Making a Warbow: progress report 1

Hello all,
Easter, April 24th, happened to be my birthday and my girlfriend graced me with a wonderful gift. A new 4 in 1 rasp! It works like a charm and I my muscles are very grateful to have a tool that does most of the work now, haha.

Below is a short video of me showing the current bend of my stave. The upper limb is on the righthand side of the video.  I hold up 8 fingers to indicate that this is the 8th tiller video I've recorded. However, I've decided to stop using videos as a guide to the tillering process. After reviewing video 1 and 8, very little difference is visible in the bending of the stave. I believe the video scews the angle and therefore the viewpoint of how the stave is bending. If you'll notice how stiff the upper limb is near the tip, I have been scraping and rasping my heart away there, and noticed very little difference throughout the videos. As other people have suggested I will be getting a tillering stick at the least to help with the tillering process.  Also, I am using a shorter string in this video as others have suggested.

On the whole, I'm glad with the way this stave is turning out. I wont be working on it any further until I get a tillering stick, just to avoid ruining the stave with my current methods.  Thanks for checking in!

Robert Hardy on the Medieval Longbow

The Military Archery at Neville's Cross, 1346

By: Robert Hardy

I found the following article to be a fascinating and insightful read.  It brought up several interesting aspects of the medieval archer and logistics of military campaigning that I not previously thought of.  Give it a read I'm sure there is something to be learned by all. Enjoy!



http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/pdfs/hardy.pdf

"The Military Archery at Neville's Cross, 1346." Medievalists.net. Themebuilder, 27 Jan 2011. Web. 4 Apr 2011. <http://www.medievalists.net/2011/01/27/the-military-archery-at-nevilles-cross-1346/>.

Military Archery In Medieval Ireland

Introduction: In studying Irish medieval warfare the bow and arrow is of particular interest for many reasons. It is by far the most frequently represented weapon in the archaeological record and unlike other weapons it tends to occur in datable contexts on excavated sites. This is largely accidental, because bows and arrows were of little monetary value and easily broken and lost, but the fortunate result is that a more comprehensive and reliable archaeological study is possible for the bow and arrow than for any other medieval weapon. There is also a greater wealth of useful historical information available than for other weapons of medieval Ireland. Thus it is possible not only to study the bow and arrow as archaeological artefacts but to place them in their natural context, which is the history of warfare. A study of the history of the weapon reveals that it is particularly appropriate, and not entirely accidental, that the bow and arrow is so well represented in the archaeological record of medieval Ireland. There is probably no other period in which the weapon was of comparable military importance.

Read the rest here:

http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/pdfs/halpin.pdf

Halpin, Andrew. "Military Medieval Archery in Medieval Ireland: Archaeology and History."   Medievalists.net. Themebuilder, 29 Jan 2011. Web. 30 Jan 2011.

Hand Forged Bodkins, Part 2

Warbow Armor Penetration!! With Pictures!

This is me drawing my warbow of #110@32"   It will penetrate 16ga steel plate from 10 yards, and can also penetrate two layers of chainmail with a filled box in between. Very powerful!

MORE PICTURES!!! Here is the 16ga steel plate I mentioned above. It was shot at using the #110@32" waarbow from a distance of 10-20 yards. For any skeptics, I plan on capturing some video of me doing this again in the spring and summer of 2011.  So stay tuned!


The front of the plate was the damage was done!





About the size of a mans torso.




A close up of the back. Notice how the steel seems to peel.





When the arrows hit it really warped the steel!




A bodkin in one of the holes for a reference.





Here is the chaimail hauberk I will use in my next test.




It is only butted maille, so please dont through a fit. I know, and agree that riveted maille is historical and better suited for testing purposes. However, I have none and not enough time or material to create it.

 Since I was shooting from such a close distance, it doesnt give us the greatest idea of what a warbow could do in battle.  Considering that English archers typically trained at no less than 240 yards we can infer that their enemies were typically at a similar distance.

The next time I do an armor penetration test there are a few things I am going to do different.  I am going to use a dense pillow, and place a chainmail hauberk and steel plate over it.  This will better simulate an armored opponent.  This setup will be placed at 100 yards, to give a better replication of battle conditions. 

Please, comment with any tips, concerns, question, etc.  This is a highly debated topic in the warbow community and any feedback is greatly appreciated.