Customer Reviews

The Traditional Bowyer's Bible, Volume 1

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Traditional Bowyers Bible is the best book on the subject I have read so far on this interesting subject. All 3 volumes are worth having, but this one, the first volume, offers the beginning bowyer a complete course in building a wooden bow. I disagree with an earlier reviewer of this book on its value to the beginner. I am a novice bowyer (bow-builder) if not a novice archer, and I thought the book was especially valuable. In fact that seems tobe exactly the person Hamm and the other contributors to this book seem to have had in mind....All three books come under the heading of "don't miss", but this one in particular is a "DON'T miss"...

I'm at a loss for words. Absolutly fantastic. I searched and I searched for scraps of information on this subject, and finally ran across this book. I was completely overwhelmed by all the well-presented information the authors managed to pack into 300+ pages. Two sleepless nights of solid reading passed and now I seem find my way into the forest to cut bowstaves every time I leave the house.

Technical accounts from experienced bowyers, interspersed with war stories on bow making and bow hunting. Chock full with - black and white - pictures of bows, bow details and key operations in bow making. Each author's/bowyers' idiosyncrasies are given much leeway. On the downside, this book is not for the complete novice. Many technical terms are used without explanation, and a basic understanding of wooden bows is required.

this book is essential for anyone who wants to make archery tackle out of natural materials. i still go to school and archery has taken hold of my interest. i spent hours on the computer scraping bits of information until i came upon this book online. after reading it through, all my problems were solved. this book has all the basics. from wood choosing to laying out your bow to designing practical bows from all kinds of woods. however, if you are in an area that has plenty of trees but are forbidden to cut it, then you are probably stuck with making board bows (which are cheap at 3.50 for an 11 ft piece) and for more info on board bows, then the 2nd vol. of this series is probably the best.
this book is a very good book for bowyers and got me started and i am still hooked (a year and three broken bows after. apparently the average bowmaker breaks 12 bows before making a good one :)

This book starts by teaching you the basic knowledge of wood and how it will affect the bow's performance. From there it will take you into building a couple different types of bows and the best way to accomplish it. The only better way to learn is to have someone teach you. If you don't have anyone then this book is your best bet!

Written by a collective group of bowyers that know how to keep the craft alive by building each readers interest. An excellent book for the novice and the experienced crafts person. The authors know what they are talking about! Building a really good all wood bow is not easy, but these bowyers take the mystery out of it and make it fun in the process!

I am very new to bowmaking (I've done it for about 3 weeks). I recently bought this book and WOW it is absolutely great! It could use a glossary, but they explain their terms very carefully in the text as you go through. Starts out with a few stories, lets you know that even pro's occasionally hit stumbling blocks, and tells you how to avoid them! I am very excited by and about this book and would highly recommend it to anyone seeking to learn about the history, lore, and how-to of bowmaking.

The amount of information in this book is staggering. I never knew that there was so much to know about turning a piece of wood into a bow. This book covers it all. It contains very detailed information about different woods, wood selection, tillering, wood grains, bow physics and theory. This book seems to be focused mostly on flatbows. But, the information is invaluable regardless the style of bows you intend to build.
The amount of information in this book may be a little daunting to the beginner, but I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about building a quality bow of any style.

(This review pertains to the first three volumes as a whole. I do not own the new 4th volume ... yet.)

The Traditional Bowyer's Bible can be reviewed fairly briefly.

On the pro side:

- The authors are traditional archery experts.
- The content is wide-ranging, covering longbows, recurves, flatbows, backed bows, composite bows, takedowns, asymmetrical bows, arrows, nocks, fletching, backings, finishing, tools, etc. Virtually every bow type is represented and from every area of the world and from ancient history to the present day.
- The books contain original material, such as information on hysterisis.
- The content covers basics to very advanced topics.
- Though the authors express individual preferences here and there(bow types, woods, etc.), taken as a whole the material is quite neutral and fact-based.
- Design is emphasized as much as construction, perhaps more so. I'd go further and say the intent of the series is to teach foundational material and definitely not to present simple how-to instructions. I've made bows using these books, but see comments below, too.
- There is very little throw-away material, here meaning text that preaches to the choir about the virtues of traditional archery.

On the con side:

- The material is topically organized (e.g., design, tillering, woods). While that's terrific for the topic, it isn't the best for the step-by-step how-do-I-make-a-bow reader. You really have to read the bulk of the material to put it together.
- These may not be the best books for someone just starting out in traditional archery. The authors presume basic knowledge of archery and terminology. A newcomer, unless extraordinarily enthusiastic, will be overwhelmed.
- There's a lot of line drawing illustrations. I would prefer photos.
- The multiple volume approach isn't really necessary, given the size of each, drives up the price of the total, and I would like to see the series published in a single volume.

The cons are nits, however. This book series provides an extremely comprehensive view of traditional archery and is a must-have on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the topic.

Where are the definitions? This book goes into every nuance about making a bow, as described by absolutely fanatical bowyers. A little bit of humor and a few personal stories are related, making it a more entertaining read. Every chapter is quite thorough and caters to the novice except the longest (at around 75 pages) and most important chapter, "Bow Design & Performance," which for some reason assumes that you know what tillering, set, draw weight, draw length, string height, string stretch, etc., mean. Some of these terms are somewhat self-explanatory and some are given specific attention, but again, the basics are ignored. I had to skip the chapter and read further for tidbits of clarification and then had to go to some other sources to become familiar with just what these terms mean. What is a "bible" on a subject without the basics described thoroughly?