Primitive take down… bend through the handle??

[Rileykinsel]

Before I get into the details I want to start off by saying I got this idea from another bowyer who goes by arc forge archery on social media. The concept of a bend through the handle takedown is something I’d been thinking about and experimenting with for a while and while I’ve had some success with other designs, after stumbling across this design, I must admit I think it’s the clear front runner and I will be using it going forward and further developing on. This bow is 59 inches nock to nock when put together and 37 inches when broken down. Something like 15 inches of overlap on the splices. My next attempt I plan on shortening the splices to 10 inches. It’s made from some very wonky hophornbeam billets that I cut from two even worse staves that I was dreading working into bows themselves. Each limb was slightly reflexed and fire hardened right around floor tillering stage. The design is very similar to a Bhutanese bow with overlapping splices. It differs in that the splices are roughly pyramid tapered and are inserted into sockets made from thick rawhide and artificial sinew rather than bound together somewhat permanently. This specific bow pulls about 57/58 pounds at 28 inches and the sockets hold up extremely well with no sign of breaking. If you don’t trust the design, I encourage you to make one for yourself and see how sturdy they are. I could also see using fiberglass or even pipe repair tape from the hardware store if you don’t care as much about using natural materials. String nocks are artificial sinew soaked in superglue. Here’s a link to a short video I put together of me shooting it and showing how it breaks down and goes together: https://youtube.com/shorts/pGkOq_FX9Lg?si=LwZf61vHlfx5lBQj

[Pat B]

Interesting design and nice tiller  although the outer 1/3 of each limb looks stiff to me.

[Rileykinsel]

The outers are a bit stiff but the last quarter to 3rd of the tips were reflexed about 3 inches and I hit them with a little more heat than I did the middle. I put the deflexed portion of the billets towards the middle when laying out as well. Maybe an excuse for a rushed tiller job but if you look at it as a very slight R/D design I think the tiller is about right 😅

[Kirkll]

May I ask what the purpose of a bendy handle bow design is? I’ve always went out of my way to eliminate any riser deflection myself…

[Rileykinsel]

I think the biggest advantage of the bendy handle is the whole bow working instead of each limb being its own separate thing. You can get away with a much shorter bow while not sacrificing drawlegnth because of this. I also think it’s more forgiving and durable for the same reason. I also personally like the look and feel of a bend through the handle. They feel more natural and smooth to shoot to me and I like really the aesthetic aspect as well. I don’t like the look of bulky modern recurve style risers with shelves. Even if I make a stiff handled bow I keep them very small low profile. If I want a shelf I like to add a small one carved from cork and glued on rather than cut in. I like the D Shape at full draw as well again from an aesthetic point of view. The shorter bow with a longer draw is definitely the biggest factor for me since I like to hunt from the ground and often in very thick terrain.

[Burnsie]

Those raw hide pockets would scare the bejeesus out of me.

[Rileykinsel]

The rawhide is almost 1/4 inch thick and hard as a rock once cured. It felt like bone when shaping with a rasp once cured. With a few layers of shellac you could probably convince me it was bone haha. I think as long as the cordage is strong enough you could get away with something even less thick. When tillering I just tied the limbs on with thicker cordage and it didn’t budge. The rawhide is more for a tight fit and and quick break down. Wrapping took me about 5 minutes each time I wanted to break it down. I’ve put close to 100 arrows through it with zero issue.

[Rileykinsel]

Again think about a Bhutanese style bow. Often they are held together with only cordage and can be made to respectable draw weights. The difference here is having a layer of rawhide between the bow and the cordage allows it to be taken down without unwrapping the cordage everytime

[KenH]

Nice job on that Bhutanese Bendy Handle.  I'm another who likes the simplicity of the bendy handle design *and* the simple takedown design of the Bhutanese bundlebow.  I've made several bendy handles from single thick-walled 'planks' of bamboo as well as a Bhutanese style takedown from the same bamboo planks.

[willi]

cool bow

do you use anything where the limbs contact each other to keep things from slipping around?

[Pappy 1]

Nice looking bow, thought I had seen it all but never seen a set up like that before.
 Pappy

[Burnsie]

Just watched your video - pretty cool.