Richard Longbow

[Coo-wah-chobee]

           Burp ! ..bob

[Dane]

   Dane , do you drink suds ?

Bob, Dane's a writer.  If Walker Percy knew what he was talking about, I'd wager Dane's a Bourbon man.

                 J. D. Duff

Kowechobe, I do drink beer and ale...prefer local microbrews and imports, however; Germany spoiled me on American beer.

LOL JD. I guess your mind has to be kind of twisty and strange to want to even write for a living, to be willing to put a lot out there that reveals who you are, and sometimes even some inner demons.

Bourbon is okay, however, I prefere vodka above all other hard stuff. Then, in this order, tequila (yes, straight), single malts, Irish whisky, bourbon (only if mixed), and vodka. The ultimate cocktails are cosmopolitans, vodka martinis, and margaritas on the rocks (quanto only, no triple seq!).

Seriously, I find old industrial sites...rusted gantrys, defunct oil tanks, overgrown factories, etc. very evocative and sometimes beautiful. the ghosts of those who have passed through and used the sites (and sometimes died there) is probably what most interests me in this kind of thing.

Now I'm thirsty.

[mullet]

Dane,Come on down to Florida and hunt some pigs.I live in the heart of Phosphate mining country.It's slowly disappearing and there are numerous plants and small towns that are ghost places now.I've been working in the exploration and engineering part of it for 35 years.I know where all the old swimming holes,beer drinking trees and cemeteries,black and white ,back to the 1840's.Lot's of history and hogs.

[jpitts]

I can show you whats left of Mountville Ga. It was one of the first "western" towns in the state. Dates back to the days of Tomochichi, the great Creek chief. Found it by accident one day. And down the road a -piece, other side of the county,  is the last remnant of a creek village...

[Dane]

Mullet, it is an honor to be asked down to hunt some pork. Maybe one day, I can...never been to Florida, outside of some airports, and the old industiral site and such you mentioned sound just like what I enjoy.

JPitts, Mountville sounds very spooky and cool. There are a few ghost towns even in New England...one is supposed to be cursed, and another in Connecticut is called the Village of Voices...Bera Hack (spelling?)...all that is left are cellar holes, and they say you can hear the voices of the fomer residents if you visit the site, the sounds of wagons, even dogs barking and kids playing. One day, I will go hear for myself.

Dane

[psylvain]

Getting back to the subject of this post, I can say with certainty that Richard Longbow takes his craft seriously, and makes some of the finest primitive bows you will find. The proof is in owning and shooting one of his bows, which obviously none of the critics and jokesters here have done. And, as is the case with many Native Americans, his is a spiritual relationship with the natural world and materials in it.

My bow was the subject of much of the earlier debate here, and that was fine. Agree or disagree with some of the things a bowyer does -- that's okay. But apparently a bowyer has to be part of some kind of Good Ol' Boys Club here to be taken seriously, or to be respected. To make a comment regarding the "spirit" he referred to in his article, is uncalled for.

[jpitts]

I've read the article and the author looks like a very experienced bowyer. I enjoyed the article. I don't guess it matters, speaking as a rookie here, whether you get the rawhide for your backing from a buffalo or a doggie chew....would be interesting to see shark skin or ray skin too for that matter....but I ain't peeing on a bow  and if I find out one has been treated in such a manner I'm not handling it...ok?  Just a thing I have...although I have read where it was used as a mouth wash back in Merry Ol England.....all I can say is eeeuuuuuuwwwwww.
BTW....has anyone ever used or seen used shark or ray skins? Ray skins were and still are used for handles on Japanese swords.

Dane,
That does sound like a cool place. I remember a place back in my teens where you could hear the soldiers marching down the hill from this cemetery. You could hear the horses and wagons too. You couldn't light a match or bic lighter within the cemetery. Neat place to visit.

[Coo-wah-chobee]

 Jimmy.............-I have used shark skins in the past to back bows using hide glue. Have used tiger shark,sand shark, mako, blue an hammerhead. Tiger shark skin rmakes a beautiful backing if you can get a big enough piece so you dont have to use wrappings on the limb. All shark skin is very tough stuff, and btw makes good sandpaper. Have thought about using rays but have never followed through. .....bob

[Ryano]

Squirrel, I don't think thats True. This Longbow character is just trying to tell us to do things to our bow wood that have been prooven for years and years to be counter productive and it shows that its counter productive from the pictures of the bow you posted, the limbs are over 2" wide and the bow has 6" of set. Obviously something went wrong there.To be fair I haven't read the new article yet, but the whole soaking your bow in salt water thing still has me scratching my head.....

