HI goes Medieval

Sylvrfalcn

Sylvrfalcn

Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
3,930
I've been toying with the idea for a while, Uncle humored my lunacy, and the blades are on their way. Next time I attend a medieval event (got one coming up in a couple of weeks) I'll be HI equipped. Hanging on the left side of my sword belt will be a Tarwar, yup Tarwar, I'm an archer so a good short sword suits my style. On the right of my sword belt, by my belt pouch, will be a Kumar Karda. It'll make a great companion dagger to the Tarwar, and besides, a man needs something to eat with when he sits down to feast.

I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see that hand forged, zone hardened, magic stone finished, blade. Then watch 'em faint when I chop some kindling with it!!! A lot of reenactors spend good money on "reproduction" swords that I consider wall hanger junk. Discounting the use of power tools for handle making and finishing work, the kamis at Bir Ghorkha still make blades in the same way as they were made more than a thousand years ago. That's medieval enough for me!

Ever Your Humble Servant,
Lord Robert of Yorkshire

(aka Sarge)
 
Just happened to think of an HI steel bow....

It will just fit the situation, and master kamis must be capable of making bows from spring steel! I'm afraid it's too much mdeieval-ity.

Last but not least, I hope you enjoy the event!
 
..Guess Pennsic was a miss this year, eh?
For those of you who've never been:
MVC-039S.jpg

MVC-043S.jpg

Keith
 
Sarge what type of bow do you shoot. I'm makeing a osage flatbow right now. It will be up for sale as soon as its done.
God bless.
 
cool pix.

The knights wearing soccer shoes do draw some chuckles though.
 
yeah, it happens. When you're there in person, you really get to hear what it is like in melee combat--a low thumping pounding noise, sprinkled with the wind-chime melodies of rattan drumming on helms and armor...very adrenalizing.

Keith
 
Originally posted by Sylvrfalcn
[Discounting the use of power tools for handle making and finishing work, the kamis at Bir Ghorkha still make blades in the same way as they were made more than a thousand years ago. [/B]
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Except in the old days, there weren't very many Mercedes Trucks for noble Knights to slay! :D
 
Originally posted by T.Sisco
Sarge what type of bow do you shoot. I'm makeing a osage flatbow right now. It will be up for sale as soon as its done.
God bless.
Click to expand...


Sure wish I could get osage on this side of the water...

Terry, do you need to back osage with rawhide or hickory, or can you make the whole bow out of one lump?
 
Re: Osage flatbow

Don't tempt me Terry, I've got an Osage flat bow and it's a good'un.
What kind of bow do I shoot? Well, one dark stormy night, I got my hands on volume two of the Traditional Bowyer's Bible. The chapter on making bows out of lumberyard boards caught my eye and I set right to work. I wound up with a 72" red oak longbow, drawing just a hair under 40 lbs. (perfect for target work), and the dang thing shoots sweeter than my store bought bows. My "bowstave" cost the princely sum of eight bucks! I've made a bunch more bows since then, but I'm still shooting my old reliable long bow, it's put hundreds upon hundreds of shots downrange and it's still going strong. I make my own strings, arrows, quivers, and bracers too, heck that's half the fun!

Sarge
 
Tom,
As long as you follow one growth ring on the back of the bow you won't have to back it. Osage is a very dense strong wood.
Sarge,
I've made a few quivers and such too. Sandi got me the set of Bowyers bibles one of the best b-day presents yet.
God Bless.
Terry
 
perfect for SCA combat archery!

Boyer's bible, eh? Where can I find these? I'm intrigued that Sarge made his bow for 8 bucks. I'd love to make some bows meself, being an avid shooter of all things projectile. I have a recurve and a compoound, ubt a home made longbow wouudl rock! I'd like it in the 50-70 lb draw range, but I guess the maker determines that. Better for me to make my own, methinks. Unless Sarge is doing production work???

Keith
 
Originally posted by T.Sisco
Tom,
As long as you follow one growth ring on the back of the bow you won't have to back it. Osage is a very dense strong wood.
Sarge,
I've made a few quivers and such too. Sandi got me the set of Bowyers bibles one of the best b-day presents yet.
God Bless.
Terry
Click to expand...

Thanks, Terry. I hope one day I'll get hold of an osage stave to try it out on.

I make my bows out of lemonwood backed with hickory, which makes it so easy it's practically cheating... Tried purpleheart once. Darned thing snapped on the tiller.

The Traditional Bowyers' Bible is a wonderful book, even if you don't plan on making a bow
 
Ferrous,

I'm no expert, so I won't offer advice, but I will give you my opinion;

1. You should make it yourself, from what I've seen of your work on the forum you have more than enough skill, and probably all the tools you'll need. Besides, nothing can match the feeling of shooting a bow made by your own hand.

2. For your first bow, stick with a longbow and keep the draw weight fairly low. Why? Because the longbow is pretty forgiving of less than perfect tillering since the stress load is distributed over a larger area of the bowlimbs. Sticking to a lower draw weight allows you to build a very durable bow out of less than ideal bow wood. You could probably make a red oak board bow drawing the poundage you mention, but I wouldn't touch such a critter without backing it with linen or rawhide to prevent limb fracture.

3. You should learn how to make your own bowstrings. Once you get the knack, you'll find it's very fast and cheap to make your own. Just don't let your local populace know about it, my fingers get sore at every event from twisting up Flemish bowstrings for folks.

Check any big book store, or, failing that, Amazon.com for "The Traditional Bowyer's Bible, Volume Two". Good luck, and good shooting.

Sarge
 
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