Falken Bows Sm?land - Anyone know anything about them ?

Berny

Active member
Comtemporary with Yeoman in late '50s & early '60s led the revolution against the early machines (Apollo steel bows) & spearheaded the rise of the composite bow. Company long gone, like Yeoman.
Were used by the Chinese champion Li Shu-Lan in '64.

Will have a look for some ads later....
 

Berny

Active member
1st advert with pictures i've found.
From British Archer, Vol 13 No 1, Jun/Jul '61.

....although i've seen earlier text-only ads. from '60 & believe a Falken may have been used in '59
by Miss J F Taunton in becoming a British(/World?)record holder (& again in '60).
 

Berny

Active member
Bowyer was i believe Gert Spicker, a well-known "instinctive archer" on the Swedish field-archery scene.
 
Bit more info form Gert Spicker snippet. Not so much Falken related but another reserch thread.

B?gskytteklubben Vildkaninerna i Visby
BK Vildkaninerna bildades 1964. Planerna drogs upp hemma i Helge Sn?boms k?k. Vi h?mtade id?er och inspiration fr?n Igelboda B?gskyttar. Goda instinktiva skyttar som Gert Spicker, Janne Sj?str?m, Erik Frank, Haldor M?rtensson, Bengt Svensk och senare Mary och Lasse Lund betydde mycket f?r oss n?r klubben k?rde ig?ng.
Klubben har varit framg?ngsrik. Det var trevligt att vid klubbens 40-?rsjubileum, m?ta n?gra av dem som var med fr?n b?rjan.


Archery Club Wild rabbits in Visby BK Wild rabbits was formed in 1964. The plans were drawn up home in Helge Sn?boms kitchen. We fetched ideas and inspiration from Igelboda Archers . Good instinctive shooters Gert Spicker , Janne Sj?str?m, Eric Frank, Haldor M?rtensson, Bengt Swedish and later Mary and Lasse Lund meant a lot to us when the club started up . The club has been successful. It was nice that the club's 40th anniversary , meet some of those who were there from the beginning .
 

Berny

Active member
Here's some info from someone who knew Gert & also were themselves a bowyer for Bjorn Bengtson, who made bows '58-'75:
"I know that Gert Spicker was the designer of the bow Falken. That happens during the middle of the 50-ties. The first bow was in production in the year of 1956, I am quite sure about that. The company, Ryds Industier AB, with Mr. Pettersson in leading position produced boats, custom made from glass fibers. They thought they had knowledge enough to use their technique also for making bows. That was a problem for them together with poor gluing and method of gluing. They where stubborn on these points and many bows broke during their short time of bow making."

I don't think Falken lasted past the mid '60s, last advert from a retailer/distributor of Falken in UK was from Quicks in '65.
....but competition would've been real fierce at that point:
- George Birnie's "Royal Scots Bows" apparently had the largest share of the European market;
- Marksman were in full production of the "Forest" range of bows: Ranger, Knight, Princess, etc.;
- Yeoman was still going strong & introduced their first "stabilised" bow;
- Hardy's (of Alnwick) - diversifying from fishing rods;
- Sherwood were in there too with their "battle" bows: Poitiers, Crecy, Agincourt
- not checked if Severn & Laleham were in production by this time too;
- imports from the US too: Hoyt, Bear, Damon Howatt, Shakespeare, ....Ben Pearson, Sanders, .....
 
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