Who else collects selfbows along with their glass bows?

The first two on the top below the Hickory stave I made. I plan on giving making a selfbow another go. Don’t know if I’ll turn into a hard core selfbow guy. And sell all my glass bows. But one never knows where this awesome journey will take you. So show your self bows off!

I've got about a dozen or so.

I have a few hickory and an osage stave. I plan to start on a selfbow soon. I have a few projects to finish up first.

These are the only 3 I have left of the dozen or so I’ve made In the last 11 months. Gave most away.

Sold my Grumley

I have a couple... of dozen... hanging in the shop. I also have at least that many in various stages of being built. It's a good problem to have. A good selfbow will do anything you need from a bow, except be happy if left strung for the entire deer season. :)

I only have two.

I don't collect them, but I have a dozen or so. When I make one, I often give away one I've had for a while. Mine range from 25# to 50#. I shoot a 42# the most. Making only take-downs these days, because its so much easier to find a good billet than a good stave.

After coming to the realization that no one really cared about them but me, I stopped collecting much of any of them. That doesn't diminish my love for the game at all, but it does save me some money and possibly the landfill when I cross over. :) I fear though that I have affect/infected a few others with the malady.

I have some Torges bows,Tim Ott,Mickey Lotz,Dan Grens but agree with GDS.

I have a decent collection. Most of these were made by friends. I've got a few bows on there. I have a rack on each side of the window in my archery room.

I have these standing in an antique nail barrel (with foam padding for support) in the living room. There are a dozen here and a few more elsewhere. Only one shooter in this bunch. Lance

The other rack

I'm getting ready to sell two or three....I'll probably put them up for sale in the next day or two.

I gave a lot. Collecting is not the right word. Lol

I don't collect them so much as they just seem to accumulate. So goes it for whittlers who don't sell. It doesn't matter how many I have or end up with. There's more folks like that out there than you might think. I know guys who have racks and racks of bows they made, selfbows, backed bows, glass bows, some very fine specimens, better than some pros, and they've never once showed them, posted on an internet message board, or any such thing. They just make em, shoot em, maybe hunt with them a few times, and quietly hang em up and make more. Meticulous craftsmanship, fine detail, yet virtually no one will ever see them. I totally get it. And I just think that's cool.

Nice bows everyone thanks for sharing the pictures with us.

I seem to both accumulate and have a small collection of friends bows like Clint does.

I have Seven selfbows from friends and a bunch of my own to. I’m pretty sure there’s over 40 selfbows hanging in my man cave and another half dozen in my workshop.

Some are very sentimental bows to me. Some are for my kids and grandkids and they keep them here. Some really are just haven’t meet their new owner yet. I just like making bows.

Bjrogg

I have some trade bows from primitive archer trades. Like 6 or 7. A couple I made.but most of the ones I made i gave away .

I have around 30...I always buy them if I see them in antique shops..even little kids wooden bows. They won't be around for long.

ok, i gotta know more about that one that looks like a coral snake,

thats just beautiful!

That's a snakey osage bow with real coral snake skins.

I threw a handful away this weekend, that should tell you how many I have around. These were not well made and had band aids. I'm not a sentimental guy in regard to my own work.

Two stories about self bow makers.

About 10 years ago I was walking with my grandson ( age 7 at the time) at the Elm Hall shoot. He was not carrying a bow at the time when a young man (who is now in the Marines) ran up to me and said that his dad wanted to talk to me. I walked over to meet up with his dad, Matt Werwicki who was sitting in front of his trailer. He walked over to my grand son and handed him an osage self bow that he made for his son, the young Marine who came after me. Matt told me his boy out grew it and my grandson needed it. I about fell over when he did this. The bow is still in the family as my son has seven kids and it gets used.

My beautiful wife Chris and I were going to attend the Marshall Primitive shoot just to roam around and visit as Chris didn't have a self bow to use. We needed to get away for the day as Chris was into her 2nd year of a cancer diagnosis/battle. I guess our minds needed a break from reality at the time. Pearl Drums got ahold of me about a meet up when we got there. He said he had a bow for Chris to use so I brought her arrows with us so we could shoot. We met with Chris and he handed her one of his beautifully made self bows and told her it was a gift. Again I am beside myself as I know the time and work that goes into making one of these bows.

Well my wife lost her battle with this ugly disease 3 years later. I looked up Pearl Drums at the next shoot and gave the bow back to him. He kept insisting on me keeping it but I handed it back to me so he could make someone else smile.

Some of these self bow makers are the most generous and thoughtful lot there is.

Ghost Dog here probably has the largest selfbow collection, all the greats.

Here are some.

Sorry that was limbs for a crossbow.

One more try.

