I noticed this on the auction site. The notched sight window, finger grooves and large tip wedges forced me to throw out a lowball offer. Oh, ya green glass, I'm a sucker. It showed up today and dang, looks better than the auction pictures. I strung it and about to shoot it. Pulls over 45# and the grip is nice. Any ideas fellas? It came to me from Oregon. Tip wedges look a lot like Eicholtz from pictures on the web.

T4

Tips

Don't know what it is but sure does look good.

I was intrigued by that one. Made me wonder whether the extra wood taken off the sight window was part of the original design or a modification to make it true center or even past-center shot. Pretty bow.

Mark, I wondered the same thing, but after looking at it close, it doesn't appear to be an after thought. She shoots old heavy aluminum arrows pretty well.

T4

I seen a older York Crest with tips that were simliarm

No clue, but it's a handsome, vintage recurve.

Could be a Indian recurve.

Could that be an older Browning. They used really nice woods. The darker green glass is blinking the old bulb but..........not sure. Browning bows definitely deserve more vintage respect in my opinion.

How long is it?

It looks like a Fasco made Eicholtz to me.

It is 66" and after shooting it a little more I believe it maybe 50#+. It is really liking some old Micro Flight 11's. Great shooter.

The glass on the bow is not woven glass like the Eicholtz glass on my mid 50's Howatt Mamba Hi Speed.

T4

The overlays on the belly look exactly like those on a FASCO Super Sonic I have.

But the tips don't look like FASCO (nor the tip wedges) but Jim might be on to something with the FASCO built Eicholtz.

Well, I don't own a Fasco or Eicholtz, killing two birds with one stone. It is a very pretty bow. Is it possible that someone added the finger groves and notched window or do you guys believe it was built that way?

T4

It's a really nice bow...love tip wedges!

I almost think it's Drake. Whatta' ya think Pete?

Those wedges and the riser sure look a lot like a Drake.

I second the Fasco....Bleed

Harry used a longer and thinner tip wedge on his bows. It reminds me of a White in the riser and tip wedges, but the cutout of the sight window and the finger grooves has me baffled. I think those were done later. It could be a later fasco from Seattle Archery built under a different name, like Eicholtz. But then, the tips don't look like fasco.

Thanks for the good info. I am trying to get info from the original owner.

T4

Skookum would know if it's a Fasco made Eicholz. So no need to guess..just get his attention. I can tell you it's not a Browning...but maybe a pre Browning Gordon..or pre Gordon Drake, or...... I, like most here, have no idea. The belly overlays make it look like a White, but the tips say otherwise. Heck it could be a well done home made bow. Maybe Fred Anderson (Skookum) will pop in and clear it up.

Fred Anderson is the key! He'll have some insight.

I don't think it's a Drake fdp. The wedges are not long enough.

Intriguing thought from George about the Gordon connection. They made the Royal Huntsman, a bow that has similar brawny tip wedges

The riser looks like a Gordon but the tip profile does not.

I will post a picture of my Super Sonic belly overlays tomorrow. I am at my camp up north so have to apply some voodoo technology using my laptop and a mobile phone to get a decent picture posted!

Also, Gordon did send some of their bows to FASCO early on (late 50's) to have them finished. Jim posted an article about that.

I wonder if this is a custom from that era??

Have to leave this one to you big dogs. looks like a Bumbinga riser.. Tip wedges are cool so its a static of some sort.

very cool find

A mystery...

Not a Drake though.

J.

Frank Eicholtz also made recurves in the mid-70's (The El Gato line I think) and this one resembles pictures I've seen of those too.

Don't know, but I have a Drake with a groove milled in the sight window like that. Thought someone did it for to make it more center shot?

I talked to the seller, the bow was an estate find in Oregon. No info.

A lot of knowledge here, appears to be an odd-duck from the West coast.

Thanks, T4

T4, as I recall, that seller had another bow that was a one of a kind as well, and the other bow had a vertical 'arc' lamination line through the riser like Groves, Drake and even Bear used on the KSD, ,so maybe the bowyer was a local with considerable skills who used some design elements from other bows of the era.

I recently picked up one of those unknowables that's a mash up of 1960 Southern California design elements.I was getting ready to refinish it and now I am thinking about milling out the sight window, too!

FASCO had nothing to do with that bow!

Any ideas where it came from Fred?

Wanted to post these for T4.

These are pictures of the wedges, and tips on a Browniing Medallion that I own. In the last picture you will see the serial number. I've been told by several pretty knowledgeable folks that this bow was built from Harry's design.

Nothing about the OP's bow says Harry Drake or Browning. Jerry Amster, a contributor to this forum, and an employee of Gordon Plastics when purchased by Browning, says there was no Drake influence at that time. Harry didn't work for Browning until the move to Utah from San Diego which most likely post dates this bow.

Additionally, Drake designs display what has come to be known as "Power Lams" which are an additional lamination running from the limb tip through the recurved portion of the limb; not a wedge as shown in the OP's bow.

As far as I know, Harry Drake might have been copied by other bowyers, but I've seen no proof that he ever lent his expertise to the design of anothers recurve. There's lots of conjecture, rumor and hearsay about this, but Harry was extremely competitive and reclusive; not exactly a recipe for sharing.

The tip wedges are a Frank Eicholtz signature design element but everything else is up for grabs.

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