Many skills here to appreciate. I agree that the natual curves and features of the wood give your bows a life of their own. You should be justifiably proud of your work and this video.
The knowledge and skill demonstrated in this video impresses me so much. Thank you for filming and uploading this. It's crucial this knowledge is passed on.
I helped my dad harvest osage orange trees in Indiana (we lived in Michigan).. He got $20.00 in 1948 money for a good straight billet for making a hunting bow. He made his own hunting bow - 80 pounds pull - and my bow, too, when I was 11. As I grew bigger, I used longer and longer arrows in a bow made for a small person. It eventually broke from a too-long arrow and draw, knocking me cold.
80 pound draw weight? You sure? Wouldn't be optimum for hunting since it would be a bear to pull back and hold waiting for the perfect shot -- unless you were Thor. 55# draw weight is about optimum for hunting deer. I believe by peeking at the scale on the test draws that this bow was about 48 pound draw weight. Is that right Vikies?
I think longbows were around 80-150 lbs. I don't know anything about bow hunting though. I did get to shoot an 80lb bow before and I think I could get used to it if I trained with it. I'm also only 125lbs so definitely no thor.
@@xursed7990 I'm Thorish (6'1" 210#) and believe me 80# is a LOT of draw weight. I think some of the long bows of medieval wars were held by the feet and drawn back with both hands.
You’ve done a very good job on that. I appreciate the way the boat stays straight after the shot it doesn’t go top limb forward or bottom and forward it stays nice and straight that’s an excellent job thank you
Your video reminded me of how much I miss making Osage bows. I could feel the crunch of the draw knife through the spring growth and smell the sawdust. I wish more people made videos like yours. No narration needed. Thank you! Now I need to dig through my stash of yellow wood. 😁
I’m a one bow bowyer, (so far) I used osage for my bow and chased a ring like you, you make it look so easy! Having done it I appreciate your skill, you showed true talent with the tillering where I had the greatest difficulty, also great video talent!
What a wonderful craftsman! I really enjoyed this video... brought back lots of memories of my youth, hunting in the Australian bush with a 55lb bow... the bow and arrow is one of the best human inventions ever.
I enjoy carving walking sticks. When I've got time. Or hiking sticks . I do alot of cedar from heart wood it's just a hobby. Had in mind for years to do a bow. I've done walking sticks out of Osage, persimmon, oak , hickory, cedar. I've gave them away to older gentleman that were friends you should see thier eyes light up . I do fairly well on the carving and the finish. Different themes . Last stick I carved out of cedar I was real happy with the outcome is was I think my best. The older guys hung out a the local huddle house which is similar to waffle house. My dad was a regular one of the main reasons I went on regular basis. I took my last one carved it was nice several coats polyurethane plus I carved vines with flowers on the vines inlaid colors under the polyurethane. Had the handle wrap with paracord with antique brass tacks. My dad laid claim just as soon as walked in. He goes I want that one. I hadn't planned on giving that one away. I probably had four days work in it. I handed to him he was very proud he new I put alot of time in it. He had seen me give others away they were nice but the one was exceptional. He kelped in his truck. He past away in 2017 with cancer. I've got the walking stick it's just part of my memory now that I'll never forget. Some of the other older that I've gave walking sticks to are also gone. When you created something with your hands and it makes others happy that was my blessings.
Thanks for the great comments 👍 I have carved many things in various mediums, mostly smoking pipes. Wood, aircraft aluminum, granite and even fiberoptic glass. Your comments reminded me of the pleasure that I received from gifting my art to special friends and seeing their appreciation. I was defrauded out of my home and almost everything that I worked my whole life to have. Now that I am aged and disabled and living outdoors (homeless) you reminded me that I still have talents and abilities and the time to be productive and have a measure of happyness. Thank you, your words have changed my life.
Excellent video - i really liked the way you showed the "instinctive" method of shaping the bow, based on a simple but detailed visual asessment as you went along ; string making was also a highlight for me
I have a traditionally made self-bow out of ash with a thistle fiber string , although I don't use the thistle string to shoot with. This was a great video, showcasing a lot of talent!
I think this looks much like an Anglo-Saxon longbow we used to have here: I even thought the wood looked like Yew, only yellower. I now realise it's Maclura wood. LOVELY video.
