DESCRIPTION: For over 10,000 years humans from all over the world learned the art of bow building. From harvesting the right tree at the right time of year, to shaping the single piece of wood to yield and bend, but not break, the art of bow building is beautiful, precise and intimate. There is no greater joy than casting an arrow from your handmade bow.
Join us in this 4 day bow building class where you can begin your journey of handmade “selfbows” (bows from one piece of wood). In this class students will learn how to build your own osage orange traditional flatbow using hand tools. Students will decide the weight of their bow based on their strength and their intentions for the bow (i.e. hunting, casual shooting).
Osage orange is an ancient wood with connections to our ancient past. Giant animals that once roamed this continent with our human ancestors ate the fruit of the Osage orange tree and spread their seeds. With this history and connection students will hand-craft their own osage bow. These beautiful golden bows will be made by reading the wood and listening to it with openness and acting with precision. These bows can be made for casual shooting or they can be created with the intent of using them for the sacred hunt.
LOGISTICS: Because of the demanding nature of this class students need to come rested, ready to work. Students should expect to work full days and be pushed physically and mentally. This is one of the most demanding skills to learn and in turn, that also makes it one of the most rewarding skills to learn. There is nothing as alivening as the joy of casting an arrow off or your own homemade bow.
Students will also being making their own flemish twist bow string. We will also cover some shooting and primitive arrow basics.
Class will begin on Thursday, September 21st at 9am. Most class days will run from 9am to 7pm. Class will be done by Sunday the 24th at 5pm.
LODGING - On site, primitive camping is welcome during the workshop. However, all students must be prepared and self-reliant. Students are responsible for their own gear.
FOOD: Food is not included in this workshop, however, there will be on site refrigeration and a small kitchen for students to use during the class.
TUITION & TICKETS: This class costs $750. Most self-bows online sell for anywhere from $1000-$2500 and many bow making workshops are well over $1000. TIckets must be pre-purchased to reserve your space in the class. Class is limited to 8 students.
These osage staves have been hand-selected, split, and stored for at least 2 years by the instructor himself.
TOPICS COVERED
Wood selection (species, time of year, storage etc)
Wood working knowledge
Principles of Self bows
The Art of self bows vs. less traditional bows
The History of Archery
Tool usage (draw knives, rasps, saws, files etc)
Bow Tillering
String making
Instinctive shooting technique vs. Gap shooting
Matching arrows to your bow
