The tint of the bow may slightly differ from the color displayed on your monitor.
The draw weight of the given bow may differ about 3 to 5 # comparison to the ordered draw weight, in particular if the strength of the bow is high or if it is a composite bow.
The guarantee covers only the bows strung with original string enclosed by the producer.
1. Stringing the bow
Stringing in case of the recurve bows is a very sensitive point. There are many people who string these bows improperly. There are three things that have to be emphasized. ' During stringing the middle of the handle should lean up on the inside part of the thigh. ' Before bracing set the string in the middle of the siyahs. ' In case of very sensitive bows, such as the TRH Laminated Turkish or the Composite Turkish, improper stringing can change the rate of asymmetry in the bow. It is important to note that this asymmetry can and has to be set back. (see the photos under Usage menu or under the 13 point)
2. Defining the draw weight of the bow; the strength of the bow
We measure the poundage of all bows at 28", regardless of how much is the maximum draw length of the given bow. (except for the Children Old Scythian and the Children Scythian bows). It is obvious though if somebody pulls the bow longer than 28" it is going to be stronger. (The bow can be drawn only until the indicated maximum draw length). Usually we can set the strength of each bow between 25 and 120 pounds. Sometimes it can differ a few pounds compared to the ordered draw weight. Nowadays, people choose bows with about 40 pounds. The old Hungarian, Turkish etc. bows had the draw weight of 55-90 pounds. An average composite bow has got the draw weight of 65 lbs, but we have orders on 45 lbs and 90 lbs bows either.
3. TRH technology
The TRH technology refers to those special materials that are used for making the bow (it is built of 6 different layers). With these materials we can obtain similar features like the ones of composite bows. The bows made with TRH Lamination are smooth during drawing and fast during shooting. Moreover, since they have quite little handshock, they are accurate. They are more stable than bows made with simple lamination techniques.
4. Biocomposite laminated bows.
New technology.
Actually it combines the laminated, the TRH laminated, the TRH Extra II laminated bows.
And to some extent the extra III bows as well. The bows made by this technology consist of the following materials: the middle layers of wood, the inner layer of pressed horn, while the outer layer of pressed sinew plate. These two layers are glued to the wooden plate by modern glue and the glued layer gets a fibre strengthening. Due to these biocomposite materials, the modern technology and materials these bows are faster than the simple laminated bows. They are appreciably soft, have long draw length and without any resonance when drawing.
These bows give almost the same shooting experience than a hornbow and even their appearance is similar, although the biocomposite bows are flatter.
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5. The efficiency of the bow
The difference in quality between two bows is caused by the difference it their efficiency. So, if a bow is more efficient than another one (at the same draw weight) it means that it is faster and shoots farther than the less efficient bow. Concerning shooting distance, two bows can be compared only under the same circumstances. The string length of the two bows has to be nearly the same. The draw weight of the two bows has to be exactly the same. If you shoot with a 30" long arrows, the draw weight of the bows has to be measures at 30" and they have to have the same draw weight at that point. When shooting, hold the bow at about 40-43?, the weight of the arrows you shoot with have to be the same, and the same person should shoot with both bows.(the maximum shooting distance can vary between 150-300 meters depending on the draw weight of the bow (45-80 #). With a 90 - 120 lbs bow you can shoot over 300 meters with light arrows.). It is important to know that only some meters difference can be a result of a huge difference in efficiency. The situation is the same in case of measuring the speed. A few feet/sec difference is considered to be quite a big difference between the bows.
6. Laminated or solid fiberglass bows?
Many people call the solid fiberglass bows as resin bows, but this word is improper. Taking such a bow apart it may seem to be made of only one piece of plastic plate that is of resin strengthened with some fiberglass. Despite that our simplest children bows are made of different fiberous materials impregnated in some adhesive materials and knitted and pressed in a pattern. Therefore these bows are called solid fiberglass bows. In our technology resin is present only as a glue. (if we glue together wooden parts with resin, we won't call this thing a resin thing, but a wooden thing). Many people think that the laminated bows are better in every aspect than the solid fiberglass bow, but it is not true. We produce many different types of bows, with many technologies and these technologies are combined with each other. The most reliable bows can be produced in the base type. (it is not by chance that the limbs of the frequently used compound bows are made of solid fiberglass technology). If we consider the price-feasibility ratio, the base type bows such as the Old Scythian, Hungarian of the Middle Ages or the Hungarian base C etc are remarkable. Among lamination technologies the TRH lamination seems to be the best, but the simple laminated bows produced nowadays are very good as well. (e.g. Laminated Hungarian B or Laminated Assyrian which is one of our fastest bows).
