English Longbow: Part 1

This project began with a conversation with a colleague. He and I were talking about what we would like to do for a living if any job, past or present, was on the table. He and I both wanted to be smiths of one sort or another (he wants to make swords, I want to make armour). Stemming from that, I mentioned thinking of getting into hunting, and we both wished to be able to shoot a simple longbow (rather than a compound). That thought stuck in my head for a couple weeks until I gave in and picked up some wood at Home Depot.

I used red oak for the belly of the bow and white pine for the back. I laminated them together:

I surely could have used more clamps, but I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg on this project (more on that later). I weighed it down in the middle with my hauberk (15 pounds) to give a little bit of reflex.

Here it is glued up. You can see how there is a little bit of flex towards the pine side (the left).

After it was glued, I marked out the rough shape and cut it out with a handsaw (oak is not easy to cut). Take note: I started this project on 4/20, and only finished the rough cutting about ten days later. Then came tillering. This is as far as the bow would bend at 50 pounds (my target weight) before any shaping.

The first day of shaving it down did not make a huge difference. I bought a Surform tool to help things along (which is amazing, by the way), and things got a little quicker. In the course of this project, I spent about $12 on wood for the bow itself, and probably about $40 on tools. It's an investment, though.

This is on 5/1:

5/3 at 9:15 am. Notice I have gone from a leather-tipped long string to a string that is close to the actual length of the finished string.

2:15 pm. I have gotten the tips of the bow to meet the brace height.

5/4. I tightened the string to brace height (the middle of the string about 6" from the bow).

By 11:08 am, I got the bow to full draw at 50 pounds.

After all the heavy bending, the bow did take some set towards the oak side, but as you can see below, it only took about one inch. Given that the bow started reflexed in the opposite direction, this amount of set is not too severe.

The bow is almost complete. I need to add horn or antler nocks on the ends and make it a bowstring. I've already sanded it nice and smooth and given it a coat of beeswax and tallow.

Once I get it finished and strung (and make or find some arrows), I'll take some pictures of it in use.

Dutch shoes: part II

Hail,

These shoes are finally receiving my attention, after more than a month of neglect (school...). Well, I'm nearing completion of one of the pair. I've finished the sole-to-upper seam, and have started the heel stiffener.

Here it is, pre-turned:

And here it is, moist, stuffed with a piece of cloth after turning.



Until next time, then,

Dutch shoes: part I

Hello everybody!

I'm back! It's been over two weeks since I've last posted, which I can blame mostly on two things:
a) I'm lazy, and I haven't been working on more than one project at a time.
b) School started, and I've been studying for the first time ever.

Now that I'm back in 'the groove', I've started working on my latest project, which is a pair of shoes, based off of this example. It's a commission, and the person purchasing has a Dutch persona, thus the Dutch shoes.

I started with the basic pattern used on my last pair of shoes (here), only sized up to a size 15 (!).

Here are the four pieces cut out:



Here is the first shoe after a good bit of sewing:



And here is a very bright picture trying to demonstrate the detail of the stitching:



I intend to take some pictures of the finished product with a size comparison, so you can get an idea just how big these things are (no offense, Thomas Z.).

I would also like to mention just how loyal my visitors are; over the past couple weeks, I've averaged at least 20 visitors a day. Last time I stopped posting, it only averaged about nine. Thanks, guys.

Pattens

Well come,

This is an interesting project, as I've had the pair for over a year and never had a reason to wear them. The renaissance fairs I've visited since I finished them have been either too dry, or I was wearing a different costume at the time.

I'm still quite proud of them, as I think they look quite accurate, down to the 'rustic' nails.





Till next time,

Dagger sheath

Good day,

Today's project is a sheath for a dagger I bought. I did not make the dagger, but I did modify it. It came as a live steel dagger, with thick edges and a large, blunt tip. I ground them down to a realistic shape.

The sheath is made with a wooden core, wrapped with thin leather which is glued then sewn.





Until tomorrow,