Is that a different name for osage orange? Where i live this is a common tree. We often call it hedge wood as well? Edit: nevermind, i looked it up and it's the same thing.
Osage Orange and Yew allow for very similar longbow-style bows. IIRC both are pretty strong in compression. With other types of wood you have to make the bow much flatter and wider.
Hello Sir, I stand before a genius. I thoroughly enjoyed your footage, with a jittery heart and a tear in my eye. Your skill can't be taught, it's born into you and comes from within you. You are an amazing gentleman. Thankyou for your film, huge respect.
Beautiful work and very well put together video. My neighbor here in Georgia is a card carrying member of the Cherokee Nation. I’ve watched him hand make Osage bows, ball war clubs and rifle stock war clubs. Lots of time and effort goes into this beautiful but lost art form. 🇺🇸😉👍
The French word for Osage Orange is " Bois d'arc" which translates to wood of the Bow. Locals pronounce it Bo Dark. In the America's the finest bows were made of this wood by native Americans. Bows made of Osage Orange have been know to have a 90lb. Draw weight. The original range of this species of wood was from Eastern Texas up through Eastern Oklahoma. That xchanged shortly after the depression. When the U.S. Farm Bureau recommended farmers use Osage Orange for fencing. Advertising it as Pig tight and Bull strong. Today the range of Osage Orange can be found throughout the continental US. It only wood that 8s harder that Osage Orange is Lignam Vitae. Or Iron wood. The coating he used on this bow is boiled linseed oil. This gentleman is a master craftsman. Congratulations on a magnificent bow. A work of art.
I was camping one night as a child and keep hearing something large and heavy hitting the ground woke up to find giant green gnarly fruits on the ground that's when I learned about Osage orange trees
We call it bodock, Osage Orange, or horseapple. An old farmer told me when used as fenceposts it would last 100 years in the ground, then turn into iron. Also makes beautiful bowls.
I’ve been making bows for well over twenty years. The bow club I’m a member of has a shoot and bow making event on the last weekend in May each year, and I have helped in hundreds of bows over the years. I hunted solely with a selfbow for ten years, but have gone back to my recurve in recent years. My congratulations on a very informative video, and a great result on the bow! I am still fascinated with the process, and the satisfaction gained by crafting a useful weapon by hand.
Thats cool, no lamination! I would have thought it would break at those little wows or kinks, but apparently not! Seems like a good straight shooter! I've heard of Osage orange wood, but never seen a bow made from it! Very cool.
Aaaahh! I can't believe you showed the secret of ending the center serving. That is only supposed to be taught to upcoming apprentice bowstring makers. Never shared with the world in general. Seriously, though, nice work.
It was fun to hear a pitch change during the test fire sequence from shaping to final string the twang on the string got crisper and tuned up like an instrument. The sound went from thwap to more like ding
It's an amazing material. Very fine wood for many reasons. Smallish tree though. Never seen a really big one. It won't stay yellow, will age to nice brown.
Very very nice. Wow, such a lot of work, but also what a lot of love went into that bow...even the string is impressive. Robin Hood would have been proud of this bow.
For the uninitiated watching this, the steel plate he's scraping the bow with is called a card scraper. This was the tool used before hardware store sandpaper was a thing. It is still as effective, it's cheaper than a pack of sandpaper and in the long run will save thousands of dollars by not excessively using said sandpaper until the very final step if at all. They can produce finished surfaces that appear polished and ready for a finish. I watched a man in a wood shop club make a canoe and paddles and his finishing tool was a set of custom card scrapers. That was one of the finest canoes I've ever seen. This is strange that this video popped up. I drove by an old clients place today, haven't spoken with him in years. He has a massive bamboo stand in his yard and every time I drive by I think about buying a few stocks to make a bamboo laminate bow. Maybe one day.
@@bernardblack6997 osage is very hard and rot resistant when dry. Traditionally the American Indians used it for bows. The farmers spread it as they moved around the country to use as fence posts since it lasts a very long time.
If I have learnt anything over the years about measuring by eye, it's that it can be both incredibly accurate and incredibly unreliable at the same time.
An extraordinary combination of artistry and craftsmanship. A pleasure to witness, thx. I couldn’t help but wonder how Native American craftsman of a thousand years ago would have fabricated his bow using mostly stone tools.