7. Longbow or recurve bow?
Todays' Longbows and Recurve bows can be divided into 3-3 different groups. A, Longbows
1 / L ' Wooden Longbow (classical, straight)
2 / L ' Laminated Longbows (wood-fiberglassplates lamination , straight)
3 / L ' Sport Longbows (wood - fiberglassplates lamination, reflex-deflex shape, window, pistol handle)
1 / L
2 / L
3 / L
B, Recurve Bows
1 / R ' horn-sinew recurve bows (composite bows)
2 / R ' Fiberglass bows ( wood - fiberglass layering)
3 / R ' Sport recurve bows (wood - fiberglass layering, window, pistol handle)
1 / R
2 / R
3 / R
If we compare a longbow and a recurve bow (1 / L ' 1 / R) both made of classic materials and shapes, the recurve bow will surpass the longbow considering physical and other features. A Turkish bow made of natural materials and a Turkish bow made with fiberglass lamination have a very slight difference in speed. However, a Longbow made of wood and a recurve-decurve Longbow made with fiberglass lamination may have any extremely big difference in quality favouring the latter. Nowadays there are many longbows that are closer to recurve bows than longbows considering shape (3 /L). Besides these, nowadays longbows are made with composite technique that is fiberglass plates and wood are laminated onto each other. In this case there isn't so much difference between a longbow and a recurve bow, but it is true that the recurve bows have better efficiency than the longbows. Though, it is very important that a sport longbow (3 / L) cannot be compared to a fiberglass recurve bow (2 / R), but only to the sport recurve bow (3 / R). So, it is also true that a Hungarian base bow can be compared to a fiberglass longbow if the latter doesn't have a window. But the Hungarian base bow cannot be referred to as a hunting recurve bow because it doesn't have either a window or a pistol handle.
8. 'About horsebows'
Many people think that the Eastern recurve bows can only be used on horseback, and improperly call them horsebows. We can shoot from horseback, from the top of a house or an omnibus with any of the bows produced all over the world. With any of the traditional recurve bows we can shoot from anywhere we like. So, for example, if you want to shoot with a Hunnish bow you don't have to put a horse between your legs. Traditional horsebows weren't made in this way because of the horses. The sizes of the available materials (horn -wood - sinew) that were used for making bows defined the sizes of the bows. Some people think that if they use a recurve bow on horseback they need a weaker one than for field archery, but in my opinion it is not true. There is an optimal strength for everybody independent of all the circumstances.
9. Rigid siyahs
Among traditional recurve bows there are longer ones like the Hunnish or Hungarian and there are shorter ones like the Turkish. Actually, the two types of bows are the same in their basic proportions. The differences are the result of the difference in the sizes of the used horn materials. Because of that, the structure of the bows had to be changed. In the Turkish and Scythian bows the horn material was all along the bows and the rigid tips were formed out og the bending limbs. (2/3). In case of the Hunnish or Avar bows the horn is only on the limbs of the bow. The handle and the tips had to be strengthened with bone or hornplates. Because these bows are strengthened they had to be made larger to obtain the same drawlength. So the siyah of a Hungarian type bow is not much longer than that of a Turkish type bow, because to the siyah of the Turkish bow we have to add the part of the limb which bends in a negative way.
10. 'C'- shape or bent forward arms
Briefly speaking I can say that with relatively soft materials like horn and sinew, the C-shape works better, but with stiffer materials such as the fiberglass, carbon, the bent forward arms are much better in case of a traditional recurve bow. There were bent forward arms bows among the old horn bows as well, where the handle angle was quite big, for example in the Avar, Hunnish types.