[Justin Snyder]

Squirrel,  I'm not going to touch the Richard Longbow thing, however I do take offense to the good old boys club comment.
I didn't know anyone on this site when I started comming here. I only recently met a few of them in person.  You ask ANY of the guys who are new to bow building and this site, and you will discover that the incredible bowyers on this site are some of the most gracious people you will ever meet.  They are willing to share their knowledge with every new guy that happens along. Many a new guy has been gifted a stave or arrows or some other item to help them get their start.  Several guys, George and Mickey, among others have set up websites to help people they don't even know learn the art of building bows. Where I come from that is gracious, kind and generous behavior, NOT the good old boys club that takes care of their own and cares about nobody outside of their circle.  Justin

[DanaM]

Very well said Justin. I'm one of the new guys been on here for about six months. Justin is right on all counts.about the friendly giving folks
on this forum. I've been on the recieving end of not only good advice but also a few gifts as well. Without these guys I'd still be making fugly
bows. Also ya can't beat their sense of humor and the good natured ribbing that takes place. All in all PA runs the best forum that I have seen.
The Global Moderators do a awesome job of keeping us rowdies in line. As to the Spirit thing each to their own and if ya wanna pee on yer bow
go right ahead just don't expect folks to accept this practice. Also I believe one of the rules is no religion allowed and a good rule it is as we all know
that differences in Religion is always trouble, look at the world we live in and its easy to see the truth of this. One last thing Richard Longbow needs to lighten up
a bit, having a thick skin is unhealthy and if ya can't laugh at yourself who can you laugh at?

Just My Opinion

Dana

[Hillbilly]

The proof is in owning and shooting one of his bows, which obviously none of the critics and jokesters here have done. And, as is the case with many Native Americans, his is a spiritual relationship with the natural world and materials in it.

But apparently a bowyer has to be part of some kind of Good Ol' Boys Club here to be taken seriously, or to be respected.

Squirrel, sounds like you're the one who is on the attack here. First of all, I have nothing but respect for spirituality, I can be spiritual myself in my own way, but as has been mentioned, religion is not a topic for discussion. As for the "good ol' boys' club", I think you very much misunderstood the last discussion and saw it as a personal attack, which it wasn't. You are the one calling us all a bunch of critics and jokesters. As I said before, Longbow obviously makes some very good looking, well crafted bows. The reason why most people seemed to be critical of him was because he was making bows with huge amounts of set and claiming that it improved the performance, or that the performance of his bows was magically enhanced beyond the laws of physics by his mystical treatment of them.[/b] I'm not above believing in "good medicine" myself, but if I or anyone else posted a bow on here with 5" of set and claimed that the cast was improved over one without any, I would expect to be called out, too. Not because of a good ol' boy mentality, but because the people here have made thousands of bows, know what works (and what doesn't) through much, much, experimentation and testing and shooting all kinds of bows. My own bows aren't much to look at or shoot, but there are some people on here whose bows hold world records for flight shooting, which is the ultimate measure of a bows cast with all the BS stripped away. If you'll look around a bit, I think you can disprove the good ol' boys club  statement pretty easily. There is one excellent bow on this page by a first-time poster that is full of good medicine and spirituality, and I have seen nothing but positive comments about it, and it probably stands a good chance of winning BOM this month.

[Dane]

These guys are right, this is the most open, welcoming, and generous community in every sense of the word. I was accepted immediately, and will continue to gain far more than I can give back, Squirril. I feel a deep kinship with the folks here from all over the world, because of our shared interest in the ancient craft of archery.

As for spirituality, I haven't set foot in a church in decades (aside from funerals), and I feel strongly the myseries of nature and the materials I work with, on a number of levels, so using Native American spirituality as some sort of shield or vague explanation for (plug in your thing here) doesn't go far with me.

Spend some time here, Squirril. It's pretty nice, really.

[Traxx]

Ok,Ill go one further.Native culture,and religion,were all but wiped out,by our US govt,untill the late 70's.Thats 1970's.It was illegal,for NDN people to practice their ways,and many were imprisoned and killed for such beliefs and actions.Now,you have every tom dick n harry New age culture vulture,in the country,spoutin NDN this,and NDN that.Pay at the Door,inipi cerimonies,and Sundances,with self appointed Wicasa wakans,as advisors.Native people,are flat sick of it and insulted.So when a person comes on to a website,or other forms of public media,,and claims are made,especially,to direct tribal affiliation,they can expect to have their credability checked.If the person,is on the level,then they have no worries,but if not,there are people who have organised a group,that check into these people and their claims.Law siuts are being filed,On the basis of identity theft.Many Nations have rights to their tribal names and customs,and dont take it lightly,that these are used by others,especially,if used for any kind of financial gain.

[Tom B]

I would like to piss on some of my bows if it would improve them. #2 maybe?Nah.I hope to get the new issue soon. See what the hub-bub is all about. BUT , MUCH SET = DOG.Tom B
looking foward to hickory,i'll make coffee,bring spoons.