I can imagine it, sharp thin rock to split, and then a LOT of rough jagged rock "Sanding" to bring the shape together. Same way this fellow did, just with stone and maybe sharpened bone, instead of steel!
For the longest time I thought it was called osage "orange" 'cause maybe the wood was orange? But what did I know, I'm from Flori duh where we can actually eat the fruit on our trees. I never could sharpen those scrapers worth a darn. Beautiful work, I also never knew how much skill and effort went into shaping a bow and then the bow string, wow. Thanks for sharing!
It is called Osage Orange. "Osage" comes from the native Osage people who used it to make bows, and "orange" comes from the large, sort-of-round fruits that it grows (which are also interesting, because the megafauna it developed a symbiotic relationship with to eat its fruits and spread its seeds are long, long extinct, yet it persists)
Loved once the bow got its own string only then we’re things full circle and the mask disappeared and the smile showed through. Nice work. I’m going to have to break down and start messing with making a bow or two.
I grew up playing under Osage Orange shade trees in Grandma's yard. Only late in life did I realize the beauty of the wood, and it's use for bows. Thanks for the video, and your amazing craftsmanship. (Mind the thorns when playing under the trees though. 😃)
I really have no clue how the algorithm got me here but I watched the full video and enjoyed the show 👍🏻
Thumbs up for the bow. Thumbs down for wearing the stupid mask
Same here. I was watching fishing, auto repair, and cooking videos!
So how has it been, have you gotten into bow making yourself now that it has been a year?
Amen
@@mont8042ever work in a woodshop. Coughing up gobs of snot and sawdust is not manly.
Straight to the point, no goofy music no nonsense talking, hands on watch and learn! I subscribed to you!
Many skills here to appreciate. I agree that the natual curves and features of the wood give your bows a life of their own. You should be justifiably proud of your work and this video.
People have been doing this for almost 20,000 years calm down.
@@yungzynofficial2055 but he still is, their all dead.
I don’t know much about bows but I do recognise craftsmanship. Well made video with a well deserved smile at the end.
Love how you can still very much see the natural curves in the wood. Usable artwork. Thank you for sharing.
I’ve been making strings for a year now and you just blew my mind with your Flemish twist method. I’m definitely giving it a shot tonight
A gift to be treasured are skills you demonstrate so well. Thank you for sharing!
The knowledge and skill demonstrated in this video impresses me so much. Thank you for filming and uploading this. It's crucial this knowledge is passed on.
What a beautiful piece! It is such a pleasure to watch a master craftsman work. ❣️
Excellent shooting form. And excellent craftsmanship on the bow.
I've made several bows in my lifetime you did a nice job thanks for sharing your time and talent and skills.
I helped my dad harvest osage orange trees in Indiana (we lived in Michigan).. He got $20.00 in 1948 money for a good straight billet for making a hunting bow. He made his own hunting bow - 80 pounds pull - and my bow, too, when I was 11. As I grew bigger, I used longer and longer arrows in a bow made for a small person. It eventually broke from a too-long arrow and draw, knocking me cold.
80 pound draw weight? You sure? Wouldn't be optimum for hunting since it would be a bear to pull back and hold waiting for the perfect shot -- unless you were Thor. 55# draw weight is about optimum for hunting deer. I believe by peeking at the scale on the test draws that this bow was about 48 pound draw weight. Is that right Vikies?
I think longbows were around 80-150 lbs. I don't know anything about bow hunting though. I did get to shoot an 80lb bow before and I think I could get used to it if I trained with it. I'm also only 125lbs so definitely no thor.
@@xursed7990 I'm Thorish (6'1" 210#) and believe me 80# is a LOT of draw weight. I think some of the long bows of medieval wars were held by the feet and drawn back with both hands.
@@carlbs11 maybe he is the famed "still bowman even when you only skeleton in a coffin" type and those feet drawn bow are cross-bow
You’ve done a very good job on that. I appreciate the way the boat stays straight after the shot it doesn’t go top limb forward or bottom and forward it stays nice and straight that’s an excellent job thank you
Beautiful craftsmanship. We know we've done well, when the finished product puts a smile on our face. Well done, sir. Well done.
Such a treasure to see old world craftsmanship. Hopefully he has an apprentice with his passion to carry on this art.
