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what lbs makes it a warbow insted of a longbow

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Rod:
Just a personal view, but IMHO weight alone does not a "warbow" make.
I don't even care for the term.

In it's heyday it was just a "bowe", even the term "longbow" had no currency until it was used to distinguish a "longbow" from a "crossbow".

These days, post Strickland and Hardy's "The Great Warbow", everywhere I go I see folks calling just about anything made of wood over 90lb a "warbow".
Even if appears to be the bastard offspring of a lawn archery bow and a fencepost.

Of course, not everyone has access to a good single stave of yew, elm or ash, nor the ability to make a good heavy bow, but I saw one recently in the hands of a bloke in an archery shop who knew nothing and cared less about the tradition or wooden bows in general apart from selling anything he could to anyone who would part with the money.

This one had as many laminations as a liquorice allsort, like a bad lawn archery bow on steriods, an overlength handle wrap that told me that the maker was in two minds as to which was the top nock, or would not be surprised to see the tiller reverse when the bow was used.

The trader puffed out his chest and called it his "warbow", to me it was nothing of the sort.
And knowing him of old, I doubt that he could string it without a struggle.

Naturally draw weight and the ability to cast a heavy shaft are a basic requirement and many folks will rely on laminated construction through either economic necessity or availability of materials, but surely, draw-weight alone does not make a proper "warbow".

What do you think?

Rod.

ratty:
a longbow that bends through the handle and is not a victorian stiff in the handle longbow i would refure to as a medieval longbow.

if i was going to war with a medieval longbow i would want a bow over 120lb to shoot a heavy shaft 70g a good distance and to penetrate armour.

80lb to 100lb is a good practice weight to strengthen your body. but i would honestly say with the correct technique any ADULT could shoot a 100lb bow.

to denote the difference between a victorian traditional longbow and a heavy weight medieval longbow the name warbow is used to stop confusion and i think it does the job well. :)

ps. obviously a laminate is not a medieval longbow only self bows but they are good for practice never the less ;)

nickf:
let's say:
(close to) compass tiller, longer, stronger, longer drawlength ?

I don't see why many lams don't make a warbow... And drawweight doesn't count much, depending on the person, but I wonder if anybody would call a yew bow, with a compass tiller, 80"long, drawn to 32 inches a warbow, if it only pulled 30#...

yew wasn't available everywhere, and often elm, ash etc were used for these warbows.

warbow isn't a single type, it's a bunch of different types; laminated, selfbow, backed. And all of these make ENGLISH warbows.

but the English weren't the only tribes with 'warbows'... look at the cherokee d-bows, the sinewbacked warbows from the westcoast indians, the long, incredibly strong chinese hornbows, pulling way over 150#, the long papua bows shooting harpoonlike arrows, the small african bushman warbows, with poisoned arrows and under 50# of drawweight.

Nick

Far East Archer:
Well~ This is the ENGLISH warbow forum so I think it must be we describe English bow, not other warbows....
In that time, they did not laminate woods to make warbow, so it must be selfbow.
Weight wise, well, any bow use in war is technically a warbow, whether it is 40# or 180#, doesn't really matter...

Think about it, you shot in the face at 100 yards by a 40#, it will not help if it is heavier bow, you still dead.
Though, for sake of not lowering weight so everyone can join in (its not suppose to be easy!) I would say 100#@30" at least.

Like  Ratty say, any adult should be able to pull 100#. This use to be hunting weight not too long ago, so, warbow should at least be that or higher yeah? I think they mostly start pull bow at young age, not to be able to pull, but to shoot accurately.

alanesq:

I think if you want a bow which you can claim to be a true replica of a English Warbow then it should be a self bow, at least 140lb draw weight, natural bow string and of course have sidenocks

I don't think this is what people mean when they say warbow though, it's just to differentiate from the recreational type longbows

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