and the quiver!
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Great trade!
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Beautiful bow Weylin. For sure a good trade for that quiver
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beautiful.. congratulations,, :G
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Beauty from start to finish weylin!stellar leather work lee!
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Good Trade....Wow , that's a bow to be inspired by....Love them Mollies
DBar
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Very good trade. Both are outstanding work.
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Outstanding bow and an outstanding quiver. Both guys are real artists in their fields.
Seems like both guys walked away happy, but in my eyes the trade wasn't very even.
Retail value of a yew stave has been $250 the last 20 years, add to that sturgeon skins, retail value $50-100. Time and skill taken by the bowyer, could easily be 1 weeks worth. I don't know the value of the quiver but I imagine it wouldn't retail for more than $500, and it could indeed be a lot less.
In comparison cane rod makers get a much better return on their skill and labour, mainly because their market usually derives from the relatively wealthy who are accustomed to paying a fairer price for the labour of a hand planed rod(that being said its still very hard trying to make a living from making cane rods as well).
A fairer trade would have been a good cane rod for a good yew bow, even then I still value the bow to be of higher value, due to the skill of tillering vs hand planing accurate tapers on a form, which is a more mechanical operation. Some cane rod tapers are made almost entirely with power milling, in a fraction of time as a hand planed rod, yet still demand a high price.
Not meant to be a negative criticism of either artist, more of an observation of the world we live, and why it is so hard to earn decent money as a bowyer(or a cane rod maker too).
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fantastic work!
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Thanks, guys!
Hamish, I hear you. I don't think that what you're saying is untrue, and the thought crossed my mind in the beginning that I could buy a great quiver and still have some change left over if I sold a bow like that. These are some other factors that I considered as well though... First off, that particular stave was not a $250 yew stave. It was short, a bit deflexed and a bit knotty. The sturgeon skins were some scrap pieces from some skins that I skinned a whole other bow with. Those details aside, the truth is that I wanted an awesome, one of a kind quiver but I could never have justified to my wife that I was going to drop $400-500 on a quiver. Even if I sold a bow, that money would have been needed elsewhere. I know that it's a bit of an academic difference, but it's a real difference in my circumstances. As you stated, some of those differences in price from one product to another can be very arbitrary and subjective. I think that the time, effort and care that Lee put into the quiver was pretty comparable to what I put into the bow. He was willing to put up with all my little nit-picky requests about the design and pattern and make it just like I wanted (better than I wanted). My plan for the bow started off more simple and lower budget, but as I went along and saw the work that he was doing I found myself more drawn to sprucing it up and adding more to it. I get joy out of making things beautiful, especially if I know the other person will appreciate it. Plus, he's a stand-up guy that does work that I admire and he seemed to have an enthusiastic interest in my bows. All that together made it feel like a fair trade. That's the nice thing about trading. It can be about more than the money. I get sick of quantifying and monetizing everything in my life so it's nice to to step outside of that a little and say, wow, you make awesome quivers. I want one but I can't do that myself. I make bows, and you want one. Let's do it!
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Bow & quiver both show superb craftsmanship. I got a thing for cetltic knotwork, I've done quite a bit in stone carving. John
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"That's the nice thing about trading. It can be about more than the money. I get sick of quantifying and monetizing everything in my life so it's nice to to step outside of that a little and say, wow, you make awesome quivers. I want one but I can't do that myself. I make bows, and you want one. Let's do it!"
You hit the nail on the head! That is an awesome trade, with both men walking away with smiles! Great job both of you!
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The bow and quiver look amazing. That was a good trade. Both guys got a one of a kind piece of functional art.
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Looks like a fair trade to me if both are happy. Ni very work fellas!
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Wow. I'm speechless. That is some of the most beautiful work I've ever seen -- on both ends of the trade.
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The bow is beautiful and the tiller is excellent.
The quiver is also a beauty.
Jawge
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What a great trade! The bow is very beautiful I wish I had more access to yew myself. I really like your tip overlay design. If you don't mind I think I will borrow that idea on a yew bow im working on.
The quiver is beautiful, I have seen his work on Facebook. He definitely is an artist. Ive done some leather work myself, and trust me, the amount of work that went into that quiver is exceptional!
The work that we all do can be made simple at times and turn out amazing. As you said you used scrap pieces and a not so prime stave to turn out a beautiful bow. If your like me, you probably cut that stave yourself and caught the fish or knew someone that was throwing out their skins and said "Hey save that skin for me".
I have personally made several items, including bows where the only cost I have in them is time and gas money. Sometimes I almost feel bad selling something for a said price when I know it only cost me pennies.
But as said above, two guys made a trade and both walked away with a big smile on their face. Im just jealous I didn't ask him first. It will be hard to trade him a bow now! :laugh:
Patrick