Love those snakey self bows. Frank

I have to say that snaky bow looks really cool! Do those snaky bows perform as well?

Personal opinion, truly snakey bows are cool to look at. But, I wouldn't even consider using one as an "everydayer".

Me to Pearl. Just build that one to show y’all I could. Arvin

Arvin, it does appear the snakey, Knotty bows are like a graduate course. If you can pull those off correctly than you may know what your doing. They may never perform like a straight clear bow. But man they look good doing it.

Although I can't say I collect them in the strict sense of the word but have been fortunate to acquire several via trades and outright gifts. These were made by Mickey, Rob Reed, and my current favorite by Bob Barnes.

Some beautiful bows here guys.

Altitude sick the one I built shot 174’ per second. But had plenty of shock. I guess the need to practice more. Arvin

My thing with snake bows is... to get them to perform as well as a straight bow... all else equal... or nearly so. And yes, it can be done.

Jon... I'd have thought it'd be hard for me to better respect you and Chris, but after that recount... I do. Thank you for being you. Nice snakey bow Arvin! Well done.

Sometimes the world's just too big.

Imagine if we all lived in the same town.

Jon and Chris are two top notch guys.

Thanks Clint and Jeff D. Unfortunately Chris and I belong to the same club with the loss of our wives.

We recently moved to a new home and while I was carrying load after load after load of bows out of my basement shop I finally came across Chris' bow. I stopped, reflected a bit and then kept humping bows up the steps. That bow needs a new home, I will find one eventually. Jon, keep your ears open for a qualified candidate.

Jeff, Pearl, Arvin, Any general tips or advise for the snakey bow construction

Follow the grain meticulously. And, don't fall in love with it.

I truly wish I had the knowledge and capability to make my own! I am probably facing the reality that I will no longer be able to enjoy the archery passion, due to a procedure I am waiting for on my back. Due to the expense of the procedure, my wife has "suggested" that I shouldn't shoot anymore and risk anymore pain and the chance of screwing up the procedure. You folks are truly master artisans of the craft. Keep up the good work! Happy Thanksgiving!

Curt, that’s why I’m not very good about listening to my wife lol.

I’m putting Truoil on #14 right now. Have 2 that are junk, have 3 given away, the other 9 are shooters. I don’t really collect them, I just enjoy seeing if I can make another one. Hope someday to get good at it.

Pearl you beat me to it. I ell said. Arvin

Well said!

Bent... I hear ya! I am looking for a 30# bow to see if it still hurts, if it does I'm probably gonna have to retire the bows.

I don’t have any problem with power tools.

However I prefer hand tools for making selfbows. I just feel they are so well suited for the job.

I like the way they just naturally follow the grain. At least the way I use them.

As far as snaky bows go I think most all of my bows have at least a little bit of wiggle in them because I do let the draw knife follow the grain. The grain almost always has at least a little bit of wiggle.

I do like the look of a snaky bow. I personally would have more faith in a well made snaky bow that was snaky and uses it grain that way, than a nice straight bow that should have had some wiggles if it’s grain had been followed.

I’m not saying a well made really snaky Selfbow will outperform or even perform and last as well as a well made straight selfbow from a very straight grain stave. In that case I would have more faith in the straight grain stave and bow that came from it. It really comes down to the stave and getting the best bow from it that you can.

Also some woods like Elm have a inner locking grain and are better suited to cutting than using a draw knife. They aren’t as important to follow the grain and often times are down right impossible to.

Bjrogg

Clean forgot about the great yew selfbow I was gifted by Steve Gardner two years ago at MoJAM. Nice smooth shooting bow.

Thanks to the guys that shared there selfbow pictures with us. If you ask me I think this post is a little light on the pictures.

I have made a lot of selfbows, most pass through my shop and go off to parts unknown. I may have 5 or 6 hanging around that aren't going anywhere.

Here are a few of my personal bows.

Nice looking bows Eric and Chris. Thanks for sharing them with us.

There are 3 bows per peg in that picture. Except the last one to the right. It has a 59 Grizz and a 74 Kmag hanging on it. Still have to find a spot(s) for 8 more bows.

Hey Pearl I never got a pick of that stave I sent you. Did you build a bow from it?

Nope, haven't built a bow in a long time and probably wont for a while. We just moved last weekend and I have no shop until I can get a barn built this spring. Its going to be a looooong winter Arvy. The bow you gave me is on the 3rd peg in from the left.

That the wall of your old house or your new one Chris? Think I might see drumstick in the middle.

Reminds me I have to post a few bows I promised some guys I would.

Can’t seem to post my old pictures anymore.

I did get one to post yesterday though. Probably need to be by WiFi.

Bjrogg

New house BJ. Yours is 5 pegs in from the left, second bow from the wall.

