Hi everybody!
For various reasons, in the last 6 months or so I have moved away from shooting Recurve that I have for the last 4-5 years and have moved full time to traditional archery for the sheer enjoyment and simplicity of it. I have always shot Eastern bows on the side so have embraced the style full time. There is an active group at Pentref Bowmen that shoot Asiatic style Eastern bows, and we have been playing around with different styles and I have been shooting with a thumb ring for about 3 months now. Adapting to the new draw, I have moved into the Korean form of shooting, with the long draw length and low anchor.
I was using a Grozer TRH Crimean Tartar bow for this but the draw length on it was limited, and it was not really suited to the style so after trying my friend's Hwarang bow, I decided to order one of the Kaya KTB bows as they are very similar in style. I ordered it from Ten Ring Archery and the service was fantastic in getting it to me next day so I could debut it at the club ( i'm impatient!:raspberry )
Initial impressions of the bow was that more care could have been taken in the manufacture of it. There are a couple of areas on the leather covering where glue has seeped onto it, and a big thumb print in glue on the top limb. This should come off with a light rubbing of some abrasive but I haven't done this yet. The handle however was pretty poor. The leather cut to cover it was crooked edged and not the right size, and there were a lot of glue marks. The leather arrow pass was also poory fitted. This can be seen in the below pictures.
I wasn't especially fond of the paisley patterned leather in the pictures but in the flesh, it is a lot more subdued and not as garish as some flash photos make out and it has actually grown on me now!
While the look of it may have been a little dissapointing, the proof is in the pudding, or the shooting So cosmetics aside, how did it perform? The draw is fantastically smooth with very little stack, even right back at 32" or so where I settle. It could easily draw another inch or so.
The loose was a very interesting experience.. my god this bow is fast! This one is 40# @ 31" and the arrows leap out of it like greased lightning! Even shot with fingers it is quick but with the thumb ring the loose is incredibly fast. I am using 34" bamboo arrows spined 35-40lb with 100gn points and they come out dead straight, with no bad contact or hitting on the bow. There is literally no handshock at all compared to my other eastern bows due to the small siyah's on this bow. Instead of large wooden levers such as on my Kassai Deer Hunnish bow, they are very small rigid sections with just enough wood that is required to stiffing the limb tips, eliminating the jolting aftershock as they settle.
Having shot recurve and anchoring to the chin for the last 4-5 years, the strangest part of shooting this style is getting a consistent anchor drawn back as far as it goes but I have settled into a nice repetitive cycle now, getting the string against my cheek and I can feel it in the same place each time. I am starting to get nice regular groups and its coming together nicely.
The Korean traditional form usually entails a very high draw, so I have incorporated this but brought it down a lot lower so it is still 'raised' but low enough to be considered safe. I have had this checked with experienced judges and they say I am fine, competitive Recurve shooters often draw higher
Here is a quick video of me shooting the KTB to show the speed, shooting style and long draw. Fate was kind and the first arrow was smack in the X!
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nedFbg7WeV0]YouTube - Shooting The Kaya KTB.MOV[/ame]
After trying it out the first time I set about improving it somewhat, and replaced the leather arrowpass with a suede wrap that goes all the way around, and used a velvety feel cord to make a bound grip that is far more comfortable to shoot, and looks lovely to boot!
So there you have it. The KTB is a fantastic bow to shoot off fingers but it is exceptionally fun and rewarding to shoot with a thumb ring and drawn right back where it is designed to be shot. Cosmetically it could be better but at the end of the day you get what you pay for. It is ?125 and not the ?350 of the Hwarang or other similar bows. If you are prepared to do a little work on the looks ( or I may have just got a bad one! ) you will get a fantastic little bow for your money and you won't be dissapointed!
For various reasons, in the last 6 months or so I have moved away from shooting Recurve that I have for the last 4-5 years and have moved full time to traditional archery for the sheer enjoyment and simplicity of it. I have always shot Eastern bows on the side so have embraced the style full time. There is an active group at Pentref Bowmen that shoot Asiatic style Eastern bows, and we have been playing around with different styles and I have been shooting with a thumb ring for about 3 months now. Adapting to the new draw, I have moved into the Korean form of shooting, with the long draw length and low anchor.
I was using a Grozer TRH Crimean Tartar bow for this but the draw length on it was limited, and it was not really suited to the style so after trying my friend's Hwarang bow, I decided to order one of the Kaya KTB bows as they are very similar in style. I ordered it from Ten Ring Archery and the service was fantastic in getting it to me next day so I could debut it at the club ( i'm impatient!:raspberry )
Initial impressions of the bow was that more care could have been taken in the manufacture of it. There are a couple of areas on the leather covering where glue has seeped onto it, and a big thumb print in glue on the top limb. This should come off with a light rubbing of some abrasive but I haven't done this yet. The handle however was pretty poor. The leather cut to cover it was crooked edged and not the right size, and there were a lot of glue marks. The leather arrow pass was also poory fitted. This can be seen in the below pictures.
I wasn't especially fond of the paisley patterned leather in the pictures but in the flesh, it is a lot more subdued and not as garish as some flash photos make out and it has actually grown on me now!
While the look of it may have been a little dissapointing, the proof is in the pudding, or the shooting So cosmetics aside, how did it perform? The draw is fantastically smooth with very little stack, even right back at 32" or so where I settle. It could easily draw another inch or so.
The loose was a very interesting experience.. my god this bow is fast! This one is 40# @ 31" and the arrows leap out of it like greased lightning! Even shot with fingers it is quick but with the thumb ring the loose is incredibly fast. I am using 34" bamboo arrows spined 35-40lb with 100gn points and they come out dead straight, with no bad contact or hitting on the bow. There is literally no handshock at all compared to my other eastern bows due to the small siyah's on this bow. Instead of large wooden levers such as on my Kassai Deer Hunnish bow, they are very small rigid sections with just enough wood that is required to stiffing the limb tips, eliminating the jolting aftershock as they settle.
Having shot recurve and anchoring to the chin for the last 4-5 years, the strangest part of shooting this style is getting a consistent anchor drawn back as far as it goes but I have settled into a nice repetitive cycle now, getting the string against my cheek and I can feel it in the same place each time. I am starting to get nice regular groups and its coming together nicely.
The Korean traditional form usually entails a very high draw, so I have incorporated this but brought it down a lot lower so it is still 'raised' but low enough to be considered safe. I have had this checked with experienced judges and they say I am fine, competitive Recurve shooters often draw higher
Here is a quick video of me shooting the KTB to show the speed, shooting style and long draw. Fate was kind and the first arrow was smack in the X!
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nedFbg7WeV0]YouTube - Shooting The Kaya KTB.MOV[/ame]
After trying it out the first time I set about improving it somewhat, and replaced the leather arrowpass with a suede wrap that goes all the way around, and used a velvety feel cord to make a bound grip that is far more comfortable to shoot, and looks lovely to boot!
So there you have it. The KTB is a fantastic bow to shoot off fingers but it is exceptionally fun and rewarding to shoot with a thumb ring and drawn right back where it is designed to be shot. Cosmetically it could be better but at the end of the day you get what you pay for. It is ?125 and not the ?350 of the Hwarang or other similar bows. If you are prepared to do a little work on the looks ( or I may have just got a bad one! ) you will get a fantastic little bow for your money and you won't be dissapointed!