Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Zbearclaw on January 14, 2010, 02:23:00 AM
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First of all I have never seen a bow with Osage in it in person, but the pics don't give me reason to care to see it.
What is it about Osage that makes it a beautiful bow wood? Looks very plain to me alone. Coupled with the right woods it surely brings out the other woods beauty, but still looks very plain to me, almost non-wood.
I have read/heard it is a very workable bow material and makes a great self bow, but as far as a beauty wood it looks just like "yella wood" to me.
Please enlighten me if you will.
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If you would ever get your hands on a piece and could see the grain up close especially after it has darkened with age you would love it. Maybe not.
It does work great but is harder than hammered hell and you have to use really sharp tools.
I'm a woodworker and just love to work with wood but have recently started my journey as a bowyer and have fell in love with osage after working some.
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I know it is the best wood you can burn in a fireplace. Puts out the most btu's per cord than any other wood.
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It's just like anything else, just because one guy likes it doesn't mean you will. I don't like the way osage looks either. I like the darker woods myself but you may not like them either. It's personal preference if you don't like it then you don't like it.
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Buckeye Trad Hunter absolutely nailed it!
Well almost..lol....
Here Buckeye let me paraphrase(fix) that for you...lol
["It's just like anything else, just because one guy likes it doesn't mean you will..... It's personal preference. If you don't like it, then you don't like it."]
If I need a stick to beat off a wounded bear or need a lever to pry a vehicle loose or if I need bang on a tree to get that rascally squirrel to move at least enough the(blind-as-a-bat) field judge can see him.... gimme a piece of hedge(Osage) but if I don't have that at hand then any one of my old self bows will do the trick, at least they did in the past.
No! I never did have to beat off a wounded bear but a wounded 3XL coon makes for a close second...lol
MHO
God bless,Mudd
PS:Buckeye, please forgive me if any of my malarkey in any way offends you.
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Once osage has aged a little it takes on more of a "caramel" color as the osage darkens. Osage has very nice characteristics for building selfbows and there is alot of history with osage.
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Lots of wood looks pretty under glass, but that has nothing to do with it as a bow wood. One has to remove the glass to determine if it is bow wood.
I like osage, except for burning in my fireplace...it pops too much.
Live oak has more BTUs than osage, but I don't like burning it either.
Give me a middle of the road, well seasoned piece of white oak.
As to what it is about osage I like? Maybe because it is solid, dependable, honest and enduring ....kinda' the same qualities I find in old friends. :)
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I never liked it much. Then I got some duck and goose calls with it, and now I like it for calls. It is really durable and stable for that. Also they sometime burn or flame it to give it more character and bring out the grain. That looks good. It has a lot of cool fine iridescent grain to it, and it gets better to me when it darkens. I have an all osage Lost Creek right now. I got it on trade to try it out. I still don't know about it in a bow, but it is growing on me. I have seen a few bows with osage accents and I have liked the way they look in combination with the other woods. I still like a lot of other woods better personally, but osage is growing on me some now.
Here is a pic of some figured veneers.
(http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/thaner/P1010274.jpg)
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It's really the properties of Osage that make it one of the best for bows. Very tough. It aint the purtiest wood, but it puts them all to shame.
When you make a selfbow, you can use osage all by itself. Any other wood you should really back it with something.
BTW, Osage makes some really nice knife scales, too.
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Fresh osage is yellow. Give a couple weeks in the sun and it turns a beautiful golden brown. Over time it gets deeper and deeper in color.
(http://sticknstring.webs.com/photos/2010-Pictures/osagesamples.jpg) These bows are roughly sorted by age. The top one is 12 years old but ir was dyed a little so it might be a bit darker than natural. The second one is about the same age. The last selfbow is fropm 2004 and is a really cool osage that is almost burly, even though you can't see that in the pic. The bottom one is osage in the handle of my Ancient Spirits glass bow. You should hold one of these and see if you don't like osage :)
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Some of our favorite wood for bows. We are in the process of building a Osage and walnut longbow for PBS
The grain is magnificent in it
Check out some pictures on our website
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I have a osage PSA X with copperhead skins and when it arrived it was bright yellow. :help:
I started leaving it out in the sun a lot and man that wood has turned into a rich light brown with a yellow tone.
Its the best looking bow i have and just as soon as i can im going to get Bob to build me one with some cocobolo down the middle with copperheads.
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Picture do not do osage juctice IMO. I had a HH Croc at one time that was very well seasoned and the osage on the bow was one of the most beautiful woods that I have ever seen.
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If you get a chance to make a Osage self bow try it. I wouldn't say it is the nicest looking wood but it makes a nice self bow.
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I have a Northwind recurve with Osage lams. The grain patterns on those lams rivals any wood I have ever seen and as it ages it just gets better and better. Not all Osage is figured with wild grains, but when it is wow.......
