Making Super Efficient FAST Longbows - Traditional Archery Making a Bow 

This was fascinating and makes you think. Work smarter, not harder... if you can produce faster speeds with less mechanical effort, why wouldn’t you? Can this be taken further?

Looks like a modern version of a 5000 year old mollegabet. beautiful!

Deflex from handle improves angles when combined to outer reflex. This is why for the same overall amount of reflex a rd bow is a little faster than a one only reflexed. Deflex together with a more aggressive reflex beats moderate reflex (with no deflex from handle; same overall reflex) just because there is a gain on the late draw, whereas the loss in the early draw is close to nothing. But for the same overall reflex I think the rd bow will win with only about 2% higher speed. On the other hand, of course that if you remove deflex from handle and keep the outer reflex you will get a little more speed. Just because overall reflex is significantly higher, so the advantage on early draw tends to beat the disadvantage on late draw. But just removing the deflex from handle makes a bow that is not anymore comparable to the previous. Because of materials fatique and ease of bracing I do think we should think in terms of same overall degree of reflex. Of course, rd works very well together with stiff, narrow outers (for the same overall degree of reflex, maybe even better compared to a simple reflexed bow).

I’m very happy to be a part of your adventure let me know if I can help you in the future the guy at Mead bows is a nice guy I love his bamboo bows

This is the problem I've been working on for about a year now in my PVC bows. Why are some of my light draw bows so much faster than the heavy ones. I'm in my seventies, too, and I love shooting my light weight bows. This, indeed, addresses my current interests. It's encouraging to see this.

Mind-blowing. There are similar eccentricities to bodysurfing hand plane building. The fact most people don't care about weird ways to go faster rings a bell. I wonder how much faster that arrow would go if you stole ideas from the makers of supercavitating sub-surface rifle rounds? Apparently, an extension of sub-caliber diameter with a flight medium breaking tip can be tuned to turn the slipstream off the extension into a diameter just over the OD of whatever object is flying behind it. Kinda like some expanding broadheads, but with the plunger tuned in a wind tunnel. And also, I've never seen an arrow with surface stippling or other drag reducing efforts, like Tom Morey's "Swizzle" boards. Hope that trips you out Opa, your proof of design over draw weight is highly motivating.

Bow limbs can only return so fast . Asian archers figured out long long ago that shorter limbs were faster but could not transfer that energy to the arrow due to a very shallow string angle so they made short fast and very strong limbs and put ears called siyhas at the end of the bow limbs. Those limbs however can only return so fast so draw weight has little effect on arrow velocity however a heavier draw weight does allow you to cast a heavier arrow one which carries enough momentum to penetrate armor and bone .

For a senior guy with a full head of white hair(wisdom), you don't get any cooler than this. Opa is one cool dude for his age. I absolutely love watching him release those arrows. It's so clear amd crisp. Doesn't Opa have a channel where he does archery?

This is great. Something to think about it 👍

What a cool guy! Super interesting topic. Will defenetly check out the book, thanks for sharing!

Pure genius!

Awesome video! its all about efficiency of design

Dave I see opa bows got inspiration from your bow design. And they are fast! Great video as always

Very interesting next step more efficient arrows !

Beatiful bow

I like your dedication.

Hallelujah!!!! man after my own heart..Been trying to convey this message for years,that draw weight alone,is not the final answer..

Great video!

Amazing work

Woah. I got goosebumps watching this video.

Lovely bow♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

Yes I want your book

This is some Grade A marketing

I don’t know if anyone else has said this, but these bow designs remind me of the holmgard (hope I’m spelling that right) style of bows, but with reflex added. Really awesome bows!

Holy moly. Look at that arrow leave that bow. Wowzer. I love it. You guys are onto something. It makes sense. I also thought about this before. But I just let it go.

Please post more information from Opa on how to make those bows.

This was interesting. Been making longbows for a while and recently started making asiatic bows with siyhas and was thinking about a longbow with integral siyha just yesterday and your video pops up. Nothing new under the sun as the big book says

nice bow i like the way how the bow recurve i wish have one of your bow sir, i only make bamboo bow but not quite good enough

Hey Dave does ur “DIY bamboo bow kit already tillered” require a backing / come with backing

Ah! When Eastern meets Western bowmaking, some incredible things happen...

Beautiful bows❤, if I have to hunt i would definately use my 50pounder recurve with a 500gr arrow setup, but I also have a 70pounder for horses and such😂

Great video Dave. Excellent explanation of the "physics" of bow design.

