The Best Bow Woods: A Bowyer's Review

My 10 favorite woods for bow making. This list only includes woods I've tried. If there are any others you think would have made the list, let me know!

0:00 Introduction
0:30 Hickory
2:30 Osage
4:19 Yew
7:27 Ironwood
9:13 Elm
10:39 Oak
12:02 Maple
13:39 Ash
15:57 Hornbeam
17:09 Juniper
19:31 Bonus

Music by my awesome cousin in Uruguay Marcos Topolanski Quintero. You can find more of his work on iTunes and Spotify.

[denvergriffin]

From your videos I have learned so much and produced some bows that have delivered much happiness. But what I really want to say is that your videos, like the bows you make, are simply works of art. Deeply grateful for them all.

[DuffyHomoHabilis]

If I had been drinking milk, it would have shot out my nose at 2:38! Hedge (osage) easy to split? HA!!! Maybe compared to elm, (but nobody splits elm. That's why blacksmiths put their anvils on elm logs.) but I grew up on a farm full of Osage. We cut it for fence posts, and sold the smaller stuff for firewood, which burns like coal.

You are right that a Hedge fencepost can last a century and not rot.

And also right that a straight piece is VERY rare.

Nice vid. Thanks.

[EricaSwallow]

You really sold me on hickory. And I enjoyed the beautiful footage of you carving juniper. So pretty!

[aurorachacon]

I loved the narrative you made of each wood type. Fantastic Dan! I really enjoyed the video.

[johnhalverson]

Thanks, Dan. Once again you show off the basic credo of the primitive archery scene..."passing it on". We all stand on the shoulders of the giants that went well before us, Ishi, Saxton Pope, the Thompson brothers, etc. They shared their knowledge without reservation, and you embody that same spirit. Tjanks, brother.

[grahamanderson]

Laburnum is Britains darkest wood and will make a wonderful longbow .I kept the stringy sapwood on it and did a z splice billet in the handle. I shot a round of clout at Meriden with it. (180 yard round ) Performed very well.

[dougdumbrill]

I’m so glad you named Juniper. I live in Northeast Wyoming and Over 20 years or so it has become my favorite bow wood. I agree with you on the aesthetics and workability of this wood. I also think it is faster per pull weight (and carry weight) than any wood I’ve used. Finally, I have a tip for durability. I decrown the stave, taking the sapwood down to just a faint line of heartwood in the center of the bow back. I prefer a square cross section about 1 1/2 inches wide. 64-68 inches long, unbacked. Favorite weight about 45lbs at 29”. Thanks again! PS it also makes a wonderful west coast bow down to 36” in length, sinew backed of course!😁

[jonathanhicks]

Thank you, I enjoyed that video. Living in the UK the available woods are a little different, but bearing in mind our damp climate (& that of Northern France), it can be seen why Yew was the tree of choice for war (self) bows, as some of the more moisture sensitive timbers wouldn’t have been very resilient to the local climate. Also why composite horn / sinew / timber laminate bows with water soluble animal products based glues didn’t catch on unlike say the Steppes of Mongolia which have a very dry climate.

[XxFunkMachinexX]

I love that I'm listening to casual guitar music and Dan's mellow voice, all while two turtles try to drown each other. 2:15

[luizvitor]

As someone who lives in Brazil, I would like to point some woods that can be useful for people in tropical regions of South America.
Firstly we have “Ipê” it’s known as the bow wood of our indigenous people. Additionally, there is “Jatobá” that can be considered as a hard wood, and very useful for bow making.

[genem]

Great information (and music). P.S. I never expected such violence in the world of frogs.

[NappingWanderer]

Fantastic video! I agree with much of your list. Hickory is by far my favorite as long as it's treated well and designed according to it's strengths and weaknesses, flat belly and a heat treat being the minimum there. Osage would be my second, while Elm, and by extension, Hackberry would round out my top three. Sugar maple would be my number four, followed by Black locust. Though I've only made one Locust bow and several Maples, so with more experience, those two may switch places. The bottom five, in no real particular order might have to be White Oak, Cherry, Mulberry, and Walnut. Every Ash bow I've tried to make has broken. No idea why, as I've tried several designs. I would love to try my hand at a Yew bow one day though! Great video, really love your content.

[bifbofbadoo]

So relaxing! Thank you for another masterful and informative video

[lemhanback]

I'm so happy to have discovered your channel. I look forward to looking at your older videos and discovering this ancient artform

[magnusdanielsson]

Interesting.
Here in Sweden the Sami made bows from two woods glued together with fishglue. The wood used was birch and ”tough pine” (pine rich in resin).
Bows were approx 170-180 cm and with a light recurve with stiff static ears. The limbs were also covered in birch bark.

[ChateauBeaufort]

U GAVE ME THE PASSION FOR IT… THE ULTIMATE “BUSH-CRAFT” WISDOM❣️

[theeddorian]

Juniper "bow stave" trees can be found along the eastern flanks of the SIerra Nevada. The Paiute, Mono, Washo, and other indigenous peoples would chop a stave out of the living tree, leaving a long, narrow, vertical scar on the trunk typical scars are from three to four feet long. Stone tools are sometimes found around the base of such trees. The bows would be flat(ish), wide above and below the grip, usually backed with sinew applied to the back.

[alanbjornolsen]

Really nicely made and interesting video

[erikhoff]

Excellent video and information on bow woods. The background music is nice too. Seems like you and your brother are very skilled at what you do. I have always wanted to build a Osage Orange longbow and this video gets me closer to doing that. I've had a stave of Yew since 2007, waiting for me to work it. Thank You for the information! Skal

[benleckie]

Thank you, a lovely mellow presentation with alot of information. I live in central Victoria, Australia, i have access to plenty of good elm here, some ash too but not so much other species used in the US or Europe. I've played a little with making bows, mainly when I was much younger. I have however hunted with a bow since I was about 5yo, I'm now pushing 46... My father was a champion target archer back in the day, so I had a good mentor. I appreciate your teaching and will have a go with the elm available to me. I want to also try a couple of local species, black wattle and casurina, or sheoak. The latter was used extensively by gold miners here for pick and tool handles being very springy. Black wattle is also very springy. Im not sure about shipping staves or logs to the US but would be happy to do so to get your opinion.
By the way, I'm a Blacksmith by trade and have a good amount of carpentry experience so I do have some clue as to woodworking...
Cheers, Ben.