Bows

I have been building bows since 1998. Like most archers, I started out using compound bows, but I found traditional archery much more of a challenge. Since I am left-handed, I had difficulty finding bows that suited me, so I began to build bows. I started with fiberglass kits, and I made two or three very nice bows, but I felt that almost anything that I sandwiched between two pieces of fiberglass would shoot well. I wanted to experience the thrill of using actual trees and bamboo and animal sinew and horn to make bows the old fashioned way. I do use modern glues, strings and machines to make these bows, and many of them are perhaps too fancy for mere survival. Nonetheless, they are effective weapons that shoot fast. They are also quiet and easy to shoot. I hope you enjoy looking at them, and if you would like to know more about them, send me an email.

BUY DAN'S BOWS

Dan's bows can now be purchased through the site Primitive Pathways.

Click here to be taken to the Dan Spier collection.

Hickory Bow with Bloodwood Handle and Tips

November 8, 2012

I built this bow for a man who wanted an easy-shooting bow for his sister. I made the bow from a hickory board and decorated it with bloodwood handle and tips. As you can see, it is only an 18-pound pull at 24" inches, but it has a very fine cast for such a lightweight. I love the shape of this bow--a sort of teardrop profile. I have used this style on quite a few bows lately and I really love it. It is very easy to tiller and performs well.

Bamboo-backed Osage Bow

August 9, 2011

Bamboo-backed Osage Bow in a Reflex-deflex Design

This bow belongs to a young lady who recently won an archery tournament with it. She purchased it from me in the spring of 2011 and obviously learned to shoot it very well. I am especially proud of the checkerboard woodwork design on the handle and the tips. The woods are black walnut, bloodwood and maple on the handle and tips.