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I have a good friend and fellow archer that just luuuuuvs the beauty of osage in bows. I will remain tight lipped as I have in honor of my friend.
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I would have to agree that part of its beauty is its conrast to some of the darker woods.
That being said; I like that canary yellow color better when it is new.
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I am one of those who love osage.
I started liking that wood when making selfbows.
For my specific taste, osage goes well with cocobolo, and the brown reddish strikes in it as it ages makes a rich cocobolo look even better!
F-Manny
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No worries Mudd I'm not one to get upset over those type of things. I've got a pretty good sense of humor.
Don't get me wrong about the Osage, as far as it's properties go it's a great bow wood, but I don't like the way it looks. That being said, if I made a selfbow and had the chance to use osage I would. Then I could have an ugly bow that lasts forever.
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I personally love the look of osage when it ages. Self bowyers are using it for its bow making properties, not its beauty same as the American Indians.
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I like it cause it's yella.
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I am having a custom bow built with an osage riser. when osage is seasone it is a great looking
wood.
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I like it because I can cut it on my Grandad's place and use it in a bow and get instant mojo. I like it because I can find 100 year old fence posts made out of it and that's pretty cool. I like it because it's a super heavy and hard American wood. It makes a good bow. If you want pure looks well that is just up to you. I like the look of it but more I like the "feel" of it in my bow.
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Hard and heavy riser is always a good thing.
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After seeing those pics, how could one say osage is "plain". Heres another to show ya:
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd312/sargeyriley/015-2.jpg)
I love osage!!! When it's new, it brings out all the woods around it. When it darkens, WOW! It is really beautiful. IMO.
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I love the look of Osage as well. Not only that but the wood is the 2nd best (yew is 1st). I just don't like the deformities or "character" that osage oftens has. I'm in the middle of purchasing a beautiful recurve that has Osage from Richard who bought it from Mike at mad dog archery.
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(http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af339/Cbushee/458ed3fe.jpg)
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(http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af339/Cbushee/IMG_0552.jpg)
(http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af339/Cbushee/IMG_0551.jpg)
(http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af339/Cbushee/IMG_0550.jpg)
(http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af339/Cbushee/IMG_0549.jpg)
(http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af339/Cbushee/IMG_0548-1.jpg)
(http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af339/Cbushee/IMG_0547.jpg)
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I have an Osage riser b/c I think it looks cool! That's all that matters right?
(http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm146/rappstar15/2009%20MO%20Archery/SnowHunt005.jpg)
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I used to hate Osage, then it started to grow on me....
NOW, I love it!
I used it to accent the Bacote and Dirty boo, next bow is going to have a lot more than accents!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BowHuntingFool/P1040647.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BowHuntingFool/P1040645.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BowHuntingFool/P1040641.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v604/BowHuntingFool/P1040698.jpg)
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I have two osage bows, and love them both. To each their own, I guess, but I will stick with bois d' arc.
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My love relationship with osage started 20 years ago, when I had the urge to build myself a selfbow, I read a few how to books, all listed osage as a top bow wood. My great uncle had a saw mill so I figured that would be a good starting place to find something to practice on. To my surprise, he had a mother load of osage cut in six foot staves or in his case, fence post. He said that he put them there 15 years ago and to help myself. He pointed out across his hay field and said "see them fence posts that aren't decaying from the ground up, those are osage. They will be there long after I'm gone. They use to make wagon axles out them, wears like iron. Don't cut to much of it any more, too hard on my saw blades." He since has passed on, those fence post are still there. Guess he was right. I still have one bow out of the two staves I took. It has aged with time, defining the unique character of the wood. I have long given up my bow building but always enjoy looking at a aged piece of hedge.
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I have an osage bamboo pronghorn. It gets prettier every year. It is not my favorite wood but I do like it.
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Its all i'll, more than likely, ever shoot!
Johnny/JAG
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I really like osage as well. Aged osage just looks like a bow wood to me. I think the plainer grain goes really well with a highly figured wood. Cocobolo and Osage pair well. I love figured woods, but I think when you pair two highly figured woods it sometimes looks like dressing with striped pants and a polka dot shirt. Just my opinion...Mike
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The beauty of osage is in it's performance. Glad you don't like it, more for me;-)
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For some of us, ALL wood is beautiful. Eye of the beholder...
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I have a Whisperstik MOJO with osage limbs it has beautiful grain and some nots in it. I just cant say enough about the way it looks.
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Buffalo bow 'Manny special':
Osage coco
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i144/frenchymanny/JimsbowDec1909007.jpg)
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i144/frenchymanny/12-09-09001-1.jpg)
In a year from now, she will be dead gorgeous IN MY EYES :) :) :)
F-Manny
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Yes, I too have a love affair with osage. My next favorite is tulipwood. For some reason that yellow wood in osage just really turns me on. I don't know why, don't care either. It just does and always has.
