I originally acquired this bow about two years ago from this site. It was fairly inexpensive, looked interesting, and came from an area of the country that I had spent a few years residing in. So low and behold, I sent the money order to the TG member and off the bow went..
The bow arrived to my home, and it immediately became my favorite. Eventually, it was the only bow that I was shooting, and I shot it better than any other bow that I had ever owned, even bows that I had spent 3 or 4 times as much on..
I really wanted to know where this bow came from, and who made it. So, I tracked down Craig Warren, the unknown name on the riser of the bow that I liked so much.
What I found was a bowyer with a little known company in Maine by the name of Black Timber Bows, and a Maine State Record for the largest Bull Moose ever taken in Maine with archery tackle (a longbow that Craig had crafted with his own hands).
I sent Craig an email detailing how much I enjoyed the bow, how well I shot it, and my admiration for the workmanship of the piece. Craig asked me some questions about the bow and was able to remember the origin of the bow, and the story behind its original creation.
The bow was originally made using wood acquired by Craig, from a fallen tree, in the backyard of the home of the famous poet: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, from Portland Maine, who is most noted for his famous poem "Paul Revere's Ride". Needless to say, this only increased my attachment to the bow.
Then it happened....
About 6 months after purchasing the bow, I was in my basement shooting on my homemade indoor setup. My setup consists of a bucket that I sit on, and a 20 yard stretch of unfinished basement, that finally leads to a bag target surrounded by unused insulation and butted against the concrete wall.
On my third or fourth round of arrows I drew back and released the arrow. Just as I released; I heard what sounded like a gun shot, the bow string snapped, and the arrow bounced 3 or 4 feet in front of me.
It took me a moment to realize that the nock had exploded on the arrow, causing the bow to dry fire, and snap the string while also destroying the limb tip.
I was upset to put it lightly.
I instantly knew that I needed to contact Craig and see if he would be able to repair the limb tip. The failure of the bow was in no way related to Craig's workmanship, but rather a faulty nock. I simply wanted to know if he would be able to repair it.
We exchanged a few emails, and pictures of the limb, and Craig told me to go ahead and send the limb to him. If he could fix it, he would. I was elated as I sent off the limb in hopes that he would be able to resurrect my dead bow.
Several days passed, and Craig wrote me a long and thoughtful email elaborating upon his internal struggle with whether to attempt to repair the limb or not. After careful thought, he simply could not bring himself to make the repair as the limb was in worse shape than originally thought from the pictures. I thanked him for attempting the fix and communicated my understanding of his position on the repair.
The Recurve with the destroyed limb tip found a new home on the wall in my garage and I went back to shooting my other bows.
Over the next few months I kept finding myself pulling that broken bow off the wall and holding the riser in my hand. It just fit so well.... I needed to get back to shooting it again.
An email went off to Craig, followed by a phone conversation, and then another email. Craig was great to talk to, extremely knowledgeable, and answered all my questions thoroughly. We decided on a brand new set of limbs, and complete refinishing of the riser.
Craig sweetened the deal by informing me that he still had a piece of that Longfellow walnut hiding somewhere, and could use it for the limbs.
We decided on 48# @ 28", tiller-ed for 3-under. The limbs were to be black glass, a layer of 20,000 Carbon, tempered bamboo, the Longfellow walnut, and then clear glass. The wedge for the limbs was Actionwood, to match the wood in the original riser.
Craig went above and beyond making the limbs, as his rotator cuff was in bad need of surgery, and he delayed the surgery to complete the limbs.
About a week before the completion of the bow, Craig was putting the final touches on the bow and suggested "New Life" or "New Beginning" as a name.
We settled on "Phoenix" as the bow had risen from the ashes.
Below are some pictures of the bow. If you are looking for a great bow, from a very knowledgeable bowyer, Warren Archery and Black Timber Bows make an excellent option.
Topic: My new Black Timber 3-Piece Recurve "Phoenix" (Read 363 times)
