Is Osage orange good for bows?

Osage orange grows durable wood that’s ideal for building bows. The wood is a brilliant orange when spit from the tree, and darkens to a caramel color as it ages. A small subset of traditional archers are enthralled with the wooden bow’s simplicity and effectiveness.

What tree makes the best bow?

Some of the best wood for making bows include Osage orange, yew, ash, black locust, and hickory; most hardwoods (like oak and maple) will work. Start with a relatively straight sapling or branch that is free of knots, side branches, and twists, about 6 feet (2 m) long and 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter.

Why are Osage orange bows used?

Found from eastern Texas to Oklahoma and western Arkansas, the Osage orange tree was used by the Osage Indians for making bows used in fighting and hunting. They used the Osage orange wood to make bows – the wood was easy to bend and plenty strong to withstand constant use.

Does Osage orange make good lumber?

Osage orange wood is very durable and is still used for making fence posts. If allowed to dry out, the wood burns hot and long, and has one of the highest BTU ratings of any common wood in North America.

Is elm a good bow wood?

Elm wood is a great bow wood with its interlocking grain. If you can remember which is the top of the branch, that would make the best piece of wood for that bow as its been in tension all it’s days instead of compression and will allow it to take less set and recover better.

Is Ash a good bow wood?

Ash is another well-known bow wood from history but, like wych elm, it made a far better broad-limbed flat bow than a D-section longbow. Ash is a ring porous hardwood, and the early growth wood is coarse and stringy, with the late growth wood being harder and stronger.

Is Ironwood good for making bows?

A wide bow of ironwood with little depth may with perfect safety be made much shorter than common. These, by the way, are the best woods for the Boy Scout to use in his bow making.

What bows Did Vikings use?

The bow Viking bows were made of yew wood. Even in prehistory, yew was considered to be the classic bow wood due to its great ability to stretch and flex; together these give very special shooting power. A very well-preserved yew bow was found at Haithabu; this has a length of 191.5 cm and a draw weight of about 45 kg.

Can you make a bow out of Osage orange?

Osage Orange may never be popular in stringent regulatory Bowmaking that requires the wood to meet certain criteria.Please keep in mind Osage very rarely grows perfectly straight (I can say that a straight piece of Osage is probably 1 in 700 or more).If you are looking for Osage to make a Bow to meet English

Where can I get the best Osage orange stave?

produce the Osage Stave.James does his best to provide the right Osage Stave for you.He works each Stave by hand and with the knowledge only a Bowyer has from his experience to produce the best you will find anywhere.He uses NO POWER TOOLS… Please call him at 319 835 5892/319 835 0916 anytime to talk about Osage Orange Staves.

Where can I find information on the Osage orange tree?

Our home site www.osageorange.com is full of information on the Osage Orange Tree and the making of the Osage Bow as well as Osage Bow examples.Please drop by there and bookmark it as it is very in- depth and takes some time to see.

Is it a good idea to buy an Osage with bark?

Osage.Buying Osage with bark and sapwood intact is not a good idea. 319 835 5892 Building the Osage Bow| Osage Orange Profiles| Osage Orange Staves and Billets| Osage Bows that are for Sale|