My newest bow is another test piece. I found some black palm (Borassus flabellifer) and wanted to try it as a belly material. It has a very beautiful grain and appearance, it’s heavy, and it seemed like a promising material. So I made a long deflex–reflex design, minimally stressed, drawing 42 pounds at 28 inches.
From the back, the materials are hickory, sugar maple (powerlam), black cherry, jatoba, and black palm. The handle is also black palm, and the nocks are water buffalo horn. The finish is boat lacquer.
Length is 1870 mm (73.6") n/n, width 28 mm (1.1"), and mass 690 g (1.52 lb).
One special feature of this bow is the handle leather. It’s always quite difficult to shape leather around a pistol-grip handle. So instead of shaping it, I installed the leather “backwards,” putting the stitching on the palm side of the handle. I’m happy with the result — I can barely feel the seam. The material is vegetable-tanned leather.
Unfortunately, I’m a bit disappointed. The bow seems to be fast, but I think black palm is quite a mediocre belly material. Its grain texture is very coarse, and I’m afraid it may fail in the long term. It didn’t take much set, but somehow I just don’t like it as a belly material, something about the feel. Moreover, it was quite awkward material to work. I may make another bow in the future, a bit wider—let’s see.
