For decades white woods were looked down on as being second-rate for making bows. Their affinity for absorbing humidity and mediocre performance meant they were ignored by most modern bowmakers. Until now….
In this ground-breaking video you’ll learn how to unlock the hidden potential within white woods like hickory, elm, and oak to create bows that can outperform prime wood bows of osage orange and yew, and even some fiberglass bows. Primitive archers Thad Beckum, Keith Shannon and Billy Berger join forces to introduce you to the concept of fire hardening white wood to create bows of premium performance and speed. Fire hardening transforms the wood, making it much more resilient and springy, and can even increase the draw weight of a raw white wood bow by up to 20%. Fire hardening also makes the wood hydrophobic, meaning it will resist moisture absorption even in high humidity conditions. This dramatic change eliminates the most performance-robbing property of white wood bows…their affinity for moisture, and that makes white wood bows much more stable and consistent performers in a wide range of weather conditions. Their performance, speed, and lethality will be elevated to match the most well made wooden bows available today.
The video begins by introducing the importance of fire to native people, and how these bows would have most likely been known by past Stone Age cultures. Then you are shown how to collect the wood, prepare it, and fire harden it. Tillering and shooting the fire hardened bow is covered, as well as the scientific concepts of how fire hardening fundamentally transforms the wood. The video finally concludes with a successful deer hunt using a fire hardened bow.
Run Time: 60 mins
