This bow came from a shorter very clean osage stave. I decided to make a sinew backed osage recurve and dress it up with some copperhead skins. Recurves were boiled and bent over a form. Deflex was done with dry heat. Three courses of sinew were applied with hide glue in three stages, waiting 2 weeks between each application. The recurves were tied and tightened as the sinew dried. Since the stave was not very deep, I built the handle up with hickory, jatoba, birch, and redheart I had left over from previous projects.
After final tillering and shooting in the bow I applied copper head skins for aesthetics, and protection for the sinew. I painted the curves on the back of the bow and drew deer hoof prints. (My painting and drawing skills could definitely use some attention) A thread wrap was added to the skin/ sinew transition. Nock overlays are a combo of buffalo and kudu horn. Handle wrap is dyed goat leather with kangaroo lace. The bow is 57" and 48# @ 26". A comfortable weight for hunting deer and black bear.
Trying to get pictures outside was quite challenging as the skins blended so well with the wintertime surroundings. Thanks for looking.
IMG_20220220_144148 by
sw archer13, on
IMG_20220220_143708 by
sw archer13, on FlickrFlickr
IMG_20220220_144021 (1) by
sw archer13, on Flickr
IMG_20220220_143735 by
sw archer13, on Flickr
