José,
That deduction does not necessarily follow. The horn bow is shorter because of the difficulty of using modern materials to reproduce the bending that horn and sinew is capable of. The optimum brace height is a negotiation between the movement of the limbs and the flexibility of the arrow. The bowstring is moving so fast on a Korean composite bow that 5 inches might be too small. Every reduction in brace height increases the angle of the arrow at take off to the plane of the string.
1 2010-11-30 07:58:03
Re: Hornbows use (19 replies, posted in Bows)
2 2010-11-30 07:38:45
Re: korean horseback quiver (28 replies, posted in Accessories)
The quiver in the first part of the post is for a left hander or the photograph is reversed.
I think the majority of these quivers in museums are for court ceremonies and are not usable quivers for horse archery. I have examined the one in the Grayson Collection several times and the arrows, darts, arrow guide and bow are not made for use. There are many paintings in Korea of officials in processions and at court with bows and arrows in this type of quiver.
They are clearly related to the Manchu quivers used in the Qing Dynasty of China. However, the ones I have seen close up rarely have the complex three strap suspension of the Qing original.
I did see one quiver with two felt pads inserted into the mouth as spacers. The Manchu used a similar system in their quivers. A felt pad was folded across its middle and inserted in the opening of the quiver. It was sewn in place at either end by thin leather strips. Two screws were inserted from the outside face of the quiver through the pad and out the inside face. Nuts were used to tighten them on the inside face (the side against the archer's body).
I made a scaled down version of a Manchu quiver and bow case to see if it would work with a Korean bow and arrows.
The image isn't appearing but you can see it here
http://picasaweb.google.com/bededw/Quiv … 3222217106
3 2010-11-08 23:43:11
Re: Repeating Crossbow (6 replies, posted in General Interest)
I have complete drawings and dimensions. However, I am not going to post them on the internet. If you want a copy, contact me personally.
4 2010-11-05 06:07:04
Re: Repeating Crossbow (6 replies, posted in General Interest)
There was a Warring States repeating crossbow excavated from a Chu kingdom tomb that used a completely different principle for reloading the arrows. It had a push-pull motion with a single front handle on the the crossbow body and a reciprocating bar that moved backwards and forwards carrying the automatic trigger assembly. Due to the nature of the trigger, it was more efficient to shoot two arrows at a time.
Because the actuating bar moved in the same direction as the arrow was pulled, in theory the bow could operate with less friction. However, there was no lever action in drawing the bow. Also the bow was a small hand weapon for personal self defence or even just an executive toy.
The original was published in the Chinese archaeological Journal, Wenwu. I did a study that I published in the Journal of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries. I haven't heard from anyone who has made a replica.
5 2010-10-20 06:16:23
Re: Hornbows use (19 replies, posted in Bows)
This would explain many of the problems Bert had with Korean bows. However, he never lost his love of them. I knew the details at the time, but never connected them with his problems with bows breaking. I thought the offset would only cause problems for the arrow rather than the bow. The one composite bow I have with an offset string had increasing problems as the angle of the limbs increased with use. Since the limbs were not perfectly in line, unskilled users could put stress on them with the bow hand causing increased string deflection. People used to modern bows are not aware of the effect the torsion of the bow hand can have on the limbs.
6 2010-10-20 06:03:39
Topic: Bow Spreader (4 replies, posted in Accessories)
In Korean bow making, a particular tool is used to spread the tips of a new made bow so that various processes can be carried out. These days the tool has two ends shaped to rest against the bow limbs and an adjustable centre section with a series of holes and a peg to lock the two halves at a given length appropriate to the bow being worked on.
It is similar to the Turkish aşa gezi and is demonstrated in Thomas Duvernay's video on Korean bow making. I have been unable to discover its Korean name. I would really appreciate some help.
Bede