Glad to see you got a new room to put them in .

I thought that I recognized that drum stick profile.

Bjrogg

I am sentimental about some of Bows I’ve made . These two are kinda special to me.

The one on the left is the first bow I ever hunted with. It’s a hop hornbeam straight flat bow. About 52 lbs at my draw. I cut the tree it came from about 30 feet from where I was standing when the four pointer walked past me at nine paces. It has a few speckles of blood from that first ever bow kill. I sealed them on with a couple coats of tru oil..

The one on the right is my first Osage. It is a static recurve that really fits me good. It is just Osage and a string. I call her “Simply Orange.” I also won a bow of the month with her. I have a lot of bows to shoot but this is definitely my favorite. I still take her off the wall shooting and hunting.

I will try to get some more pictures of others in my collection for you when I get a chance. For now here the two I mentioned

Bjrogg

Bjrogg, Please post pics of the Osage static

What would be cool. And I’m sure it’s been done a few time on here already. But good stuff is worth repeating. Is when one of you selfbow guys is making a bow. Maybe you could show pictures and explain laying out a bow stave. Chasing a ring. Heat treating the limbs. And stuff for the guys that might like to give it a try. And for guys that want to give it a try again too. We need some good selfbow threads back on here. Like the White wood war days. ;)

I have been thinking of doing just that Don. I have started out trying to do that before. It is harder than it sounds. You have to stick right with it or your thread becomes lost and boring. You have to remember to take a lot of pictures and then resize them and explain them so others understand what they are seeing.

I m going to give it a go again when stuff slows down a little more and I can really concentrate on it. I might even get bow to low brace before I start the thread so you don’t have to wait for the many delay’s that pop up

Bjrogg

Awesome Brian Thanks. I’m sure there are others interested as well. I’ll be looking forward to that post. Maybe a few other selfbow guys will do something too.

I do not consider myself a collector (although I will admit I have "too many" bows!). I have acquired 3 selfbows and 2 all- wood laminated bows over the years. There are a couple more that I would like to own someday (owned by a member here) and also one day I would like to acquire an Osage static recurve selfbow.

I like the "simplicity" of a selfbow contrasted against the complexity and intricacy that it takes for an individual to build a reliable one. One piece of wood that are works of art and craftsmanship.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Tom

I've been thinking about doing a selfbow build on here and actually started taking pics of a snakey osage bow layout, but then lost all the pics when I inadvertently deleted many of the pics on my phone. Ooopsie.

Like Bjrogg said, a detailed build-along is a commitment, can take several weeks depending on the construction methods, details offered or requested and how the q&a transpires.

Another thing I wanted to showcase was reasoning and methods around dynamic tillering. Just haven't had the free time block available to dedicate to it, yet. I need to retire.

I usually get pics and the bow build at least halfway before I do a build-a-long. This way by the time it is complete or a complete failure the pics catch up to the post's. John

Yup a person could write a book about it. wink wink.

Bjrogg

Here’s the ones hanging in my workshop. Crazy only seems like a couple to me but I think I counted 11.

Most are done a couple might need some work yet. These are ones I worked on in early 2020. Some pre COVID and some post. I usually need something to keep me occupied when the stress gets high. I can forget about everything else when I’m tinkering. Good medicine.

Bjrogg

Here’s another one of the static I have a bunch more but I can’t seem to download them now.

We’re having Thanksgiving in the man cave Sunday so I’ll have to tidy up a little and maybe get some more pictures.

I have a few arrows to sometimes it’s nice to get together with friends. Here’s two of the finest.

Bjrogg

The three of us together.

Bjrogg

Unbraced

Looks like my man cave approves.

Braced

Bjrogg

Man cave is still smiling.

Full Draw

Bjrogg

Here are a few that I one way or another received from other bowyers.

Left to right

#1 was first selfbow from another bowyer I ever received and probably my favorite. It’s a yew bow made by DVS Hunter. It doesn’t have the finish work done on it, but it’s a really nice shooting bow and so far I have left it like I received it. I think I might give it a sanding. Maybe shape the handle just a little and give it a a finish to protect it from the wear, tare and moister. I traded Dave a Atlatl with a stone point for this one. We were both happy, but I think I got the better end of the deal. I really like this one and shoot it good. I actually have taken it hunting several times hoping to get one with my good friend.

#2 Is a birch bark back bend through the handle Osage bow I got from Greg aka badly bent. There’s nothing badly bent about it other than his very distinctive style. Love that guy. It was second selfbow I obtained. I won it at a raffle at Marshall Primitive Archery Meet.

