Hey all,
I wanted to share some info with everyone. I have been "talking" with Mr. Dave Johnson, builder of ASL bows for decades, for about 2 or 3 years now. I would check in on him every other week or so and see how he and his lovely wife were doing. We'd talk back and forth a bit from time to time. I contacted him at first because I wanted one of his bows. I thought they were the most beautiful bows I had seen in a long time. Just something about them pulled me in.
Naturally I couldn't get a bow from him as he had a list of others that were waiting on their bows. I would never take a place in front of anyone anyway. SO I told him that eventually I'd just have to wait to find a USED Dave Johnson.
A while back he told me that he was going to stop building bows. He said his health has went downhill and together with him taking care of his wife, he just couldn't build bows any longer. I felt bad for him as he loved building bows and had done it for more years than many of us have been alive.
A couple months ago he emailed me to ask my opinion on some plans he had thought about doing. He wanted to get back into the TRAD community. I gave him my opinion for what that was worth. We talked back and forth for a couple weeks on his plans. He hadn't done anything concrete yet, these were just ideas at this point. I thought it would be great for him to do, to get back into creating like he had been used to doing for so many years.
I checked my INBOX one day about a week after we took a break from the discussions on his "new plans" and there was a message from him. I thought it would be a continuation of our conversation about his ideas. It didn't matter, I was always glad to hear from Mr. Johnson.
This email was NOT about his "new ideas." This email knocked me for a loop. He started out telling me that he had found something that would let him build bows again. I thought he was just kinda funnin' with me. What kept him from building bows was his shoulders. He had a really tough time with his range of motion and strength. When he was building bows he had to cut back to 50 pounds max because of how bad his shoulders were.
Well he told me that he had found a product that made his shoulders feel like new again. He said they felt so good that he was going to build bows again. He then said "I am going to start by building you a bow." He told me long ago when he stopped building that if he ever was able to build bows again he would build me one. I never expected that to happen. I would never press him on it either. I didn't say a word about it, it was him that told me he was going to do it. I couldn't believe it. Even though I was thrilled to be getting a DAVE JOHNSON ASL bow, I was even more excited that he was going to be able to build bows again and do what he loved doing.
We talked about the specs and I told him about one of his bows that I really loved the looks of. I sent him pics of it because when I saw it posted here, I copied them because I liked it so much. It was the RED DRAGON bow.
I settled on a 66 inch bow at 48 pounds. I could've went to 50, but I didn't want to get something that I'd have to strain to have a long shooting session with. I told him not to hurry and that I wouldn't mind when he got it done. He sent me pics along the way and my excitement started building. I was worried that he was overdoing it and maybe putting his shoulders at risk. I told him to take his time with it. I was thinking it would be a month, maybe a tad less.
I was absolutely stunned when he told me in an email to send him the Money Order that my bow was in finishing and almost done. WOW!! I am really gonna get this bow sooner than I ever thought possible. It wasn't long until there was a long tube sitting in the corner of the dining room. Getting it to me and finding that tube is another story entirely, one I don't want to add here. This is already long enough.
I immediately took it to my room and opened it up. When I got it out all I could do was just sit and look at it for about 10 minutes. This was the very first bow that I had made especially for me. This bow was everything I wanted it to be. It was beautiful. Everything about it was beautiful! I couldn't wait to get it strung up and out to the range.
Wouldn't you know that there were problems with me shooting my bow. Just my luck. I am in the Houston area and you might've seen the news about all the rain and floods happening here. It literally rained every single day for about 2 weeks. I got to shoot my brand new bow exactly 2 times in all that time. 2 separate times on the range and both times it was misting and sprinkling out and I had to replace quite a few feathers both times. It was worth it though. Getting to feel the excitement at shooting your very first custom made bow is just awesome. Then you add in the part about it being built by a man like Dave Johnson that is a treasure to the TRAD Archery community and someone I think I could call my friend even though we have never met. This bow was special...for several reasons. He asked me if I wanted to name it. I went back and forth thinking about a Bible verse, my late DAD's nickname and a couple others. In the end I told him I couldn't think of one. He surprised me in naming it himself. He named it
"RED HAWK." I think it fit just fine. I think you will too when you see it. Not only is the bow RED HAWK, but my hair is reddish brown, but it was red up until I was about 25 or so.
Well enough of me blathering on and on. Here's some pics for you to check out.
And lastly....
There it is. I hope you think it's as nice as I do. It shoots wonderfully too, but I am very new to these kinds of bows so I have to get a lot more time shooting it and get to know it much better. I also need to get all the same arrows for it either wood or aluminum. I am wanting to get some wood arrows and finish the shafts myself. It just seems like these kinds of bows SHOULD be shooting wooden arrows. The only thing is that I have never handled or shot a wooden arrow. They worry me a bit because I don't want to have to straighten arrows each time I go out to shoot and other stuff like that. I don't want arrows that require maintenance, you know what I mean? I still want to try them though just to see how they shoot and fly.
Anyway, if there is anyone out there that is considering a "Hill Style" bow, do yourself a favor and get one....soon. You'll love it, I swear you will.
Also, if you think that you'd like to have a bow like this or one to your specs by a master bowyer like Dave Johnson, I strongly encourage you to contact him and talk about getting on his list. He told me he is going to build bows a bit slower this time.
If you were like me and always wanted a Dave Johnson bow, here's your chance. I promise you that you'll be tickled to death when that big, round tube ends up on your stoop.
You can check out a bit of his work at his site:
http://davejohnsonlongbows.com/ This is his email for those that are interested in his bow or just want to ask a few questions about him or his bows.
[email protected]Dave Johnson is a true gentleman and craftsman. I am lucky to have the opportunity to be able to talk to him on a fairly regular basis. If you talk to him you too will feel the way I do about this Bowyer.
Thanks all.
Nalajr
P.S. I don't get a thing from Dave Johnson. I don't want anyone thinking I am shilling for him and getting money or a bow or anything like that. I just want others to experience the joy I had at getting a bow built like I wanted it from a man with the experience and pedigree like Dave Johnson.
Topic: Hey All...GREAT NEWS....Dave Johnson is Building Bows Again.....Look at Mine! (Read 519 times)