(http://i547.photobucket.com/albums/hh472/ishoot4thrills/beelerc.jpg)
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Beautiful stuff especially as it ages...
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Originally posted by Frenchymanny:
Buffalo bow 'Manny special':
Osage coco
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i144/frenchymanny/JimsbowDec1909007.jpg)
(http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i144/frenchymanny/12-09-09001-1.jpg)
In a year from now, she will be dead gorgeous IN MY EYES :) :) :)
F-Manny
I have to say that bow right there is the one that turned the cornier for me on osage. That combo is great. And the back veneers really pull the whole thing off for me. I want to see a pic of that bow in another year or two. I could see me with a coco and osage riser on a bow.
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Zbearclaw, this is just my take on it, and since you asked I’ll try to give it a shot. Ice cream stores have many flavors, to each his own. As for bow wood, I’ll have the one that starts out shining like a new gold coin, then over time turns coffee color. Here are a few random reasons, in addition to those beautiful bow pictures, why osage grows on me. Dentures from osage allowed General Washington to chew his food, which gave him energy to lead the army that beat a World power. Families by the thousands were once raised in East Texas houses built on solid osage foundations. Rings of chartreuse softballs under hedge trees to me are as much a part of Fall as geese flying south. Picking up this arrowhead size block of osage I keep on my computer takes me right back to the time I sawed it off the end of a stave that deserved better than my bow making skills. Only my last reason is about a bent stick, but I second all the positive comments about osage as bow wood. Besides making great bows, there is just something about osage that speaks to me like no other wood. Not everyone will or needs to understand this. Guess it just comes down to that “Ginger” or “Mary Ann” debate from my generation (yes boys and girls, there once was a TV tale about castaways on an island before “Lost” came along!). John
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"almost non-wood"
LOL! be careful where yer standin' when you say that!
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Osage is the most naturally durable wood in the US, and is the most durable for making self bows. That's beautiful!
Osage fence posts in tests have outlasted the best chemically preserved wood of other species. 60 years and counting.
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Anyone who says osage is a "plain" wood has never seen a nice piece of osage finished nicely. It looks like you can see inside the wood, and the glow of the grain changes as you move the wood. And then there is the Mojo factor!
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Osage and copperheads....goes together like cookies and milk.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Morrison/133678853pUeqMG_ph.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v701/recurvhuntr/Morrison/133679971WtLgkr_ph.jpg)
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I love Osage. I have an Ed Scott Owl Bow that is Osage and sinew and is not only pretty but a great performing bow. I made myself a self bow with Osage and I couldn't ask for a better bow. Like someone else said it is the performance of Osage that makes it special.
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Originally posted by JC:
Osage and copperheads....goes together like cookies and milk.
Or wine and summer sausage!
Beautiful bow JC!
F-Manny
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Osage...Whats not to like..
(http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h121/mandoman_2006/DSC00739.jpg)
(http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h121/mandoman_2006/DSC00744.jpg)
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I had a one piece recurve with osage riser and red elm lams. Perfect hunting bow in my opinion. Sold it because the handle did not fit me. If I ever talk myself into parting with the cash for a MOAB, it will have osage.
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I've always liked the looks of osage. However, my problem is that I've got a real soft spot for yew. Seems everytime I'm going to finally order that osage bow I've repeatedly promised myself it becomes yew by the time it reaches my house.
:bigsmyl:
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v259/loydlippert/loydsbow.jpg)
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Not only is it striking in a bow but it's my favorite wood to handle out a knife. As it ages, it almost becomes transparent...tippit
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/tippit/Knives/FootofSteel005.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/tippit/Knives/SpiderOsage007.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/tippit/Knives/Osage002.jpg)
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I can not comment on osage with or under glass. But as a selfbow wood, it is my favorite. Good wood and not that expensive. I'm sure I would love yew, but I won't pay for it.
The stave. (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/FrankV/MVC-117S.jpg)
The osage selfbow. These are various ages L to R, newest to oldest. The oldest bow being completed back in 1998. It looked just like the far left one when I finished it. (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/FrankV/MVC-118S.jpg)
As far as performance, I do believe there is no better wood for a selfbow. You can abuse it much like hickory yet it is not as moisture sensitive.
I have made osage bows with cracks running down the limb lengthwise, yet the bow shot and performed fine. I would not do this with any other wood, even if sinewed.
But this is just my opinion. Other woods that I enjoy working with are; hickory, lemonwood, elm, and black locust.
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Osage like most woods can be plain or not, I'v seen some very nice Osage with super color and character with almost a redish hew to the grain. Osage is good bow wood pretty or not it preforms which is the main thing IMO.