Long fade vs short fade

[wizardgoat]

I'm having troubles finding information on the benefits of having long fades. Besides looking better, how does a long fade (3"or more) affect performance. I haven't made enough bows to compare, what determines fade length? Or is it just personal preference.

[Josh B]

For the most part, it's personal preference.  I personally like long fades in my ALB's.  But shorter bows get shorter fades.  Josh

[Will H]

It's all preference and commen sence IMO. Longer fades equal shorter limbs. I personally like the look of them and I think on long Osage bows they are a plus.

[bow101]

What I been doing lately is experimenting with a 16" or so power lam glued on the back.  You have the ability to make a deeper handle, hence forward riser.  Once the handle section is contoured you can always remove or add material from the power lam.     and fine tune the tiller. 
Having said that I prefer a longer fade.

[Weylin]

I've found that you can work the bend into the longer fades and get the looks without sacrificing too much of the working length. It's still a bit of a trade off and like the other guys said, it really depends on the bow.

[gutpile]

to me depends on length of stave...if I need a longer limb with what I got I go for a short fade...gut

[Hrothgar]

I haven't made enough bows with really long fades to have established ideas or theories. The few I've made, like the Sudbury design, were smooth shooting and pleasing to the eye, but probably sacrificed something in speed or draw weight.

[gmc]

Really good design question that I can't leave alone without a comment.  The flip side of the coin would have us examine some of the bend through the handle designs with very long fades although short in length such as a paddle bow, for example.  I build short bows with long fades because I like the sight picture that it gives me with a flat bow design- I don't use an arrow shelf. It is personal preference but the length really doesn't have to dictate the fade length. I bend all my bows slightly through the fades just because I like them that way and they range from 2.5 to 3.0 inches in length and the draw length just might equal 2x the length of the bow.