Longbow VS Recurve Bow

Every bowyer and archer knows that design of the bow is what determines its performance and the comfort of use. The mass distribution, length, shape, wood species, all the details have an impact on the final outcome. Throughout the ages people all over the globe have developed countless variations of this weapon. The bow's shape and material in particular cultures was depending on available wood, climate, environment and local customs. It's amazing how studying remains of old bows found in different places you can see that there were specific intentions behind each detail. Our ancestors certainly understood the wood extremely well. In today's video we'll compare two popular designs English style longbow and flat-bellied recurve. We should emphasize the fact that designs in history were mixing with each other and making this comparison I am simplifying a bit. I'm taking two styles that nowadays have become kinda iconic. Both are very popular and despite being made from wood and with use of traditional tools they are still being successfully used by modern archers and hunters. It's amazing how this weapon used by our ancestors since countless ages can compete with artificial laminate bows. Firstly let's take a look at English longbow. We'll focus on the most popular form of this design. In traditional meaning that we are talking about these were long narrow bows with rounded belly. What's especially important they were tillered to bend throughout the whole bow even handle section. That's why they had no handle with grip that we know from modern bows. Often there was only a small mark on arrow pass for archer to know which limb is the upper one. The most suitable wood for this kind of weapon was yew. It's a natural laminate with hardwood able to deal with compression and tension resistant sapwood. Yew wood was very desired during middle ages and it has almost extinct. Due to sapwood softness the tips of this bow usually were reinforced with cow horns. There are many reasons that made this design so popular. Longbows were built to be taller than the archer. The narrow profile was letting craftsman to build more bows from a single trunk. Moreover the length of it was making them very durable and able to deal with high bandages. Those features made this design very precious in the era of massive battles when breaking a bow with enemy heading towards us wasn't what we wanted. What's more this type of bow is very forgiving and relatively easy to shoot. Longbows are often tillered to higher draw lengths and are doing pretty well with heavier war arrows. On the other hand to build this type of bow you need high quality and long wood pieces. Not many species can deal with the stress coming with narrow profile and rounded belly. The common reaction indicating that the belly is not dealing with the stress too well are compression fractures that we call creasles. Nevertheless desired stakes also have to be relatively clean and straight what can cause some trouble to find the proper piece. The size of the longbow was making it a bit bulky and not very useful in close quarters. Now let's move on to the recurve bow. We can call a bow recurve when the string is touching the belly at flipped tips. To be precise we are talking about flat limped bows. This solution was widely used by many cultures in varied forms. Properly made recurve bows gain some speed and both work and shoot very smooth. Due to significantly higher initial tension this type of bow is usually faster. If crafted well it can also safely throw lighter arrows what in specified circumstances can be very beneficial. Recurve tips are making the bow very handy and more comfortable to carry around. Disadvantages are making recurve sweet hunting weapons. The particular shape of this weapon make it smoother to draw and shoot due to different draw force curve. The process of crafting recurve bows is demanding and more advanced. The craftsmen have to face challenges like dealing with string alignment. Also designing recurve its length and angle is also pretty important. To form the band the wood has to be heated with steam and put into the jig at least until it's cooled down. Not all of the wood species will make this type of weapons so a bit of selection is also necessary. It has to be emphasized that the belly is under higher stress when tips are recurved. On the other hand flat and relatively wide limbs are letting bowier to apply some adjustments and overcome many imperfections. Bow woods like Osage Orange or Hickory are suitable for this kind of stick. To reinforce and improve performance of bows our ancestors have developed sinew backing methods. These are doing well applied on recurve sticks. The process is often being done along with adding reflex to the whole bow. Such a construction can be extremely efficient. Another improvement and variation of this weapon were horn bows. With additional horn on the belly, sinew on the back and aggressively shaped curves they were light, compact and extremely fast bows. As you can see both of these designs for sure have their own specific advantages. For me both are great and I especially love the story behind them. Which design do you prefer? Would it be English longbow or recurve? Thank you for watching guys and see you next week!