62 Kodiak EXP # 120889235565

[hayslope]

With the seller's added photos now showing the green glass, I'm now leaning more toward what Steve called it....a prototype '61 Kodiak.

But who knows?  They could have used any glass that was laying around.  We've all seen non-"EXP" bows from various years that had odd glass applied.

Regardless, it's unique.

[d. ward]

holy begeeszus he loaded a couple pics of the tips ahh bd

[d. ward]

yeah it actualy looks hickory-ish to me too Rich (anyone see if it has an I-beam)  You gotta remember too Bear was a little fussie about the looks of the riser and always wanted those some what good looking woods in the risers.Man oh man that 61 is about as plain jane as they get ahh bd

[2treks]

Cool, I really like the Pictures of the tips, ALL 60 of them????????????????????? Whats up with that???
 

[vintage-bears]

61' prototype does make sense.
It's a really cool looking bow. That wood is gonna look amazing with a refinish.

[Bjorn]

Philip y0u are speaking really affectionately about that bow! I would bid higher but I'm afraid of stealing it from you. Why don't you get it, refi it, post the pics and we will all be super envious!!  

[2treks]

Well, I wonder who it was??

Hope we can see some more pics.

[hayslope]

Someone wanted it dearly.........actually a few wanted it dearly!!

I hope it was someone here!  Come on......out with it!!    

[vintage-bears]

Hi guys.
Like I said in my first post, if it were 50# or more, I would be interested in the bow. I bid $250 on it. Thats all it would be worth to me in its weight and condition. I can also see lots of stress cracks in the glass which is a turn off.

Still a very cool bow. It only takes 2 eager people to make for an interesting auction and I'm not one of them.

........Philip

[johnnyrazorhead]

I placed a pretty good bid on it but was outbid.Hopefully someone will post some better pics.

[Missaukee]

I want to propose a theory on how this EXP fits in to the Kodiak timeline (we will never know the truth, so why not guess).

The Bubinga handled '61 models all/most have badly cracked glass (is this true? those I have seen fit this description). This is said to have been from poorly dried riser wood? These also had a silver coin (not pewter). I don't know the exact timeline, but I guess the production of a new model is started the fall prior. So lets assume by December 1960 production is in full tilt.

We know that production is said to have finished out with the Walnut and Purple Heart I-beam handle right before the '62 Brazilian Rosewood Kodiak goes into production. Both of these bows have or are likely to have a pewter coin with black finish.

To summarize, 1961 Kodiak Variation one is Bubinga handle, last variation is Walnut and Purple Heart I-beam.

I would guess Bear EXP'ed with different handle woods before the Walnut and Purple Heart variation that seemed to have worked out better.

Since this EXP has the pewter coin with black finish I would guess it was an EXP made in the middle of the 1961 production run. It seems unlikely to me that it would have been a prototype for the 1961 model as it has what is more considered the 1962 coin, and also, the use of ash or hickory in the handle is not likely to have been something Bear would have considered to follow up the beautiful 1959 and '60 Kodiaks. It might be logical to guess they were testing alternatives to get them through the year until the new 1962 model would be introduced. I believe I also heard somewhere that the 1962's may have replaced the 1961's earlier than normal.

That is my GUESS. By the way, I too placed a relatively high bid (...and lost!). I still think it is ugly, but it would be a key component to any 1961/62 Kodiak collection for its historical value. I also would not consider refinishing it as there was some talk about the penmanship of the EXP. Well, if it is refinished and the writing is replaced by, say, Bowdoc, collectors 30 years from now will be matching up Bowdoc refinished bows and discussing how the same worker must have made these...they will probably assume they were special orders, maybe even written by Fred Bear himself.

If I had more cash, I would have put up a better battle!

[vintage-bears]

[Wade Phillips]

Originally posted by Missaukee:
... I would guess Bear EXP'ed with different handle woods before the Walnut and Purple Heart variation that seemed to have worked out better.

Don - You propose some interesting thoughts throughout your theory. It is a shame the light wood riser bow has EXP rather than a serial number so it could be more accurately placed in its proper sequential order in the production of 1961 Kodiaks.

Food for thought. I have an I-Beam bubinga riser 1961 Kodiak with a black coin and with no stress in the glass and no stamp. I doubt that it is the only one with these characteristics.

