Estate sale.... how'd I do??

[Dave Bulla]

Went to an estate sale Thursday morning that was supposed to have a bunch of tools and guy stuff.  Turns out they had two old bows and two old quivers with some arrows.  One of the bows was an oddball.  It was a recurve and had a two tone wood riser (walnut and maple maybe) and solid aluminum limbs.  The other one caught my eye though.  It was an old osage longbow that appears to be sinew backed and it has a single pin old style target sight on it.  Here are a couple pictures.

Unstrung
 

Strung
 

Belly side of handle
 

Back side of handle
 

Close up of handle and the shelves someone added.  It appears that this was a right handed bow (slight difference in shape on left side of handle) but someone wanted to shoot it left handed.
 

Better pic of sight.
 

[Dave Bulla]

Now, my next question.  Does this look like some kind of sinew backing?  It's very well done if it is.  I don't see any ends starting and stopping and thought it was very old fiberglass but there is no cross weave at all.

 
 
 

It's got one issue that needs to be addressed...

The sinew or fibers (whatever they are) have come up for about 2 inches at the bottom limb tip.  I'd suspect that the act of string and unstringing the bow against the instep caused wear and at some point it started to lift up then maybe the owner continued to shoot it for a while?
 

A closer view.
 

The bow is made with a pretty square cross section.  The belly side of the limbs shows very little rounding but I don't know if this was from learned experience of a talented bowyer or laziness of a casual craftsman.
 

Lastly, the price was okay.  I got it for a few dollars less than it was marked but they weren't very willing to deal as it was the first hour of the sale.  I figured if I waited, it would be gone next time I came back.
 

Not sure of the weight.  I thought at first it was pretty light because the first couple inches don't feel like much.  I'm thinking that is due to the sting follow it shows.  When I pulled it about 20 inches, it was firming up nicely.  Still probably only in the 40's at 28" but that's okay by me.  I plan to work it up slowly and let it relearn how to bend.

Here it is immediately after unstringing.
 

Kinda cool eh?

[Dave Bulla]

Reminds me of the old pictures and videos of the old target shooters in the 40's.

By the way, is there a test to tell the difference sinew and some thing else like fiberglass?  I was thinking trying to burn a couple fibers.  I'd think sinew would burn but fiberglass would not.  If it were some type of synthetic, it should melt in some way but I guess it could be linen maybe but it doesn't seem to be threads.  The pieces seem fairly solid.  I'll have to get a magnifier and look at it closer.

[MTArrowLauncher]

Very nice score  

[Mark Baker]

I don't know Dave....doesn't look like sinew to me.   Strands seem too uniform and the first few pics, it almost looks like hickory, though the pic of the tip that's frayed certainly is not that.    Maybe some type of pre-fiberglass era board or backing type?   Some sort of early phenolic with uni-directional fibers or something?   Someone here will surely know....but I don't think it's sinew.

[Dave Bulla]

Yea Mark, that's kinda what I was thinking.  I've seen sinew backed bows and one thing they all had in common was a slightly lumpy appearance.  Some less than others but this stuff is too perfect.  Not very thick either.

In the end, all I really need to know is if I need to use hide glue or epoxy.  i.e. if it is natural or synthetic.

I figure I'll just comb it out and work from the base up and wet it, smooth it down and repeat until it's all glued back down and I think it will be fine.

[Sal]

Its probably fortisan.  Fortisan was an early "space age" fiber that was used for parachutes during World War II.  Sometime before it was rationed for the war, one of the authors of "Archery, The Technical Side" started selling backing strips from fortisan.  I think it was Dr. Hickman.  I've never seen one, just read about them.  

It was supposed to be the fortisan thread set in some sort of glue that became a sheet and was then used as a backing.  It was produced only briefly, once the war got going, he couldn't get it anymore.  After the war the woven fiberglass became the standard.

Fortisan continued to be used as a bowsting until it was replaced by dacron in the 50's.

I would say you have a very rare piece of bowyery history, from a lean period of time, congratulations.  

Hope you can come to Mojam Dave!

[bowhunterfrompast]

Dave....I noticed the hole drilled in your limb tip and this picture shows the upper end on a couple of York bows. I don't know if yours is a York but they backed their English longbows with either a white or black fibre in the 1940's.  
 
 

[razorback]

Dave insight from me except to post it on the collectors forum. One of them bow geeks is bound to be able to help you out. I am always amazed at the depth and breadth of the knowledge them learned gents have.

[frank bullitt]

I agree with Sal, fortisan.

Also agere with Razor, post on the History/Collectors forum! Great find Dave!

Happy Fathers Day!

[karrow]

so whats the hole in the limb tip actually for? i have an old long bow that has the same type of hole.

[Bjorn]

That is a major cool find! Congrats!!
Karrow the hole in the tip is for a string keeper; when you unstring the bow you tie a line through it so the string stays put.

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

If it's sinew, you can spit on a couple of fingers and roll a few fibers through it and they will bond.. If not it's man made.

The little hole in the limb tip was to tie a string keeper into.

Picked up an old Ben Pearson years ago that still had it in place.

[Shakes.602]

Ok Y'all, HOW  on Earth can Ya See the String Follow from the Pics??        
 Sure hope the Fibers are something You can fix, because it would sure be a Shame to just Hang it Up!  :confused:    

[bowhunterfrompast]

Originally posted by razorback:
Dave insight from me except to post it on the collectors forum. One of them bow geeks is bound to be able to help you out. I am always amazed at the depth and breadth of the knowledge them learned gents have.

I think a few more of the experienced historian/collectors could give some more insight on this great find, if it was moved there. JMHO

[Thumper Dunker]

Very cool find. Hope you can fix it and shoot it . Neat.

[Dave Bulla]

I have reposted this in the collectors forum but I think you guys are right about the fortisan.  It just doesn't feel like sinew and is too perfect.

[Bill Skinner]

If you burn one strand and it smells like hair burning, it's a natural fiber, if it doesn't, it's manmade.  Bill