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quallity of yew over the years

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Blacktail:
this might be a dumb question,but i shall ask any ways.from the past to now does the quallity of yew get less and less over the years.and i am refering to the days of war bows to present time....some guys say for a good war bow you have to have 30 rings and inch and some say 60.i have heard this.i have never seen 60 rings per inch here in oregon but have seen 30...but i think over the years yew was a higher grade that what it is now....really i am writing my thoughts out just wondering.thanks john

Keenan:
 Hey John, How are ya?
 The difference from yew of old to present is years of growth. The older the yew the tighter the rings as a general rule but there are alot of other factors.
 Higher elevation with shorter growing seasons and harsher conditions will give higher ring counts. Dave and I have both noticed higher ring count on the east slopes of the Cascades. Not as much yew on this side but what there is has always been quallity. I think due to the dryer conditions. Are you going over to the Gods Valley Rondevous this weekend?  Keenan

Blacktail:
hey keenan,nice to hear from you...thanks for the info on the yew.i think i might do some snooping around for some good yew some time...about gods valley.i want to go really BAD.but i dont have any money at all.and i am tring to pack my house so i can move into a cheaper rental..i wrote a topic on the any thing else tread to gordon of why i cant make it.if you go get some photos for me.i hope tony is still looking at the SON....GOD BLESS.john

stevesjem:
Dense Yew comes from real slow growth due to growing conditions, nothing to do with age, The warbows of old were made from High Altitude yew from Europe, this is a different species of yew tree from the yew that grows in Oregon, European is Taxus Baccata, American Yew is Taxus Brefiola, They are quite different, the European yew is much heavier physically than the American, also the European yew is also much stronger and will handle much more ill treatment, The average for high altitude italian yew is 50-60 rings to the inch, some are 80 rings and i have had some at 100 rings to the inch. The quality has dropped since the middle ages due to the fact that this wood is no longer farmed and tended like it was, people tended the trees and removed unwanted branches etc, for the life of the tree until it was cut for bow wood.

hope this helps

steve

markinengland:
I have some English yew from the North Downs that is very dense. it isn't high altitude but the 8 inch log was so heavy I could not lift it as all and had to leave there in situe to dry for six months before I could carry it out.
I think we always have a tendency to say that things back then were better than things now. Rose tinted hindsight?
Back in the days of the English Warbow we exhausted our home grown supply and then got close to exhausting the supply from Europe. Ascham maons about the declining quality of yew for bows.
Mark in England

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