I would offer that R&D was employed 365 days a year and worked on many of different things including cost reduction, as well as solving specific production problems. A bow marked EXP could have been marked such for many different reasons.

Because the light riser bow has numerous vertical stress cracks, it certainly wasn't a successful  solution to the vertical stress crack problem, if that is what the intended purpose was.

We could also be missing some other reason that the bow was marked EXP.

[johnnyrazorhead]

In regards to Wade's statement about the bow being marked EXP for some other reason not evident,I had aquired several bows from a former Bear employee that were marked EXP,some simply written EXP on a small piece of white tape.One of the bows I have is a 1956 Kodiak complete with serial number and specs as well as a compass in the grip like a Kodiak II.Since the "Compass Kodiak" was introduced 2 years prior to this bow I doubt that the compass was "experimental".Everything else looks like a regular '56 Kodiak in my eyes.One other bow marked EXP had another piece of tape on it with the name of a glue that was evidently used on the bow.I was told by the person I got the bow from that it was probably a new glue they were trying out.Everything else about that bow looked normal and if not for the tape with the name of the glue on it you would never know it was an EXP bow.
 So there could be some other reason for the EXP marking,but the wood is definitely something not found on too many Kodiaks that I'm aware of.

[d. ward]

I've marked a few EXP myself over the years bd

[sticknstring+]

" It is a shame the light wood riser bow has EXP rather than a serial number so it could be more accurately placed in its proper sequential order in the production of 1961 kodiaks"
??? Really? That seems considerably less interesting than a possible one of a kind Kodiak popping up.

"I've marked a few EXP myself over the years bd"
   Hopefully there's a smiley or a lol left off here.

[Wade Phillips]

Originally posted by sticknstring+:
" It is a shame the light wood riser bow has EXP rather than a serial number so it could be more accurately placed in its proper sequential order in the production of 1961 kodiaks"
??? Really? That seems considerably less interesting than a possible one of a kind Kodiak popping up.
 

I'm going to go out on a limb on the light colored riser 1961 Kodiak and guess that it may not have been "a one of a kind" when it was produced.

I'm not a gambler, but I might even take a bet on that statement. It would be a bet I would enjoy loosing.

Greg, Having a bow marked EXP is cool, but the bow "is what it is" regardless of what is marked on it, EXP, a standard serial number or even no serial number.

Most Bear bows that are marked EXP have something that is different about them from production bows other than just the wood type.

Of all of the Bears marked EXP that you have, do any vary only in the wood type from the production model that year?

Some Bear bows that have no serial number or EXP marked on them are actually very different than the production model bows, and are obviously experimental bows.

Given the limited selection of photographs in the auction, we may be missing an obvious difference that would be evident upon personal inspection of the bow.

[sticknstring+]

Wade, I totally agree. I definitely skimmed your prior post a bit quickly. I hope the new owner shares a full evaluation of it here.
 It does seem that the EXP's do usually vary from the production bows in more ways than wood type alone for sure.
 Your attention to detail and quest for more than superficial facts is very admirable. Thanks for collecting and sharing the history.

[d. ward]

here's one I missed the detail on and it was very painful to say the least.I purchased a 1959 Kodiak 56" off a seller some years back.Everything looked correct riser wood lettering and fiberglass color(no pics of the limb tips).When I got the bow it was a 1959 Bear Kodiak 56" 50#.There was just one little thing that made this one different from all other 56" 1959 Kodiaks I'd ever seen.The ends of the limbs had been cut off and it looked like a 1959 Bear Kodiak long bow.Whom ever did do the work did a very nice job and the lettering did look almost factory.That one was a little tough for me to chew but not that bad with mustard bd

[Wade Phillips]

Greg -

Hopefully we will soon have more information available about the light colored riser 1961 Kodiak.


Doc -

I have a 54-1/2" 1958 Kodiak with the rounded sight window & sow belly. I bought it years ago and used it for a filler bow until I found a nice 56" in the same model for the collection. The 54-1/2" bow has 1-1/2" missing from the lower limb.

Your 56" 1959 Kodiak story reminded of the 54-1/2" 1958 Kodiak and prompted me to look for it. Just found it in a big pile of extra old bows that I need to get rid of someday.

The Kodiaks in "Kustomized" lengths are great for a good laugh if you know what you are getting before you acquire a bow. If you don't know these "minor details", they can be a real disappointment.