Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Hrothgar on November 12, 2019, 08:04:46 am
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Does anyone here have experience making Nydam style Viking longbows? I've been interested in making a replica/target bow for awhile and have seasoned hickory, hackberry and elm at my disposal. Stats- around 74-75" ttt and 45-50#.
Advice is welcomed, thanks.
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Ithink weylin posted one with the little deflex tips
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Mine was inspired by the Hedeby bow. I think they are a bit different.
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Ithink weylin posted one with the little deflex tips
I'm thinking it was someone else. I remember thinking and someone posting that the Antler tips were backwards and deflexed, but it's maker said they we're supposed to be deflexed. I almost want to say it was entered in a BOM but I couldn't find it. I think Upstate posted a reply like he knew the bowyer but I didn't recognize him right off.
Bjrogg
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https://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=2861.0
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Thanks for the info and replies. I guess what I had in mind was more like the Hedeby bow with deflexed tips and side nock. Time to do a bit more research, seems like 76-77" would be more authentic.
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I just found Weylin's Hedeby bow from May 2018. A lot of good info and pictures here. I'm guessing these bows weren't quite bend in the handle?
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No longbow like that bends more than a fraction in the handle at full draw because the tiller would be wrong and you would get a lot of handshock.
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If you want to be historically accurate I think you should use elm
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So you are looking for the kind of bow with deflexed tips and side nocks? Yes, thats the Hedeby bow. Itīs named after a viking settlement in Schleswig-Holstein (northern Germany) that existed bethween the 9th and 11th century. Most of these bows were made out of small diameter yew trees. The draw weight of these bows was around 80 to 100 lbs. There is in fact a fragment of a childrenīs bow made out of elm. Hedeby bows were actually also used in Ireland.
The Nydam bow on the other hand does also have long tips with side nocks, but they werenīt deflexed. Archaeologists found ships from the 4th century AD in Nydam, Denmark. There were 40 bows aboard. These bows were also mainly made out of small yew trees , but there is one bow that could have been made out of pine. Other findings suggest that this kind of bow was in use for a very long time -at least from the 1st century AD to the 12th century. Thatīs more than 1000 years!
I have actually built a bow of the Nydam type.
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hereīs a pic of my Nydam bow. The tips arenīt bent.
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Bownarra- thanks for that information, good point.
Glisglis- I was leaning towards elm for that reason, thanks.
Lonbow- thanks for the clarification and the photo; good looking bow and tiller.
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My advice on the Hedeby bow is to scale the dimensions according to the draw length and draw weight you want. If you build a 76" bow that pulls 50#@28" it's going to shoot like a dog and rattle your fillings out.
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Weylin, could you enlighten me a little more. I hear what you're saying about the length and dogginess, but I was wanting to replicate the original length. So what weight should be targeted for a 76" (69-70" ntn?) bow?
Thanks
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just my .02 but if you want to keep the original length but drop weight i would say keep the bend more in the outer half of the limbs, like a Victorian longbow.
tiller shape wont be historical but you can keep the overall shape and still have it shoot decently at the lower draw weight.
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The original bow was thought to be close to #100. That would justify the length. For example, I just made an English longbow for a customer that wanted 60#@26". I made it 66" long and it shoots quite fast with no hand shock. had i made it longer I would have been compromising that performance. Dylanholderman has a good point, I think you could follow that advice to a degree, as long as you are going for a higher draw weight and longer draw length. The thicker, bigger tips don't help in this regard. There is a little more mass in the outer limbs than your average bow which wouldn't really be a problem on a warbow but when you lighten the draw weight you really start to feel those tips come home unless the the bow is proportionally shorter. The first one I made was 72" long and 50#@30". It was slow and shocky. I remade it at 68" and it was soo much better.
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Dylanholderman good advice, thanks. A stiffer handle section might also alleviate some of the limb twist which evidently comes with the side nock.
Since I don't anticipate drawing 80-100# (the shoulders are way too old to try that), probably would be a good idea to reduce the length by 5 or 6".