11. 'Competition bow' or 'hobby-bow' that is 'speed' or 'faithfulness'
In my opinion it is important that besides speed we should pay as much attention to faithfulness in case of traditional bows. Nowadays some of the recurve bows and longbows are made in 'sport finish' not only in a faithful finish. Faithfulness can be divided into two components as well. In one hand, either the longbow or for example a Turkish bow can be faithful both in shape and material. On the other hand, they can be partly faithful that is being faithful in shape but in their structure they contain modern materials. It is important to note here that since more and more people participate in competitions with traditional bows, speed and shooting accuracy are starting to be requirements in case of traditional bows as well. These requirements influence the production and development of traditional bows in a healthy way until a certain level, but over this level it has a negative influence and contorts the production. If someone decides to do archery, he has to esteem the traditions as well. I think it is important that traditional bows preserve at least the form features. My personal opinion is that it is just as important that a bow is similar to its thousand years old ancestors as its speed.
12. Waiting time
Most of the time we can't serve the customers immediately from stock. There are two main reasons for this. One of them is that we make many different types of bows in different colours and draw weights which gives a huge variety. Because of that even several hundred bows wouldn't be enough for somebody to choose the perfect bow for himself. The other thing is that we prefer quality to quantity, though we try to raise quantity continuously as well. Assuring quality needs a lot of experimenting and of course it takes a lot of time. There's one thing that customers must respect: if they want to buy products of high quality, which are mostly hand-made they have to take the waiting time into consideration. So, one must wait for the ordered bow for at least two months, or sometimes even more and that is not at all a long time. Despite this, we usually have some bows in stock and most of the customers can find the appropriate one for themselves. (especially if they are open for a little compromise concerning colours).
13. Sizing the bow
If somebody makes bows of original materials (horn- wood-sinew) the sizes of the materials determines the possible sizes of the bow. The sizes of the bows should be calculated to be proportionate to the human sizes, so the maximum draw length should be at least 28-30". The traditional-shaped but modern-material bows made by me were designed in a way that we took the sizes of original bows into consideration. I mean the Scythian, Hunnish, Avar etc bows. Since the average height of people today is higher than a thousand years ago we measured the bows accordingly. Here the keyword is 'proportionality', because in many cases if we enlarge the sizes of the bow we have to enlarge the handle-angle as well. Another important note in that issue is that the bows are as much larger as the people today. Despite this, because the individual styles of archery can differ we designed bows with longer draw length within almost all the types. ( e.g. we have a Hungarian base bow which has a 33-34" max draw length).
14. Composite bows
The expressions 'composite' or 'extra III' mean that the bow is made in the same way as they were made thousands of years ago that is of horn-wood-sinew. The primitive Eastern recurve bows like the Hungarian, Hunnish, Avar, Turkish etc were not made only of wood, but of much more flexible and durable materials than wood and these were horn and sinew. Only the cores of the bows were of wood. In ancient times these bows were simply called hornbows. I have been occupied in this technology the most. My first hornbow was ready 19 years ago. Since that time I have been experimenting these bows nearly every day, I've spent a lot of time on them and they have gone through a lot of development. The composite bows produced during the last few years can compete with the modern material bows (but they are not more sensitive than the Olympic bows). Though these bows are extremely sensitive to stringing. It is worth stringing them in a crouched position with the help of another person.
(see the photo below)
if the bow becomes assymetrical for any reason, it has to be set into the right axis when strung by tilting it to the other direction and pulling it backwards as you can see in the pictures.
All in all, we can say that this technology is the best for making Hunnish, Hungarian, Turkish etc bows. These bows are more stable, don't twist, and have less hand shock than the same types made of modern materials. In case of composite bows, we get to the total C-shape after putting on the sinew layers. When we put the horn plates on the wooden core it is not much C-shaped. The result of that is when we unstring the bow after a longer use the bow sags a little, but in fact this is its original shape. About an hour after the bow regains its original shape.
