A little journey through time

There it is, the “Schnidejochbogen”. Found in 2003 high up in the alps on the Schnidejoch in my country Switzerland, lost. ca. 2600 BC at the same place. I made a pretty exact copy of this bow using the measurements from the sacred script of the historical bow makers. It is rare enough for me to make an exact replica, especially as I usually try to improve the original somewhat (-; But here it was interesting to get a feel for how the Stone Age bow actually shot and how strong it was. Normally with replicas like this, you can’t just use the measurments to get a well-functioning bow. But with this find it works very well. Once I had copied the measurments and cross section of the original, there was almost nothing left to do. No need to improve that one! That tells me a lot of good things about that prehistoric bowyer! Bravo, Mr. Flintstone! It draws 53 pounds at 27″. Yew, what else. And yes, she’s 59″ ntn.

I also made my first natural sinew out of beef sinew here. It turned out a bit thick, but very strong. After watching a bit of youtube (thanks Ryan Gill), it wasn’t too complicated anymore and, above all, suitable for the bow. The next one will be thinner. This bow I made for a themed exhibition at the Natural History Museum in Bern.