Your video reminded me of how much I miss making Osage bows. I could feel the crunch of the draw knife through the spring growth and smell the sawdust. I wish more people made videos like yours. No narration needed. Thank you! Now I need to dig through my stash of yellow wood. 😁
I’m a one bow bowyer, (so far) I used osage for my bow and chased a ring like you, you make it look so easy! Having done it I appreciate your skill, you showed true talent with the tillering where I had the greatest difficulty, also great video talent!
What a wonderful craftsman! I really enjoyed this video... brought back lots of memories of my youth, hunting in the Australian bush with a 55lb bow... the bow and arrow is one of the best human inventions ever.
I enjoy carving walking sticks. When I've got time. Or hiking sticks . I do alot of cedar from heart wood it's just a hobby. Had in mind for years to do a bow. I've done walking sticks out of Osage, persimmon, oak , hickory, cedar. I've gave them away to older gentleman that were friends you should see thier eyes light up . I do fairly well on the carving and the finish. Different themes . Last stick I carved out of cedar I was real happy with the outcome is was I think my best. The older guys hung out a the local huddle house which is similar to waffle house. My dad was a regular one of the main reasons I went on regular basis. I took my last one carved it was nice several coats polyurethane plus I carved vines with flowers on the vines inlaid colors under the polyurethane. Had the handle wrap with paracord with antique brass tacks. My dad laid claim just as soon as walked in. He goes I want that one. I hadn't planned on giving that one away. I probably had four days work in it. I handed to him he was very proud he new I put alot of time in it. He had seen me give others away they were nice but the one was exceptional. He kelped in his truck. He past away in 2017 with cancer. I've got the walking stick it's just part of my memory now that I'll never forget. Some of the other older that I've gave walking sticks to are also gone. When you created something with your hands and it makes others happy that was my blessings.
That's a beautiful story. I hope to have a meaningful life like yours.
Thanks for the great comments 👍 I have carved many things in various mediums, mostly smoking pipes. Wood, aircraft aluminum, granite and even fiberoptic glass. Your comments reminded me of the pleasure that I
received from gifting my art to special friends and seeing their appreciation.
I was defrauded out of my home and almost everything that I worked my whole life to have. Now that I am aged and disabled and living outdoors (homeless) you reminded me that I still have talents and abilities and the time to be productive and have a measure of happyness. Thank you, your words have changed my life.
That was amazing to watch.
You are a true craftsman !!
Thanks for sharing.
Excellent video - i really liked the way you showed the "instinctive" method of shaping the bow, based on a simple but detailed visual asessment as you went along ; string making was also a highlight for me
Those trees grow like weeds around us in Oklahoma. I made a nice club out of one when I was a kid still have it.
I have a traditionally made self-bow out of ash with a thistle fiber string , although I don't use the thistle string to shoot with. This was a great video, showcasing a lot of talent!
Thank you for the video, I love watching craftsman doing what they do. Very nice
You are an amazing craftsman. Great educational videos.
Wow! At the start it seemed you need some chop for the fire, then all start to take shape! What a beautiful bow!!
Yes absolutely enjoyed this. I watched it all the way through and gave me motivation to try one of my very own!!! Thank u
It was a pleasure to watch your skills at work, Sir!
I think this looks much like an Anglo-Saxon longbow we used to have here: I even thought the wood looked like Yew, only yellower. I now realise it's Maclura wood. LOVELY video.
Is that a different name for osage orange? Where i live this is a common tree. We often call it hedge wood as well?
Edit: nevermind, i looked it up and it's the same thing.
Osage Orange and Yew allow for very similar longbow-style bows. IIRC both are pretty strong in compression. With other types of wood you have to make the bow much flatter and wider.
Beautiful bow and awesome craftsmanship. Wow. Just wow.
Hello Sir, I stand before a genius.
I thoroughly enjoyed your footage, with a jittery heart and a tear in my eye.
Your skill can't be taught, it's born into you and comes from within you.
You are an amazing gentleman.
Thankyou for your film, huge respect.
Beautiful work and very well put together video. My neighbor here in Georgia is a card carrying member of the Cherokee Nation. I’ve watched him hand make Osage bows, ball war clubs and rifle stock war clubs. Lots of time and effort goes into this beautiful but lost art form.