Seu arco e muito rápido muito bom

Super Super interesting. I've got some osage begging to be turned into a bow, but I decided to hold off the moment I discovered Mead Bows, and now this, to do more research on design.

Here - I’m interested in same thing,, I am not a hunter and never would bow hunt, I like roving and general shooting , and had a shoulder injury which no means I can’t pull anything over 50 ever again - but let me say something, just the shape, just the pure shape and form of this bow tells me it is extremely efficient and probably tillered to within an inch of its life. If ever there was a case of form displaying function this is it, look at the bend distribution of those limbs, string angle and cast. Very interesting, I’m making a little maple sinew bow and while it is deflex/reflex at 40” long, I have enough sinew and wood left that I can now streamline it to get that shape and form I’m looking for, and have it where I can shoot it without huge physical strain. Dan

You guys have my full attention..I cant seem to determine though,,Are these bows F/G Laminate bows or Natural material,,or both???

Wow I'm watching and analyzing this video over and over and I'm intrigued. Imagine a khatra is added when releasing that arrow. That arrow will be thrown even faster. This is great work. I'm gonna try this design by doing a cheap build and see how well it does. The design makes sense for speed. That's why rhe Turkish bows are the best in the world because of how much it's recurved. Also I think the deflex is just to make the bow a bit forgiving. I think that's the only function it serves.

Was in the final stages of making a bow with a piece of honey locust. Had the thing just about where I wanted it. Was steaming out a slight twist and got side tracked. Ran out of steam and totally dried the thing out. Sad day for me. Haven't had the opportunity to try my hand at it since.

Well this was quite fascinating. I wonder what it is about these bows as apposed to a normal bow that makes them faster. May have to check that book out. Now imagine adding an Instant legolas to this bow.... xD

Adding deflex in the handle allows sinew backed and even selfbows to remain strung for a longer time without taking set. Also puts the limbs in a forward facing position making the bow more efficient. Gullwing bows of the Northern plains are the perfect example. They're much more efficient than any longbow. A good longbow will be able to shoot 172 fps at 28" with 10 gpp a gullwing bow can do that only drawn to 22"

nice drastic reflex/deflex..yup sold all my 50 and 55 pounds. now i shoot 30-35 and 40 0n a good day.excellent idea with lighter weight fast bows. about time..TU

Does arrow pass with have anything to do with arrow speed? Would a fat arrow pass slow down the arrow a tiny bit

This is the video I've been looking for. The whole more power equals more speed never made sense to me.

Amazing! This is exactly what I've been thinking about. If you can get a fast arrow off the string, why make it harder to draw? Can't wait to start working on my own designs, thanks so much for the inspiration. One idea of how it's more efficient, could be that the ends of the stave being inflexible, mean the energy is being generated almost entirely by the near-handle part of the limbs. Making it more like a very short bow just with some 'extenders' that make the draw length reasonable. This makes the inertia and the distance to return to unbent lower, thus raising the efficiency? Perhaps.

It would be great to get these speeds out of a light weight selfbow.

Hello dudes excellent video, and it's something I'm very interested in, i think those widened or thickened tips act like a weight foward hammer or an ancient Greek kopis sword or kukri. giving it more weight in it's power stroke. where can i purchase your books?

I want one of those bows maybe 2 how can I get them ?????

This was super interesting! I tried to find "Mr. Opa", but couldn't find him anywhere. Is he still around? Thanks!

I've been wanting to buy one of his bows for two years now. For the longest time there weren't any available on his website, and now his website is down every time I try to visit it. Any help on how and where to buy an Opa Speed Bow?

Just cant believe it

When will you have more available?

The website doesn't seem to work. It sends me to Amazon and not to an Opa bow. I would love to learn more.

As an over 60 guy with a heart condition this is an interesting topic.

How can i buy your bow..?

OK 👍

How much the price?

I just finished my first successful bow, it is over 50# and I noticed right away it shoots a bit slower than my 40# modern recurve

The perfect example that less is more 👍🏻. Can this bows shoot heavy arrows?

Bow efficiency can be measured in a mathematical way, you can provide a force-draw length curve for your bow and arrow weight+speed, then the efficiency can readily be calculated. Something like this www.atarn.org/islamic/Performance/Performance_of_Turkish_bows.htm.

You should try making some efficient heavy bows. Many of the heavy traditional bows are terribly inefficient, these days.

I get the idea behind all of this but local state laws require a minimum pull weight for large game (I think 40lbs) so I'm still stuck looking at that for hunting.

