How to Build a Primitive Bow

This year I made a bow that I really liked and I thought, "Hey, wouldn't it be great if anyone could have the information on how to make a bow like this?"  So I set out to show my entire process on how to make a primitive bow.  In the smallest amount of time the process of making a bow will take at least a month.  I took over 6 months on this one but the vast majority of that time is just letting the wood cure.

I first had to film harvesting the wood which I like to do in the summer time and it's too hot during the summer to be out working on a bow.... Although, I did make one bow over the Summer.  I couldn't help myself.  When the weather cooled down I got working on the bow and it turned out to be a little trickier than I had expected.  There was some deflex and reflex I hadn't expected that will mess with your mind while you're tillering.

It took about two months to film the whole thing and get it edited out.  I thought that was pretty fast and I actually got it all done ahead of schedule (the random time in my head that I wanted to finish it by).

The bow came out pretty good and I'm very happy with it.  It's only the second time I've ever used hickory and I really like hickory.  I think there's a reason the natives in the area used it a lot.  I've been making a lot of  "bendy" bows so I think I'm ready to change it up and maybe try some styles from Europe.  After all, I am of European descent and only have a dash of native American.  I hope these videos are useful to you and you enjoy them!  Thanks for reading and watching :)