🇺🇸😉👍
Increible! Alucinante todo el proceso! Gran artesano! Gracias por el video
You have a great selection of staves and make a great looking bow. excellent demonstration on tillering.
Okay, thank you, Master, excellent.
Outstanding craftsmanship.
Respect..the tactile feel for the wood you see and feel as if takes shape..a pleasure to watch,.🇬🇧
The French word for Osage Orange is " Bois d'arc" which translates to wood of the Bow. Locals pronounce it Bo Dark. In the America's the finest bows were made of this wood by native Americans. Bows made of Osage Orange have been know to have a 90lb. Draw weight.
The original range of this species of wood was from Eastern Texas up through Eastern Oklahoma. That xchanged shortly after the depression. When the U.S. Farm Bureau recommended farmers use Osage Orange for fencing. Advertising it as Pig tight and Bull strong. Today the range of Osage Orange can be found throughout the continental US. It only wood that 8s harder that Osage Orange is Lignam Vitae. Or Iron wood. The coating he used on this bow is boiled linseed oil. This gentleman is a master craftsman. Congratulations on a magnificent bow. A work of art.
I was camping one night as a child and keep hearing something large and heavy hitting the ground woke up to find giant green gnarly fruits on the ground that's when I learned about Osage orange trees
We call it bodock, Osage Orange, or horseapple. An old farmer told me when used as fenceposts it would last 100 years in the ground, then turn into iron. Also makes beautiful bowls.
The wood was also traded by Indians up north.
It’s remarkable material, makes great musical instruments.
The only thing more relaxing than watching this is actually doing it.. Pure zen...
Most beautiful work I've seen on RUclips in a while!
Very nice work sir. I enjoyed watching you create a fine bow. TY MH
I’ve been making bows for well over twenty years. The bow club I’m a member of has a shoot and bow making event on the last weekend in May each year, and I have helped in hundreds of bows over the years. I hunted solely with a selfbow for ten years, but have gone back to my recurve in recent years. My congratulations on a very informative video, and a great result on the bow! I am still fascinated with the process, and the satisfaction gained by crafting a useful weapon by hand.
hello sorry for asking what kind of wood did you use to make the bow
مااسم النادي الذي تنتمي إليه ؟
Lovely craftsmanship and a enjoyable video Thank you.
I’d like to also watch the blacksmith make the assortment of pull knifes and other blades your using. I appreciate your work! All of you
This is the best video I’ve seen on RUclips ever you are a true master craftsman👏👏🇬🇧🇬🇧
Beautiful bow, beautiful piece of wood!
Thats cool, no lamination! I would have thought it would break at those little wows or kinks, but apparently not! Seems like a good straight shooter! I've heard of Osage orange wood, but never seen a bow made from it! Very cool.
Great job I really like the Osage orange thank you for the great video keep up the good work
Amazing content. The bow ended up beatiful and so well made. GJ keep it up! ❤👌
This guy is an artist ,craftsman , serious wood worker !!!!!!!! Great job and video !!!👍👍👍
j'adore ton travail et ton respect pour le bois.
Beautiful work, made with lots of love.
Aaaahh! I can't believe you showed the secret of ending the center serving. That is only supposed to be taught to upcoming apprentice bowstring makers. Never shared with the world in general. Seriously, though, nice work.
Good job 👏👏👏👏 congratulations from Brasil, perfect bow !
Very nice work. Great video.
Great video. Love the light red in the wood
Wow! A very nice looking and fast shooting bow.
Great build. Great video. Thanks!
Beautiful bow.
A true master of your craft...
It was fun to hear a pitch change during the test fire sequence from shaping to final string the twang on the string got crisper and tuned up like an instrument. The sound went from thwap to more like ding
Such a skill. I really apreciate It . Great work👏🏻😃
Wish i had the skill and patience to do this..Great work..
That is a bow my ancestor's would be proud to have!
Beautiful work
Similar to mulberry wood for bbq smoking ...great stuff...Smells like cotton candy...Those shavings would be perfect.
Some very precise eye-balling going on here. Impressive
Great video! Great work
It's an amazing material. Very fine wood for many reasons. Smallish tree though. Never seen a really big one.
It won't stay yellow, will age to nice brown.