#3 Is another bend through the handle Osage made by Cody Wright aka missile master. It is tillered to perfection. I got this one at Marshall to with the high bid on the fund raising auction. I think I got a steel on it.

#4 Is a HHB From Paulsemp. Paul and I had planned to do a bow swap before I won this one at Elm Hall auction. It was made from a tree that was taken down at Elm Hall and staves given to several bowyers to make for the auction. It is a hard hitting bow. It has a slightly deflexed handle with slightly reflexed limbs. A design Paul real has down and one that is a bit tricky to master tiller on. We did still do the trade so I actually have to bows from Paul.

# 5 Is from everyone’s good friend Pearl. It took awhile for us to complete our trade. We both had stuff going on that required this trade to take longer than planned to complete. Then the COVID-19 ruined our plans to swap at Marshall. We finally swapped at Elm Hall and still being my busy season I didn’t even shoot her till yesterday. That hard to admit, but she was worth the wait and certainly a very nice bow.

I have a Matt Wikkie bow blank I obtained in a trade blanket that I finished up that isn’t shown here. Matt is very generous with his time and a excellent bowyer.

I also have that second Paulsemp bow.

I’m hoping to obtain a few more. I enjoy my fellow bowyers and like to shoot with them.

Bjrogg

You guys make some beautiful bows. Thanks everyone who posted some pictures for us to enjoy.

Great pictures. This is the main reason I like trad archery so much, the variety.

Here’s 3 that I dressed up.

Those look nice Brian. I really like Osage and copperhead.

Bjrogg

Usually I don't remember where my bows went, here are a few in the almost finished stage.

The set of copperheads was as perfect a match as I ever put on a bow.

I have always given bows to special people I have met over the years, the copperhead bow was gifted to a fine man, retired navy, and as nice a guy as I ever met. He was on the Forrestal with John McCain during the terrible fire. Bud Kent, one of a kind and the kind of man we all wish we could be.

You do very nice work Eric. Your splices and overlays are always perfect.

This one is Trilogy. I took a side and belly split from this one and got three bows from one stave.

They went to my grandson, daughter and son in law.

Here’s my son in law shooting Trilogy.

Bjrogg

PS he’s a compound shooter so he’s still working on figuring it all out

Great bows guys! Arvin

Who cuts shelves in their bows? why or why not.

Guess you could say I collect them, give a lot away but always keep a few special ones around, have around 40 or so. Here is a picture of a few special ones. Pappy

I do and don’t. Most of the ones I shoot I don’t.

Do and it’s a more friendly bow to shoot. Closer to center shot is a little more forgiving with arrow spine I think and makes a more consistent spot for arrow. We all know consistency is what Archer’s strifes for.

Don’t I just never feel like I need one. I used them in the beginning and I do think they helped my shooting. One advantage is you can shoot right or left. You can still always put one in. But it’s kinda hard to take one out.

I make a lot of bows and If I don’t know who the owner is going to be when I start making them. I just leave the option open.

Some people don’t like the looks of them.

Some people swear by them.

I say it’s a matter of personal preference.

Bjrogg

Nice looking bows Pappy! The one to the far left. Would that be considered a Pyramid Bow?

I've started making contoured handles with a shelf cut in. If done correctly they look great. They can also look pretty rough and out of place

Not really D. Lewis , it is parallel to about mid limb then tapered to the tip. Pappy

I’m thinking that one is what I call a flat bow?

I think I can get this picture of Simply Orange to post now for Jay.

Bjrogg

It would be an honor to own and shoot anyone of these bows that have been posted. These folks are outstanding self makers and the ones I know personally are fine gentlemen.

I have made a few and they are clubs compared to the above posted bows.

"outstanding self bow makers". I need to proof read more often,lol

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving Jon

Bjrogg

Thanks Brian but holidays aren't getting any easier.

Sorry to hear that Jon. I understand and this year hasn’t been easy anyway. Maybe a trip to the desert? Hope things get easier Jon. Really do.

Bjrogg

Just picked up a new selfbow. Now I have 3.

Nice bow Greg. Good luck with it.

FYI, there's a lot of (10) longbows on sale at eBay right now, was at $43 and $57 shipping, or something like that as of just now (1pm EST 23Feb21).

Search for these words "10 Old wooden vintage longbows" and you'll find it!

I don't take a lot of bow pictures, but here are some of mine. Some made for myself, more given away.

I looked up the 10 bows, who ever made them wasn't much of a bow maker, I suspect they are contemporary.

Have never owned a selfbow...... but I have plans to remedy that. Picked up a set of the Bowyers Bible and I’m gonna give it a try. Beautiful bows you all have :)

This one is ash.

Nice looking bows Jim. Those T/D’s are really cool!

Man, you guys have some pretty bows, thanks for sharing...

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