holmegaard bows

[jerv]

I was reading a really interesting thread about holmegaard bows on paleoplanet. Have any of BCUK bowyers made one? Would you like to share pictures? I heard that the meare heath bow has a handle that feels odd to shoot and would be interested to know how meare heath, holmegaard, and ashchcott compare in performance.
It's fairly easy to find info on warbows and other "anti human" weapons but info on these grandaddys is fairly sparse. It's really interesting how similar they are to bows from other cultures and continents.

 

[Bardster]

I have both a holmegaard bow and a mear heath one, both shoot really well although they are low poundage replicas. very "soft" to shoot.

 

[jerv]

I have heard that the holmegaard is a nice shooter, I read about a guy who took one huntng in africa (on BCUK I think)
this is a nice pick of a mahogany meare heath that i stole form another forum HA HA HA!!!!
shoots at 75# fiendish pounds still can't find much really detailed info on these bows it seems people don't really go in for them. I don't really have the space to make one but am reluctant to buy something i won't use lot's and lot's.

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[stovie]

I'm Sure Thimo wont mind. He's a bit of a bowyer deamon. Some of the bows he has turned out in the last year have been quite fantastic. He's shooting a 135# warbow at the moment, which is very interesting....

 

[jojo]

http://www.krackow.com/westerneurope.html
Have a look there. if you can afford them they have some beautiful bows also have a look at their Native Americans bows. Gorgeous.

 

[jerv]

Nice bows I like thimos videos as well how can there be any debate about the effectivenes of warbows after all these videos and tests being done. can't really afford 500 bucks for a bow at the moment. but it's nice to look. pretty zippy bow as well isn't it

 

[Dave Budd]

A chap a couple of years above me at uni made a replica of the Meare Heath bow for his dissertation. Up til that point (1995 i think) the actuall size and shapoe had been decided and were found to be wroing on closer inspection (due to where in the length the bow snapped).

He had some neolithic woodworking tools made for him (by Martin Greene) and made it EXACTLY like the original. Even down to the fact that it was entirely heartwood of yew and the knots were taken to flush with the surface.

It out shot every other wood bow he had, especially the longbow of the same draw!

A summary was published in a copy of the Somerset Achaeology books. Can't find the isbn atmo.

I'm hoping somebody will come along and teach a bowmaking course for me and make a proper European flatbow like that!

 

[jerv]

awesome david! I wish i'd had friends like that at uni.
I'd love to learn too. I'm thinking of organising a bow making thing at my archery club. I'm not sure how popular it would be (i am the only instinctive traditional there)
these guys do bowmaking courses
http://www.sptradarch.org/

I'm going to get into trouble for saying this but i'd say the meare heath would be outshooting longbows because longbows seem to be designed more for fighting and delivering an awesome wallop at targets far away. I'll just cut off my critics and say that I am aware that the meare heath may also have been designed with human bashing in mind (neolithics and bronze agers were a fairly scrappy bunch) I am also aware that the hadza and others use a longbow design for their powerful huntng bows. oh no i've contradicted and confused myself!
flatbow for hunting, longbow for fighting...any thoughts

 

[bent-stick]

I've often wondered how somebody came up with the highly stacked longbow design. The only two advantages I can see is that the number of staves it is possible to get out of a given bit of wood and the ease of working a pole rather than a plank with edge tools. The idea of having the arrow pass at the widest bit of bow, emphasising the paradox doesn't seem to make any sense.

Paddle bows can be lighter in the tips, stronger and wider and safer nearer the handle. The wider and thinner the working part is, the less the compressive force on the belly and tension on the back. The lighter the tips the less inertia you are having to overcome Seems like a no-brainer really.

I'm probably in trouble now with the longbowers...

I'd like to put in a word for Chris Boyton. He does weekend courses at his workshop in Hayes.

 

[Heathenpeddler]

Is there anywhere online that gives a how-to guide on making one of those, they look fabulous!

 

[pothunter]

Been shooting a mere heath style bow for about 12 months with poor consistency, just purchased an American long bow, centre shot, using longer fletching with a more aggressive helix to the fletching and when I do my bit it shoots very tight. Interestingly these arrows also perform really well in the mere heath bow.

As for bow design I agree that the English long bow was almost certainly helped in its design by the number of staves that could be split from a ‘log’ don’t know the proper term. However flat bows of all types appear to be multi purpose tools, and because they can be made shorter for the same poundage as a longbow and not stack in the same way makes them ideal for hunting

 

[bent-stick]

Is there anywhere online that gives a how-to guide on making one of those, they look fabulous!

There is a lack of information on making stave bows. It's mainly a question of failing a few times til you get it right. The only advice I can give is is:

Follow a ring on the back
Leave it strong round a knot
Let the wood dictate the final shape
Don't panic if you end up with a 30lb shooter - it's better than a 90lb pile of firewood

I know that there is a book in preparation on making self bows. The author is going to self-publish. I'll chase him up.

My elm meare heath (without the binding) had an outing on Sunday. Probably wouldn't bring down an ox but would be fine for small game. And I'm as accurate with it as I am with anything else...not very

 

[Grooveski]

Another advantage of the longbow(for construction) is being able to get one or two out of a narrow diameter yew branch(4-6").
A flatbow design would have a large crown. Using a large diameter trunk would be more suitable and they're pretty rare .

 

[Snufkin]

The warbow was a mass produced weapon. It had to be easily and quickly made and to a price point. A flat bow is more efficient, but more time consuming to make, requires more skill and careful timber selection. I've never been too keen on the meare heath. Those huge tips must rob so much speed.

 

[jerv]

do you know an FPS with a 500 odd grain arrow for the meare heath. with a hunting weight bow (40# +)

 

[chrisanson]

do you know an FPS with a 500 odd grain arrow for the meare heath. with a hunting weight bow (40# +)

ermm between emmm quite slow to oh bugger me
:yikes: ??
i wouldnt like to stand in front of one
chris

 

[Snufkin]

do you know an FPS with a 500 odd grain arrow for the meare heath. with a hunting weight bow (40# +)

If I remember correctly Tim Baker stated in TBB that the meare heath design worked better with a very heavy arrow.

 

[jojo]

there is a chapter in Hillary Greenland's book "The traditional Archer's Handbook" about making a Meare Heath style bow. I have actually made one, but it was my second bow, and I am not sure how powerful it is, not very I think! Made of Ash, in two pieces with a zed joint in the handle. It follow the string a bit...

I am hoping to get a bag full of turkey flight feathers before Xmas, and I'll make some arrows. I have made a few shafts using Hickory, that should be heavy enough I gather that a bowe with heavy tips, coupled with heavy arrows and a thick bow string is better for hunting at short distance, simply because it's much quieter therefore more likely to kill lunch!
I'll take some pics tomorrow, when the sun's up and I can see what i'am doin.. ..

 

[bent-stick]

Hilary also has a drawing for the holmgaard but the bottleneck is very exagerated.

It's still the best book I know, bar none, on making wooden bows.

 

[jojo]

Here is my version of a Meare Heath bow, made using Hilary's book. This was the second bow I made, the first one being a flat bow. This one is made of Ash, spliced at the handle, about 40lbs at 28", 68" long and 2 1/4" at the widest, the string is a B50 dacron flemish string. Probably not very neolithic

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I am hoping to get some turkey flight feather soon, and will make some arrows.