Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Aksel on May 18, 2023, 10:24:11 am
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Hello, I decided to make a bow close in size to the smaller of the two stone age bows found in Holmegård in Denmark, dating back to apr. 9000 years ago. I stretched the original measurements out, added 4 inches in total to 64" instead of original bow´s 60". The original bow was probably heavy; 70+ lbs or so. By stretching it and taking a couple millimeter off it´s thickness and width, this bow pulls #50 @27". One limb is reflexed which gives it a bit of a wonky brace. That famous shoulder is very subtle and appear only on one limb.
It is made from European elm and I decided to leave the finished bow rather rough, no sand paper just rubbing its surface smoth with a glass jar. I stained it with a mix of earth pigments and oil.
Not a scientific replica but it turned out a very nice bow!
Edit: I shortened the bow, see page 2.
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Full draw
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very nice
Definetly you can hear the echo of the human history in those bows
Is the string natural?
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Yes there is something almost magical over those old bows. The string is linnen, but this bow really should have a sinew string..
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Excellent. My all-time favorite bow design, and you nailed it!
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Very neat bow! I'm psyching myself up to start a yew rendition of the Meare Heath bow. Minor details like how to best lay it, etc. Target draw weight will be 40-45#. Relearning how to post pictures will help (lol) :fp
Hawkdancer
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Nice work!
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cool bow! what was the diameter of the sapling??
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Lovely, clean simple, one of my fave' bow shapes.
Del
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Thanks for kind comments. This is such a perfect design. Short, every part of the bow doing some work.
willie : The original Holmegård was made from a 2" sapling. I used a 4" sapling, so to get to the right cross section where thickness and width stay true to the original I had to round its back sides to get that high back crown shape of a very small sapling.
Hawkdancer: I look forward seeing that Meare Heath bow! It is a very curious big bow, worked on all sides and with the handle section sunk down a few year rings on the back. Maybe safest to avoid that dubious feature...!
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Beautiful simple bow, tiller looks dead on, very nice work. :)
Pappy
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Real Cool! Sinew wrapped nocks? a close up on one of them would be nice :) I dont know enough about these older European bows but always wanted to give it a shot. Great example of that era you made there and for a primitive archery forum. Like it a lot.
Mike
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That is definitly a nice bow.
For smoothing the surface you should give Field Horsetail (Ackerschachtelhalm) a chance ;)
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Thanks Pappy, mike, chumash.
Here´s the nock. Just cheap Jute twine dipped in glue and wrapped/ tied on. I guess most people find it un-aesthetically or worry about the string coming off, I do most of my bow nocks like this and never have the nock fail and string coming off. Infact have I had more problems of string coming off or wood splitting with side and pin nocks. And you get really narrow low mass bow tips with a tied on nock.
Chumash: I´ve read about stone age people using Field Horsetail to polish wood. Must give it a go one day.
I also include a picture before I stained the bow where you easier can see how small that shoulder is on the one limb.
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Very cool. I love it. That tiller looks great!
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The original Holmegård was made from a 2" sapling.
Thanks, such a high crown calls for elm or a tension strong wood.
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that is a Mighty fine Bow (SH) :BB
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That's a very nice Holmegaard bow, Aksel. Looks like it could have been made thousands of years ago. Well done! :OK
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Great holmegaard!
And I would have been sure you had not only sanded, but polished with steel wool, etc.! Amazing what a little pressure alone will do.
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Sweet bow, I've always loved these holmegaard bows. There's something so simple and yet so complex and deliberate about them
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Thanks for all the comments guys. I was shooting the bow for a while and I did - comparing it to my other good bows - feel it shot slightly spongy. So I shortened it to the original bow´s length (TtT: 154 cm/ 60") and re-positioned the shoulders on the top limb to its proper place. I suspect the spongy feel upon release of the arrow was due to the bow being too narrow for its length. Now the bow is very close to original measurements: 2-3 mm narrower and 0,5 -2 mm thinner. (1 mm = 0,04 inch). So pretty much bang on the original Holmegård´s measurements. Draw weight went up to 58 lbs @ 27" and that spongy feeling is gone. Also the tiller changed from a more round tiller to stiffer outer limbs and the handle start to put in a little work due to draw weight has gone up. Set rose marginally. It think the performance is now optimised for its design. Love this cool little bow.
New full draw:
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Nice update... its a wise bowyer who can make those final adjustments to get it right :)
Del
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now you need a set of stone chisel tipped arrows :OK
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Very nice. Tiller looks great!