• Registered: 2020-11-20
  • Posts: 9

Topic: question about bow material

so i've been thinking...all of the korean bows i've seen have been laminated bows. but does any maker offer a full polyresin korean bow? by fully polyresin i mean something like the okcubaba premium or the simsek hybrids. of course there a few issues i can foresee with making a ktb in all resin. one being the weight, although i know the simsek bows are lighter than the okcubaba.

my 2 biggest reasons for wanting a ktb in full polyresin is:

a.) weather resistance. don't have to worry about moisture/rain/humidity

b.) longevity. reading about people's bow failures on here is disheartening, especially the kaya's since i own one. i understand nothing lasts forever(relatively), but with a polyresin bow there's no worry of delamination. i'm sure there are other points of failure for a polyresin bow, but im assuming if used with care and not left out in UV rays, it should outlast me.

also if taken care of, can a hornbow last a lifetime? just some things i've been pondering as of late.

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2 Reply by geoarcher (edited by geoarcher 2020-11-20 19:26:36)

  • Registered: 2012-06-12
  • Posts: 414
  • User Karma: 16

Re: question about bow material

kaneda wrote:

but does any maker offer a full polyresin korean bow?

I know of none.


kaneda wrote:

also if taken care of, can a hornbow last a lifetime? just some things i've been pondering as of late.

Generally speaking, anything well made can last a lifetime and or beyond if taken care of.  Some historic Turkish bows found in museums have been strung up and reused for competitions in the past.  There is British footage dating back to the early 1900s or so of an Englishman doing just this for such an event (see below).  The Turkish bow had been housed in a British museum dormant for a long time and was well over 100 years old dating back to the 17th century.  Yet, it was still fully functional after all those years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgpuAz3HYQE

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  • Registered: 2020-11-20
  • Posts: 9

Re: question about bow material

incredible yikes , i love when really old things are still functional. makes me want a hornbow big_smile

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4 Reply by geoarcher (edited by geoarcher 2020-11-21 16:31:59)

  • Registered: 2012-06-12
  • Posts: 414
  • User Karma: 16

Re: question about bow material

A word about polyresin bows: they can break very easily if not made well.  Those Elong/Nikita mughal-mongol-crab-whatever bows at 30lbs did all the time.  I had 2 break on me.  Terrible company, terrible customer service. 

There are no guarantees with any of these material types.  If not made well from the beginning, you will likely have problems with any bow.

Final advice: find a manufacturer you like/can trust and stick with them.  Also, what you pay for is what you get.  Usually.

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