New Hwarang Ordered (Page 1 of 2)

Kanuck, we are similar in thoughts!  I am hitting the gym a bit lately and wants to eventually pull a 120# Hungarian horn/sinew composite bow  .

Any illustration you can provide?  Do I bucket lift with free weights or cable?

Hun

Thanks for the info.  The force draw curve of the Kaya is interesting - about identical to a Western recurve.  If anything, the "sweet spot" on the curve is a little before 28" and it definitely is starting to stack after that, but not too badly. I would expect the Hwarang to be a little more supple and smooth in its draw beyond 28".  13# in the last 4 inches is pretty steep but not what I would call "stacking" per se. 

Warbow

It can be done with gravity and dumbells (or even buckets of sand!) or with cables from either standing or bent over.  The main thing is to ensure you never use more weight than you can achieve full range of motion - and no jerking or building up momentum!  Try to focus on the muscles of the upper back rather than the shoulders and arms when pulling. The idea is to train all the muscles to work together rather than achieve isolation of any one muscle group. And when I say use both arms I mean one at a time, of course...  I will see if I can find a good sequence of photos.

Kanuck

WillScarlet

I will be doing a FDC soon after my bow arrives and will publish the results here.  I will also be outlining the results of my full length carbon arrow spine testing via bare shafting.  I have a test kit on order from 3RA in 400, 340 and 300 TA shafts, plus field points from 100 to 190gr and brass adapters that I should be able to vary (with lead) from 75 to about 150gr.  Spine is one of those things I really, REALLY want to get right for this bow.  Once I've nailed down the spine I need for the arrow length and point weight I want to use, then I'll be able to start building bamboo arrows.

I just ordered it the end of last week so it will likely be the end of January before I see it.....

I've played a bit with Stu's Spine Calculator but the Hwarang is so new to me that I'm only guessing at the bow model to use to try and find something comparable - cancel last - I just found the "Generic Performance Recurve/Horsebow" setting. 

There are so many variables to take into account with a new style of bow, a new release method, a new draw length etc!    I'll trust the results from a test pack rather than a spine calculator anyday, but the results might be of interest to those who follow and wish to use the spine calculator to try and get a starting point with their setup.

Just received my carbon arrow shaft test pack - Traditional Only from 3 Rivers Archery.  Bare shaft lengths from nock bottom to end of shaft and weight per shaft with nock is as follows:

size 600 - 30 5/8" - 224gr - stated grains per inch (gpi) 7.0 - calculated gpi w/nock - 7.3 - weight of aluminum insert 10gr
size 500 - 31 1/2" - 262gr - stated grains per inch (gpi) 8.0 - calculated gpi w/nock - 8.3 - weight of aluminum insert 13-14gr
size 400 - 32"       - 302gr - stated grains per inch (gpi) 9.1 - calculated gpi w/nock - 9.4 - weight of aluminum insert 13-14gr
size 340 - 32 1/2" - 334gr - stated grains per inch (gpi) 10.0 - calculated gpi w/nock - 10.3 - weight of aluminum insert 13-14gr
size 300 - 33"       - 344gr - stated grains per inch (gpi) 10.1 - calculated gpi w/nock - 10.4 - weight of aluminum insert 13-14gr

Weight of brass insert for glue on point is 75gr.  Weight of glue on field points: 99gr, 125 gr, 145gr, 160gr and 190gr.  Note that the brass insert will not fit the 600 shaft which is noticeably smaller in diameter and uses a different nock than the rest of the sizes.

My first impression is that none of the shafts is long enough to allow a proper thumbring draw, but we will see when my Hwarang arrives.  I have lots of wooden arrow shafts in poplar, ash and hickory that I can cut down and add as foreshafts to lengthen the test shafts if necessary.  I expect I will only be trying the 400, 340 and 300 sizes with this bow but wanted the other shafts on hand for spine testing arrows for other bows in future - specifically for my kids, who are all teens now.

New bow just arrived. 36 days from order to delivery over the Christmas holiday so good response. Now to get it home and check it out.....

Kanuck

A new bow is always exciting.                  I'm as anxious as you are!   

So, I've unpacked and strung the bow (not easy to do with the step through method after years of using a bow stringer). Like others, the first thing I note is it's very low mass - 335g.  Second, I noted it's short length - 119cm overall.  It was marked on the upper limb tip as "28" 50#" which is as I requested.

The brace height from the grip to the string is 5" even.  Using the ATA method, adding 1 3/4" forward of the grip, the draw weight is as close to 50lbs as I can measure at 28".  The longest draw I can achieve is 32" ATA which seems to provide a draw weight of 64lbs, but my scale is suspect.

The finish of the bow is exceptional for the price but not perfect. There are a couple of minor flaws in the birchbark but the effect is minor.

One odd thing, the serving on the string is very heavy requiring me to modify the plastic nocks of my test shafts. With wood nocks on bamboo shafts there will be no problem, but I still want to do tests.

Kanuck

Will

There was no documentation or manual.  The two strings furnished with the bow are 46" long and seem to be 16 strand strings of a white unknown material of continuous loop construction with a mass of 90 and 92 grains. I consider the strings significantly overbuilt for the bow.  If I wanted to get the absolute maximum performance from the bow I'd consider trying a skinny string with padded loops and an abbreviated serving section. I have some 8125 with a breaking strength of 120lbs which could be used with as few as 4 strands but I'd probably go with 6 strands. But I intend on using bamboo arrows with wooden nocks so I will use the stock strings to start. Later on I may play with carbon arrows and ultra light strings.

Kanuck

I may be wrong, but even with B-50 dacron I don't think you would need 16 strands.   

Bluelake

Thanks for the info. I'll reserve the string and see how it works.

Now I have to work on the use of my thumbrings....I'll have to build up my tolerance a lot.

Kanuck