Hello Opa, Loved to see your video about your bows. I'm interested in your kind of view so I hope I can enjoy your skills much more. Btw, Where are you from originally ?? I heard they call a grand dad Opa in the Netherlands ?? Is that correct ?

1:34 imma guess aerodynamic tips?

i thought "Opa passed away

👍

I want one, but can’t help but see similarities in ancient asian bows

What is the Deflex for????....Longer draw,in a shorter bow without over taxing the limbs..

I'll help him.

what i want to know is if nobody looked at the captions after they typed them and saw that when you typw white text on white background it becomes a bit difficult to read.

What are his bows made of it? It kind of looks like a self bow inlayed with fiberglass. Thin tips and relfex make a fast shooting bow but I also think recurve bows with short static recurves do as well. But I am not sure which outperforms the other.

I want a bow

my best advice from shooting bows from 1954 to today is,,, for each arrow you shoot,, pull your bow with the other arm,,, trust me,,, it will keep your back balanced and you will last longer with more power for the later years,,, ole fart jimmy

Oh man. I got some ideas. The typical bow has a draw length of 30 inch. To max speed and efficiency you would also need to extend the draw length. I thought of two ways to do this. Either a bow shot by feet ( which the world record of longest target shot was done) or by a rail or tube around the string and arrow that extends beyond 30 inches. Similar to crossbow. But cross bows usually only have 13 inch power stroke. Take that to its extreme.

All Sold Out?

This is fascinating, I love how you’re incorporating science into this. Perhaps speaking to a physicist would help you to build on your findings - if you already haven’t. Great video! Keep it up.

You can tell a lot about a bow when you hear how it sounds. I too have not found a partner in crime yet. I'm from Idaho and used woods from Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho.

What happened to this guy I emailed him during the few years everything got shook no reply. Now the speedbow site isn’t operational . Does opa still make bows is he still kicking ? How do find out more ?

يا حبيبي محمد عليه الصلاة والسلام باقي حي ينصف في جهدي الإيجابي هذا ؟؟؟

How do I order a bow from u I have recurve bow 5o pounds two types I seen your video just now the long bow i live in Winnipeg Manitoba my name is Adolf

Me das un arcos 5 señor

I'm interested in increasing efficiency of bows as well but one of the main reasons why it's become a rule of thumb that a heavier draw weight bow increases arrow speed, all other things being equal, is that the materials themselves are able to overcome their inertia much better at heavier draw weights. A 50# bow can overcome it's own inertia much better than a 20# bow as one example. A heavier bow is also a more stable bow.

love shooting my bow nothing like it would love a bow like yours it looks super, unfortunately, have to wait a couple of more years for my pension to get a new bow that is a great bow been disabled I can shoot pretty good and I am on a real low benefit as my disability status was revoked now I don't get anything my wife treats me but i can't afford to take anything from her we just about have enough for the basics to live on lost it because the government needed money for immigrants that they brought in so they created a system to rob the disabled in the UK they turned us into criminals for claiming our benefits said we were not disabled enough it has been seven years since I had anything just have TWO YEARS before I can have a new car and a new bow looking forward to it i do have a couple of half-decent bows so I am ok did like what i saw from you would love to get a stalker stick bow as well have a good life bye

in short siyahs...

I’m. curious as to why you don’t compare apples to apples ... ie, same weight bows, length bows, same weight arrows, and use a shooting machine? Take the human factor out of the equation as much as possible... some guys are really good at shooting for a chronograph... don’t leave room for doubt...

Nice video but you didn't actually show us more in depth technical information how to actually make one .

The composite bows of Middle East and Asia are the most advance machine of ancient times. English long bow are just as powerful; but, it’s “just a stick” while composite bow ended went a strange and interesting evolution. The results is a lamination of wood, sinew, horn and collagen glue. A reflex-deflex evolved of various aggressiveness were tested. A siyah of varying aggressiveness were tested The siyah help reduce stacking, efficiently converting more muscle into speed and power. Stacking waste energy....short bows with straight limbs are less efficient, which resulted in LONG bows. Reflex Deflex limbs is the only evolutionary path to make bows more efficient, specially shorter bows. If I may, you’re looking in the wrong social circles if you’re trying to research reflex deflex. You need to get into Asian archery. I know people who eat and sleep bows and especially Asian bows. Maybe it’s why all modern Olympic bows have the a profile of Asian bows. Good luck 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Old man: "What deos a deflects do for a bow?" Me: many things, the first one is to make it look nice!