Bow makers imagination.....how much is to much?

[JD 9116]

On March 14th, "eflanders" had a post in reference to wood vs. glass. There were many opinions to this topic which were very interesting to me. The posts seemed to really be "deep" in thought and opinions. I posted a response basically saying that ANY bow is special because it is an expression of the bowyer making the bow. I mentioned that I was working on a radical bow and that I believed that it was either going to look cool or be a big flop! Well, I finished the bow and have had exactly both of those comments from certain friends and family. I found that no one said "that is nice". It was either loved or hated which again was interesting to me.

My passion is anything that has to do with archery and hunting. I guess I am interested in your opinions. Should traditional archery and traditional bows be that......traditional in use and design? Or, can you push the limits beyond what is typical without taking away from the true concept of tradional archery?

My 9 year old boy named it "venom". It is 60" long, 66# at 28" and is made of: leopardwood, walnut, hickory, osage, bubinga, bocote, and superaction wood. The limbs are covered with snake skins. Anyhow, he are some pictures for you to decide.

 

 

 

 

 

[Blue EagleBum]

Not a big fan of snakes, but WOW! That is one great looking bow!          

[CaptainJ]

That is nice.

Just kidding.
I like it! Form and function can and should go together.

CJ

[krink]

I like it.  It looks Egyptian to me.  Once I pull my head out of my rear end and start making bows this is something I want to do.  I want to push the envelope with design.  Traditional in the sense that they will be long/recurve but I want to make some wacky designs.  

Bravo sir on a fine looking bow!

[Gundog68]

Rudi Weick  
Great Bows.

[Grey Taylor]

I like it.
A good friend of mine is an artist in a number of different mediums and he's made some art bows that just make you sit back and say, "Wow." Yours is right up this same path.
Good job.

Guy

[Al Dente]

Beautiful piece of craftsmanship.  I don't know how anyone could use the word hate, and associate it with that bow.

[Eric Krewson]

Huters have always dressed up their equipment to give them some extra mo-jo. Your bow has some serious MO-JO!

[Bowjunkie]

I'll be honest, personally, I don't care for it. I respect where you're going with it and what it took to get there, and while it's different and 'interesting' to a degree, it's too gawdy for my aestetic taste, and seems it would be too bulky and heavy for my shooting/carrying pleasure. IMO, too much is just, well, too much :^)

That said, if that was the direction I was inspired to go, I wouldn't concern myself with what's traditional and what's not, or what others think about such things.

[Roy from Pa]

It's a great work of art, but I don't care for it. It's your bow and you should be proud of it.

[Firstarrow]

Very cool! How does venom shoot?

[Beanbag]

Something you might see in a movie, then everyone would want one! If it shoots as nice as it looks I think you've got a winner. Nice work. Jim G

[kennym]

Darned nice work, and a lot of it!!  Great job!

[John Scifres]

Cool.  There are too many rules in our world as it is.  Subjecting yourself to some arbitrary definition of "traditional" is destructive.

[beachbowhunter]

Keep pushing the limits! I think there is a definite need for a more sculptural effort on risers. Maybe not more snake heads, but certainly some more shape!  Great work.

[recurvericky]

Very cool design. The artistic thought that went into your design is great. To me, this is traditional, as it is unique and from the bowyers imagination.

[David Flanrey]

I love it.  That riser took a great deal of imagination and even more craftsmanship.  The beautiful things people can make out of wood never cease to amaze me.

[jsweka]

By my definition, a traditional bow is any bow without wheels/cams. So you meet that definition.

Now I have to admit your bow just isn't my style.  I prefer nice clean lines and letting the grain of the wood used add the character.  That being said, I can really appreciate your craftsmanship and the time you obviously invested in that bow.  So from a craftsmansip standpoint, very well done         It's just not my cup of tea.  I will say that I still like your bow a lot better than any bow out there with a metal riser.

[DVSHUNTER]

that is one cool bow. If no one pushed the limits of bow building we wouldn't be where we are today. I think John said it very well. We have to many rules as it is and to limit ourselves is only counterproductive.  The imagination and skill in that riser is a great display of your talent. Thanks for sharing and pm me and I'll give you my address so you can send it to me... Well done.

[Ranger44]

I think it is pretty cool too but like some others it's not my cup of tea.  I love the craftsmanship but like it more to look at than to actually use it.

I think this is why there are so many different designs because everyone likes something  a little different than the next guy.  Very nice work!