Well, it has taken me a while to write about it. I still almost want to throw up just thinking about it, but my beloved Kanati has died. It happened a couple weeks ago. For some time I've noticed a white area under the clear glass at the fades, which I blamed on a strap-on quiver I had a few years back. I've kept an eye on the spots and avoided bow quivers except for a lightweight Eagle Flight with a totem, which is held on with velcro instead of rubber straps.
Elbow pain forced me to the dark side for a year. Releasing with my fingers was just too painful, so I used a machine with a release until I healed up. This summer, I strung up the Kanati and tried a few shots...no pain! The arrows were flying true. It was as though I had never stopped shooting. I kept my practice sessions short and productive. I was in heaven! However, I happened to notice that the white spot seemed to be more pronounced at the top fade. I looked the bow over and drew it a few times, watching the spot, but all seemed well, so I thought it was just my imagination since I had not shot the bow for nearly a year.
Then a couple weeks ago, I strung her up and stepped outside with three arrows. I let fly and thought I heard a clack as the last one hit the target. I walked to the target and was relieved to see that rather than a Robin Hood, I had merely peeled one feather nearly off. I have been using fletch tape for some time, so I thought I'd just run inside and stick a new feather on the arrow and go back at it. I left my Kanati hanging across the back of my Polaris Ranger, went inside, stuck on a feather, and headed back out the door. I was all of five minutes at most doing this.
When I came out and went to pick up my bow, I noticed the white spot had grown...a lot. I picked her up and could see that the bow had delaminated from the fade to the sight window and that one of the bamboo lams had broken. I was and am heartbroken.
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Had the bamboo not broken, there might have been some hope of repair, but I'm afraid that is out of the question in this case.
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Here you can see the white area on the lower fade.
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She's still hanging on my bow rack at home and will probably always.
I still have my Orion, but I was so hoping to head into the woods with a longbow again. We are putting up a modular home at our acreage, so funds are not plentiful right now, plus the season is already on, so a new Kanati isn't a possibility at the moment. I did find a barely used Bama Expedition Hunter III for not much money, so that is supposed to arrive on Tuesday. I'm hoping that will ease the pain a bit. I've never handled one, but I've read lots of good things about these bows. I hope they are right, but it has some mighty shoes to fill.
Topic: Lost an old friend (Read 254 times)
