Strange Selfbow backings?

[dbeaver]

Anybody ever experiment with some out of the ordinary backings? I know linens, silk, raw hides and thinner leather

Any performance materials out there other than sinew?

Any fur out there on a bow handle or near the tips? Sharkskin leather, has anyone taken to trying stingray for grip like on a katana, apparently good when wet.

Im interested top see how creative we've allowed ourselves and aim also trying to find some new materials with at least a brief history of use

[mmattockx]

I did some research and bought some unidirectional Innegra fibre but have not backed a bow with it yet. It is a synthetic fibre similar to fibreglass and is made into fabrics and uni tape in the same way. The surfboard people use it a lot because it is light, extremely tough and very waterproof.

The big thing for me is it is about as strong as fibreglass, but similar stiffness to hard maple, where fibreglass is 5-6 times as stiff as our wood cores. This means I can back a bow with it and make it near bombproof, but it doesn't affect the stack stiffness the same way that fibreglass lams do. My intention is to use it with a thin FG lam on the belly side to make a modern version of a traditional horn belly/sinew back composite bow.


Mark

[Pat B]

I would think any leather, whether it be shark or cow would attract and absorb moisture. Sinew is the only thing I can think of that would add performance. Rawhide shark or ray skin may add a little performance but mostly protection.
 Beaver tail makes a nice handle wrap. I use hemp cordage saturated in Massey finish(2ton epoxy thinned with alcohol).  it gives the handle a good purchase and the Massey finish makes the hemp cordage waterproof.