Hello. I realised the other day just how big the gaps in my knowledge must be. I was thinking about why some bows are recurve, some are reflex, etc. and the physics that gives a recurve an advantage over a traditional longbow, for example. And I realised I could not describe the advantage, or why there was one!
I googled a bit and mostly discovered internet discussions. For once, Wikipedia had a good paragraph, but there is no specific reference for the text.
The references section on that page does list several volumes of The Traditional Bowyers Bible, but at around ?100 a copy, I'm not about to get my hands on one of those! What's annoying is the absence of an in-text reference for the paragraph, above, so that I'd at least know which volume and which chapter that reference was taken from, because it was clearly what I was looking for!
What I'm looking for are reputable sources, be they books or websites, that cover the science behind the bow! I'm not entirely ignorant: I can describe a lot of what is going on, but there are gaps and I want to fill them.
So, if you've got a personal favourite text or reference that you found illuminating, or know of a good resource, please do recommend it. Archery is such a complex subject, there's probably just as much that I don't know I don't know than I already know that I don't know to know!
ptimist:
Cheers
I googled a bit and mostly discovered internet discussions. For once, Wikipedia had a good paragraph, but there is no specific reference for the text.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_shape#Design_factorsIf a limb is 'straight' its effective length remains the same as the bow is drawn. That is, the string goes directly to the nock in the strung (braced) position. When the limb is recurved (tip of limb away from the archer), the string touches the limb before it gets to the nock. The effective length of the limb, as the draw commences, is therefore shorter. However, as the bow is drawn, the recurve 'unwinds', the limb becomes effectively longer, and the mechanical advantage of the archer increases.
The references section on that page does list several volumes of The Traditional Bowyers Bible, but at around ?100 a copy, I'm not about to get my hands on one of those! What's annoying is the absence of an in-text reference for the paragraph, above, so that I'd at least know which volume and which chapter that reference was taken from, because it was clearly what I was looking for!
What I'm looking for are reputable sources, be they books or websites, that cover the science behind the bow! I'm not entirely ignorant: I can describe a lot of what is going on, but there are gaps and I want to fill them.
So, if you've got a personal favourite text or reference that you found illuminating, or know of a good resource, please do recommend it. Archery is such a complex subject, there's probably just as much that I don't know I don't know than I already know that I don't know to know!
ptimist:
Cheers