Earthwood bows-Flatbows

Flatbows

American style flatbows are between 60 and 68 inches long depending on draw weight and wood type. Here at earthwood bows we specialise in self osage orange flatbows. Osage orange is a very dense wood that unlike many other wood types is extremely good in both tension and compression. This means that self bows of osage orange have amazing performance and don’t require any additional backings.
	Osage often grows with many twists and snakes and loaded with knots and thorns, and it is the bowyers job to lure a fine bow from it. This is done by first meticulously following a single growth ring on the back of the bow so that the back is in even tension, then following the grain of the wood on the sides, to incorporate any natural snakes. The limbs are then tillered to perfection to achieve the required draw length and weight. This means that the shape and grain pattern of the log dictates the shape of the bow, meaning that every bow is different and unique. This is what gives self bows their special charm.
Other wood types are avaliable for flatbows, such as black locust, mulberry and red elm which can either be made into self bows or have a backing of bamboo or sinew added. There are many combinations of laminations and wood types possible. To design your custom flatbow, follow the steps below:

Step 1

Choose draw weight at 28": Must be between 20 and 80 lbs

Choose maximum required draw length: which must be between 26" and 31". Higher draw lengths can be achieved but are subject to the availability of long staves.

Step 2

Choose backing if required:


Bamboo	Hickory	Sinew

Step 3

Choose handle style

The straight style handle feels more like a longbow grip in the hand. The modern style handle is shaped to the contours of the hand and feels like a modern grip that you would find on a take down recurve. The Rounded is a compromise between the two.

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Straight	Rounded	Modern

Step 4

Choose handle materials.

Plain

Handles can be left plain to bring out the beauty of the main wood, it is also the cheapest option.

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Laminated Wood

To create a truly distinctive and stunning handle, it can be made from laminated wood of your choice.

Handles may have 1, 2 or 3 laminations of any of the following wood types:


Osage	Black Walnut	Bubinga	Hickory

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Ipe	Ash	Yew	Oak Burr

If you have a request for another wood type, we can try out best to source it for you.

Leather Bound

Handles can be bound with leather which not only looks great and gives great grip but also reduces handshock. The leather can be bound on top of a soft piece of leather or foam to give a soft handle which reduces handshock further.

Leather types available:


Brown Leather 1	Brown Leather 2	Brown Leather 3	Red Leather	Artificial Leather (v)

Binding Material Avaliable:

From left to right:

Linen (v), Cream waxed cotton (v), Brown waxed cotton (v), Brown leather thonging, Real sinew, Black leather thonging

Step 5

Choose Nocks

Really set your bow off nicely by adding end nock laminations in the same wood as the handle. Brown leather handles are complemented very well by dark woods such as black walnut and Ipe.

The materials avaliable for nock laminations are:

Ipe, Bubinga, Oak Burr, hickory, horn and antler.

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Plain	One Lamination (Bubinga)	Two Laminations (Antler and Ipe)

Step 6

Choose string

Looped Fastflight (top)

Laid in Linen string (middle)

Laid in B-50 string (bottom)

When you have designed your longbow, please contact us for a quote for price and delivery information.