I am just finishing up a yew longbow. It is 64" long and 40#@26". It is all tillered and ready for finishing.

My question to bowyers is whether or not I should burnish the bow. I have several other yew bows that I have not burnished and they are fine. I have made one osage that I did burnish.

Is there a palpable benefit to burnishing a bow made of soft yew wood? Are there dangers to doing this?

Thanks, SD

I've burnished a few and others I didn't, and haven't noticed much practical difference. It does smooth and slightly compress the fibers of the outermost surface, and theoretically at least should make the yew a 'little' more impervious, but so does a good finish. I do like how it looks and feels after burnishing.

I burnish all my wooden bows and all my wooden arrows.

How do you put on a burnish?

Burnishing is done after final sanding by rubbing the wood with a smooth piece of antler, bone, steel rod, etc. It will get glossy, and glass smooth, and it compresses the surface of the wood. The finish is applied afterwards.

I do it with the shank of a screw driver.

Rub it over the surface using a considerable amount of pressure. You can see the wood compress and the surface become shiny.

I use steel also Frank. I use a piece of 1" diameter stainless rod a bit less than a foot long. It has some heft so I don't really apply much if any downward pressure.

I've also used an actual 'burnisher', made to roll the edge on a cabinet scraper. They burnish wood too. But yes, a screwdriver shank works just the same.

"piece of 1" diameter stainless rod a bit less than a foot long."

That would be darn handy.

I just now finished the final sanding (600 grit). I burned in the nock grooves and marked (wrote) on the bottom limb the bows specs.

It's smooth as silk and I am happy with it. I think that I will just go ahead and finish with True oil rather than go to the work/risk of burnishing; especially if there is no noticeable difference in performance or durability.

Thanks all for your input. I will post a pic when it's all done.

SD

"performance or durability."...personally I'm pretty well convinced that it does increase durability by compressing the fibers and making them less likely to raise. But that's just me.

And there is no risk.....

And depending on how hard the burnishing is done, it may also help with durability in the sense of scrapes, denting, and such... some... it won't turn yew into osage, but...

Good yew isn't as soft as many folks think. It's actually more dense than some hardwoods.

Thanks for that information Frank. I will walk around the bow for a day or two before proceeding. Maybe other self bowyers can comment.

I am in no rush to see it finished.

SD

Looking forward to seeing your new bow, haven't worked with yew yet.

I also burnish all my wood bows. I made an Ojibwa bow from blue beech that looks like it is made from bone. No brainer for me.

I have burnished arrow shafts with a Butchers smooth steel. The kind that they use in packing houses to maintain a very fine edge on their boning knives.

I have made a lot of wood bows. I burnished the first few because that is what the books told me to do. I found it to be an unnecessary step that doesn't hurt or help the longevity of a bow.

Nothing wrong with burnishing a bow if that is your choice, have at it.

There are a lot of old wives' tales in bow making that keep being passed down.

My dad died at 100 years old 5 or 6 years ago, he was old enough to remember when baseball players kept a hambone in the dugout to burnish their bats to hopefully keep them from breaking so easily.

I don't think there are any hambones in the dugouts today.

Good story Eric...and puts things in perspective. I went ahead and burnished the bow this morning and I must say it looks better. It did appear to compress some surface fibers and the bow shines like it was Minwaxed!

Whether it actually aides in longevity only time will tell...but it sure looks good.

Thank you all for your input.

SD

All baseball bats are burnished in the making. I still burnish my bows mainly because it hardens the outer skin.

This is an interesting thread. thanks. Good to see you posting JD. I don't burnish, but maybe I should. It just seemed like I spend the entire build trying to prevent crushing grain and taking set...only to crush grain and burnish? It does look good though... :)

After my final sanding with 600 grit I burnish with an old olive oil bottle. John

I use to burnish but when i started getting better wood I got away from it. I think I will go back to it though. It helps with pin knots most likely.

Might be a stupid question but, burnish the whole bow or just the back?

Not a stupid question. You can do either.

Thanks

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