I read an article today on the history of the Kodiaks and I,ll paste a few quotes.
"1955 brought about some changes in the Kodiak. The maple riser was enlarged and a thin contrasting accent stripe outlined the riser. Brown glass replaced beige. Still a double shelf, this design remained until 1957. This was the last year for decals on Kodiaks. Collectors consider bows with decals 1955 models while the same bow with silkscreen logos a 1956. The 68" length was dropped at the end of 1954 making 1955 and 1956 available in only three lengths: 56", 60", and 64". Some of these bows are painted brown between the leather grip and shelf.
The 1957 model was changed to a single shelf, which resulted in the most centershot Kodiak produced to that point. Maple riser, brown glass, and leather grip still prevail. This was one of Fred’s favorites and he killed the world record Stone sheep in British Columbia with one in 1957. Available in three lengths, 56”, 60”, and 64”, it is still a hard hitting design.
The brown glass on the 1955, 1956, and 1957 Kodiaks has a tendency to develop longitudinal cracks even if they haven’t seen much use. It doesn't look very nice but does not seem to effect shootability.
Early 1958's were identical to the 1957 with the exception of white glass instead of brown. They appear to have been made on the same press. This configuration didn't last long and the "sowbelly" 1958 appeared. Al Reader dubbed this bow sowbelly because the belly side of the sight window curves outward toward the shooter instead of curving in like a 1957. The white glass was not very popular and was discontinued with this year model.
Up to this point, Bear used maple for the risers of his bows, but beginning in 1959, exotic hardwoods were utilized for the first time. Fred chose beautiful rosewood for his classic 1959 model Kodiak. He also placed a coin in the riser to symbolize Bear quality. The earliest 1959's had a ¼" lamination of maple sandwiched between the two rosewood laminations in the riser. This was the first appearance of the "I-beam" construction in the Kodiak line. The maple was visible in the sight window and made a beautiful contrast with the rosewood. Later 59's had a purple heart sight window and I know of a few with rosewood in the sight window. Brown glass was still used on the back of the bow and a nice brown/orange glass on the belly. The earliest 59's had red, brown, and white overlays but most had only red and white. The Kodiak logo was previously on the belly side of the top limb but moved to the back of the limb starting in '59. The first coin was copper but some early bows are known with no coin. This model was still available in 3 lengths; 56", 60", 64". The 64" length has two different lengths of sight window. A 6" window for weights up to around 50#, and a shorter 4" window for heavier bows.
As you can see by the many changes that occurred in this line, Fred was not one to rest on his laurels. He continually attempted to improve his designs though not always successful. Many oddball Kodiaks are known, many of which are transitions between the bows described above. I have seen double shelf static Kodiaks. I have a "1955" Kodiak II made on the 1955 form but with KII glass and compass. Just about any year model is subject to factory camo. Some bows that were blemished were camouflage painted, or even painted the color the limbs were supposed to be. For example: I have seen 1958 limbs painted white and 1962's limbs painted gray with silkscreen logos on top of the paint. This was apparently to hide cracks in the glass. Glass color other than described above is entirely possible. I know of a Kodiak II with red 1953 glass, a 1957 Kodiak with clear glass, a 1959 with green woven glass, and so on. Just about any combination would not surprise me. Fred used what he had on hand even to the point of laminating small pieces of rosewood for the sight windows of some Kodiak Deluxes. There are also experimental Kodiaks out there that never made it into production. I recently saw a 56" 1958 exp. bow that had a riser longer than the 64" model! You may also find Kodiaks with finger grips molded into the back or side of the grip, or a compass in just about any year, which was special order. Possibilities are endless!
THIS IS FROM S****BOW ARTICLE : BEAR ARCHERY KODIAKS 50-66
authored by Matt Dickerson
Topic: 56" 58 Kodiak (Read 887 times)