Very very nice. Wow, such a lot of work, but also what a lot of love went into that bow...even the string is impressive. Robin Hood would have been proud of this bow.
For the uninitiated watching this, the steel plate he's scraping the bow with is called a card scraper. This was the tool used before hardware store sandpaper was a thing. It is still as effective, it's cheaper than a pack of sandpaper and in the long run will save thousands of dollars by not excessively using said sandpaper until the very final step if at all.
They can produce finished surfaces that appear polished and ready for a finish. I watched a man in a wood shop club make a canoe and paddles and his finishing tool was a set of custom card scrapers. That was one of the finest canoes I've ever seen.
This is strange that this video popped up. I drove by an old clients place today, haven't spoken with him in years. He has a massive bamboo stand in his yard and every time I drive by I think about buying a few stocks to make a bamboo laminate bow. Maybe one day.
Card scraper, thanks for the insight.
the colour of that wood is just amazing.
It will darken to a deep brown as it is exposed to the air and ages.
@@nooneyouknowhere6148 seems like such an exotic wood compared to the typical eucalypt species in my back yard.
@@bernardblack6997 osage is very hard and rot resistant when dry. Traditionally the American Indians used it for bows. The farmers spread it as they moved around the country to use as fence posts since it lasts a very long time.
"AMAZING". LOL. You're easily impressed
Excellent work.
Craftsmanship and Artistry at its best.
Beautiful. I wish that osage orange grew around where i live.
I have seen the Mona Lisa and it isn't anymore beautiful than this.
Wonderful job my man.
Excellent work 👍👍👍
I’ve got a number of shillelaghs I’ve made from osage. Old growth osage, and let me tell ya, that stuff is beyond tough
Beautiful work! I wish I had someone to apprentice me in that sort of thing.
Amazing... thank you for sharing your knowledge and skill
If I have learnt anything over the years about measuring by eye, it's that it can be both incredibly accurate and incredibly unreliable at the same time.
An extraordinary combination of artistry and craftsmanship. A pleasure to witness, thx. I couldn’t help but wonder how Native American craftsman of a thousand years ago would have fabricated his bow using mostly stone tools.
I can imagine it, sharp thin rock to split, and then a LOT of rough jagged rock "Sanding" to bring the shape together. Same way this fellow did, just with stone and maybe sharpened bone, instead of steel!
For the longest time I thought it was called osage "orange" 'cause maybe the wood was orange? But what did I know, I'm from Flori duh where we can actually eat the fruit on our trees. I never could sharpen those scrapers worth a darn. Beautiful work, I also never knew how much skill and effort went into shaping a bow and then the bow string, wow. Thanks for sharing!
It is called Osage Orange. "Osage" comes from the native Osage people who used it to make bows, and "orange" comes from the large, sort-of-round fruits that it grows (which are also interesting, because the megafauna it developed a symbiotic relationship with to eat its fruits and spread its seeds are long, long extinct, yet it persists)
Loved once the bow got its own string only then we’re things full circle and the mask disappeared and the smile showed through.
Nice work. I’m going to have to break down and start messing with making a bow or two.
I grew up playing under Osage Orange shade trees in Grandma's yard. Only late in life did I realize the beauty of the wood, and it's use for bows. Thanks for the video, and your amazing craftsmanship. (Mind the thorns when playing under the trees though. 😃)
Beautifully hand made.
When you frist shot the bow - it seemed quick and quiet. To see you pleased was fun.
Really, really nice work...
Glad the algorithm finally showed this to me. Great content.
I'm back after checking for more videos only to find none. Much sadness.
Impressed: thought sure you were done when I saw the knots.
Almost as fun as watching a Guitar build from scratch. Great job man!
We have not use Bow in Vietnam but we use to use crossbow it make from wood and bamboo. Great job
Thank you. I really enjoyed your video👍
A work of art
Wow, what a skill!
Imagine having to do all that work with a tomahawk and knife, or even stone tools before that! Whew! Manly work!
Damn fine work!
Amazing piece of work, thank you for uploading!!!!! //Lars
Beautiful! Hope you have an apprentice to keep this craft alive! Great work!
A beautiful well-balanced bow. Years of training discipline and sweat went into your bow. Well done.
When I lived off the land, I would make bushman bows. His bows were awesome. Seasoned Osage orange is one of the best woods to use.