Bokken (side project)

This post is not related to Kyudo but it touches on working with oak using Japanese tools and rabbit hide glue, so I’ll include it in this blog. My kid asked me for a Japanese sword last week. I had some oak strips left overs from yumi making that would be suitable, and some spare […]

Urushi (漆)

Below is a dump of information that I’ve gathered from many different sources on the topic of Urushi lacquer over last few weeks. As the amount of data is huge, and coming from multiple sources, there is some duplication / repetition of the main points. Which is not a bad thing as it confirms that […]

Fish / Hide / Rabbit Glue Data Overload

So – is nibe a hide (deer / pig skin) or fish (bladder / skin) glue? What difference does it make? What are the properties? Which one is the best choice for bow making? Research report below. ——————————————————————————————————————————————- Generic glue overview: Very nice website: Geoff’s Woodwork (http://www.geoffswoodwork.co.uk/adhesives.htm provides a base definitions / typology for glue […]

Splitting Bamboo

My search for affordable planer-thicknesser has so far been unsuccessful. Working with the core strips by hand seems like a daunting task, so I was looking for alternative approaches. At first, I tried to recover the core from the bow that cracked. Heating up / spraying the bow with water allowed me to detach the […]

New materials

Bamboo poles here are the two poles that I bought: Straight, clean, no damage, no deformation. No leaves nods, either – or barely visible. About 2.8m long, 20cm circumference at the thick end, and 18cm at the thin end. Varying wall thickness, but around 5mm in the thinnest part (middle of the section). The lighter […]

Catching up

Long time no see. I’m back to bow making. Got new bamboo material from the warehouse. Two new poles, good dimensions, good sections layout, no damages / cracks. I reviewed the slates that I already have and it looks like I have material for 4, maybe 5 bows (in terms of matching faces / […]

The way of learning

Hisashiburi. This post will be about the process of learning something new. Maybe what I’ll describe is specific to me but I wouldn’t be surprised if more people have the same experience. I’ll base it loosely on Kyudo, archery in general, and also golf – all those things I’ve learned from scratch; that’s when the […]

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