A bowyer is a master-craftsman who makes bows. Though this was once a widespread profession, the importance of bowyers and of bows was diminished by the introduction of gunpowder weaponry. However, the trade has survived and many bowyers continue to produce high-end bows. Bow staves

History

Historically, a wide variety of bows have been produced for purposes ranging from food gathering and warfare to recreation. Who created these bows depended mainly on the type of bow being produced, but also on the quantity required. The skills required tend to divide traditional bowyers into two groups:

Makers of self bows

In clans or social groups that used wooden

self bow A self bow or simple bow is a bow made from a single piece of wood. Extra material such as horn nocks on the ends, or built-up handles, would normally be accepted as part of a self bow. Some modern authorities would also accept a bow spliced toge ...

s (bows made entirely from one piece of wood) bows would sometimes be crafted by the individual user; however, even with fairly simple bow designs it was often easier to rely upon a few skilled bowyers within the group. By working in groups more could be accomplished. In medieval England, for example, professional bowyers produced thousands of bows required for that country's military. These bowyers could reportedly make an

English longbow The English longbow was a powerful medieval type of bow, about long. While it is debated whether it originated in England or in Wales from the Welsh bow, by the 14th century the longbow was being used by both the English and the Welsh as a ...

in as little as two hours. Wooden selfbows normally take from 5–15 hours of work depending on the skill of the bowyer and the challenges set by the piece of wood. Modern amateurs find it satisfying to make functional self bows with beginner's skills and few tools.

Makers of composite bows

Cultures that used

composite bow A composite bow is a traditional bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together, a form of laminated bow. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the outer side of a wooden core. When the bow is drawn, the sinew (stret ...

s (bows made of several materials, classically

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

, and

sinew A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

) had to rely on skilled craftsmen. Composite bows could be made relatively short, heavily recurved, and highly effective but the constituent materials had to be put under enormous stress and the bow's limbs needed to be perfectly aligned. These demands required experienced bowyers who were willing to spend a great deal of time crafting their weapons. Cultures such as the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

made effective military use of powerful composite bows for millennia; the limited records indicate that only a minority of men in these cultures ever made bows.

Bowyers in the United States

In the United States, many bowyers were inspired by

Ishi Ishi ( – March 25, 1916) was the last known member of the Native American Yahi people from the present-day state of California in the United States. The rest of the Yahi (as well as many members of their parent tribe, the Yana) were kill ...

, the last member of the

Yahi The Yana were a group of Native Americans indigenous to Northern California in the central Sierra Nevada, on the western side of the range. Their lands, prior to encroachment by white settlers, bordered the Pit and Feather rivers. They were ...

, who lived most of his life outside modern culture. Ishi first contacted US citizens in 1911. His friend

Saxton Pope Saxton Temple Pope (September 4, 1875 – August 8, 1926) was an American doctor, teacher, author and outdoorsman. He is most famous as the father of modern bow hunting, and for his close relationship with Ishi, the last member of the Yahi tri ...

learned some of his skills and spread them to bowyers including

Howard Hill Howard Hill (born Lemuel Howard Hill and later cited Howard H. Hill;"Lemuel" is verified as Hill's first name in th"Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910" image of original census page for John F. Hill family, "Wilsonville Town", Shelby C ...

, Ben Pearson and

Fred Bear Fred Bear (March 5, 1902 – April 27, 1988) was an American bow hunter and manufacturer. Although he did not start bow hunting until he was 29 and did not master the skill for many years, he is widely regarded as a pioneer in the bow hunting c ...

References

Sources and recommended reading

* (1992) ''The Traditional Bowyer's Bible Volume 1''. The Lyons Press. * (1992) ''The Traditional Bowyer's Bible Volume 2''. The Lyons Press. * (1994) ''The Traditional Bowyer's Bible Volume 3''. The Lyons Press. * (2008) ''The Traditional Bowyer's Bible Volume 4''. The Lyons Press.

External links

* http://www.primitivearcher.com/
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