15. Features of the different types of bows
It is a very difficult task to make a difference among the bows made by me because all of them are traditional bows and for them the most important thing is faithfulness. That's why it's also difficult when a customer wants me to recommend bows for him/her. Despite that, I try to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of some bows. The most popular bows are the base Hungarian models. Since the end of 2004 we have been producing them with different techniques and of different materials. As a result they have longer draw length and they have become softer and a little faster. They can be drawn until 31-33" without becoming hard. They are produced in different sizes, so the required draw length should be indicated in case of order. Among the Hungarian bows the TRH Hungarian is more and more popular. This is a fast, stable and smooth bow. Moreover, it has no hand shock, therefore it is accurate. The Hungarian of the Middle Ages works quite well and in a unique way. Besides it has a spectacular appearance. It is one of the fastest base bows on the market. Approximately, it is as fast as a laminated bow, has no hand shock and it can be smoothly drawn until 32-34". This bow wasn't made according to faithful findings. The Hungarian bow base C is a very fast, smooth bow which is as stable as our Hungarian base A , but its speed competes with that of a laminated bow.
The base Hungarian bow has a decorated A, B, C model as well. These bows work like the base bows with longer drawlength. Besides there is a more refined version of the base Hungarian bows which was designed on the core of the Mongol bow. We make Hungarian bows with simple lamination technique as well. The Laminated Hungarian bow has a shorter and a longer draw length version. They are light, accurate bows. The longer draw length version is very smooth.
The Hunnish bows are all assymetrical without exception. Because of the assymetry they have less hand shock than the Hungarians and they are also a little faster.
The Assyrian bows are quite stable and fast during shooting thanks to their shape. It is nice to shoot with them. The most spectacular bow among the Assyrian bows is the Laminated Assyrian. It is one of the fastest and smoothest bows we have. It can be drawn until 33" easily. The Avar bows have an interesting appearance and they are faithful, but they have quite small draw length (max 28-29"). Some models have quite big hand shock if we use light arrows with them.
Among the Scythian bows the Old Scythian is the most popular. Both adults and children can use them. Many people make bows with this shape but ours is definitely a good-working bow in any aspect. So, it is not by chance a popular bow. This bow has a model for only children as well. The Adult Scythian bow is rather a mixture of an Avar and a Scythian bow. When strung it is also similar to a smaller Hungarian bow. The models that we produced since the beginning of 2005 have a longer draw length. This bow also has a model for children. A lot of people think that the Mongol bows are the best because they have string bridges but in fact they are not at all the fastest bows. Among the extra III (composite) bows the Mongol is the slowest, it is even slower that the Hungarian. In base type made of fiberglass the Mongol is faster than the Hungarian. Its draw length is about 32". It also has a laminated version which is called Traditional Hunting recurve bow. This is a fast, smooth and accurate bow.
The Hunting recurve is made with a new design. They are very attractive and decorative. The price is very good for such a quality. The Longbows are produced in many shapes laminated of different especially beautiful wood materials. The price is also very good for such a quality. Concerning speed we have to highlight the Sport Longbow II among the Longbows. It is a very fast bow.
We make all the Turkish-type bows in a rather C-shape except for the Crimean-tartar bow. Usually the Turkish bows are quite small in size. Despite this they have long draw length, at least 30-32". The TRH Turkish can be drawn until 34". Compared to their shape they are the most efficient bows. It has small handshock, so they are not only fast but accurate as well. It is one of the fastest bows in the market among laminated traditional recurve bows. The shape is designed in a way that compared to its size the string doesn't have too less angle when drawn. Despite this one has to get used to its small size. During three-finger shot the index finger is only slightly bent, but it is best for thumb shots.
16. Optimal drawlength
For a person with average height (180 cm) the possible optimal drawlength is 28-30".
16. Rate of failure
According to many years' statistics of the produced number of bows there are only a few false pieces. During the last few years the quality has developed a lot, therefore the failure rate is well under 1 %. Despite this, it sometimes happens that there is a failure in a bow, but I think it is impossible to produce something without any mistakes. We are experimenting with the bows continuously and if there is a little mistake we try to solve it as soon as possible.
18. The bowyer's opinion of the different types of bows
We make many different types of bows. Personally I like all the types. If I have to choose one I say that the horn - wood - sinew bows are the top of bowmaking.