Best way to thicken/pad string?
Howdy folks.
Am working on my draw and preparing to start re-training up for a heavier bow, but am having a minor issue -- one of my hobbies (traditional leather stuff) involves hot-stuffing hides, and softens my hands like a baby's. The OTHER one involves shooting with a hungarian/sassanid 2-finger draw. Fingers hurt like hell, and I distinctly remember how the heavier bow I've got (around 80) used to literally rip the skin off my fingers.
I've read that string thickening was used by Ottomans while the students were learning their draw, but don't know how it was done, and would rather do that than use a shooting glove (or change to thumbring, though I suppose that would be an option).
How was it done, or how would you recommend doing it?
Am working on my draw and preparing to start re-training up for a heavier bow, but am having a minor issue -- one of my hobbies (traditional leather stuff) involves hot-stuffing hides, and softens my hands like a baby's. The OTHER one involves shooting with a hungarian/sassanid 2-finger draw. Fingers hurt like hell, and I distinctly remember how the heavier bow I've got (around 80) used to literally rip the skin off my fingers.
I've read that string thickening was used by Ottomans while the students were learning their draw, but don't know how it was done, and would rather do that than use a shooting glove (or change to thumbring, though I suppose that would be an option).
How was it done, or how would you recommend doing it?
The Ottomans used a thickened string on the practice bow, kepade, but not for shooting. It was for practising the draw.
I have hands so soft that opening a beer bottle is a trial, but using thumb ring with a kulak that is not too tight fixes that problem. With the Sasanian release, I suggest a thicker tab for the middle fingers. You could carry it around the fingers and sew it up the back to fully enclose them. This would protect the sides of the fingers. It would be like having two fingers in a wide finger for a glove.
Some modern archers do thicken the centre of the string for ease of use or thread on those rubber tubes sold for children in archery shops. Both work at the cost of arrow velocity.
I have hands so soft that opening a beer bottle is a trial, but using thumb ring with a kulak that is not too tight fixes that problem. With the Sasanian release, I suggest a thicker tab for the middle fingers. You could carry it around the fingers and sew it up the back to fully enclose them. This would protect the sides of the fingers. It would be like having two fingers in a wide finger for a glove.
Some modern archers do thicken the centre of the string for ease of use or thread on those rubber tubes sold for children in archery shops. Both work at the cost of arrow velocity.
Thanks, Bede.
Never used a shooting tab before, but I *do* have the luxury of point-softening my leather -- how soft should these be? I can make a my leather anywhere from near-rawhide to butter, but don't know which to use.
Never used a shooting tab before, but I *do* have the luxury of point-softening my leather -- how soft should these be? I can make a my leather anywhere from near-rawhide to butter, but don't know which to use.
Wound up making a "finger ring," as opposed to a thumbring, for the job out of paper and glue. A bit counter-intuitive (okay, more than a bit), but it does the job without forcing much distortion of the technique like a tab would. Though shooting this way, I consistently find myself wanting to do a full, long, manchu-like draw to the shoulder (except for the fact that my bows would explode). I suspect that not having the string biting so hard makes the very long draw more attractive.
As a side note, if anybody's familiar with people using a finger ring (Ask Mr. Google didn't help me), or shooting with a long draw like that, would love to learn more. It's in bounds for what I'm doing trying to work Cuman stuff, since it's shown on one of the St. Ladislas frescoes from Karacsonyfalu.
Russ,
I am not quite sure what your finger ring looks like. Could you post a photo?
It would be good to have a picture of you at full draw using it. The Sasanian draw was used to the right shoulder so it was as long as the Manchu draw. The Kumans probably used a two-finger draw like some of the English (a Flemish release) until the Mongol invasions when they may have changed to thumb rings.
I am not quite sure what your finger ring looks like. Could you post a photo?
It would be good to have a picture of you at full draw using it. The Sasanian draw was used to the right shoulder so it was as long as the Manchu draw. The Kumans probably used a two-finger draw like some of the English (a Flemish release) until the Mongol invasions when they may have changed to thumb rings.
It's just literally a 1/2" strip of paper looped around so that it sits on my finger comfortably -- my house is a wreck right now and I don't want to dig out the leather to make a ring that way. It's deformed quite a bit and shows the string mark just like a soft leather ring would.
Thanks for that info on the Sassanian draw - I wasn't aware of it and have always been more comfortable that way, but hadn't been aware that it was really "legit" for my purposes. Though I guess what I was taught in Hungary you'd call Flemish rather than Sassanian (more or less a question of "how hard is it to pull the bow" for how many fingers get used). Regarding the Cumans, I agree that it would have been a mix (just like with Hungarians in general: you've got a big ethnic mix just among the ethnic "germans," before you get into Pechenegs, Iasz, Szekely, and Cumans).
In theory I've got this album set to public access. This is from Karacsonyfalu, Transylvania (Romania). The fresco is unrestored in my photos, made, unfortunately, with a VERY out-of-date camera.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos?tab= ... 8663847969
In this fresco you have Cumans depicted, some of whom are shooting using different methods. One guy has a pretty short draw and two arrows in his string hand: that could be either method, but the angle of the arrows sticking up argues for a thumb draw. Another guy is ambiguous in terms of string-holding, but in two different places he's shown with his string hand back by his right shoulder. Both people are distinct within the frescos.
Will see if long-suffering wife will take a pic tonight or tomorrow so I can show what I'm doing. Thanks: as the saying goes, self-taught man has a fool for a teacher, and I use as much help as I can get.
Thanks for that info on the Sassanian draw - I wasn't aware of it and have always been more comfortable that way, but hadn't been aware that it was really "legit" for my purposes. Though I guess what I was taught in Hungary you'd call Flemish rather than Sassanian (more or less a question of "how hard is it to pull the bow" for how many fingers get used). Regarding the Cumans, I agree that it would have been a mix (just like with Hungarians in general: you've got a big ethnic mix just among the ethnic "germans," before you get into Pechenegs, Iasz, Szekely, and Cumans).
In theory I've got this album set to public access. This is from Karacsonyfalu, Transylvania (Romania). The fresco is unrestored in my photos, made, unfortunately, with a VERY out-of-date camera.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos?tab= ... 8663847969
In this fresco you have Cumans depicted, some of whom are shooting using different methods. One guy has a pretty short draw and two arrows in his string hand: that could be either method, but the angle of the arrows sticking up argues for a thumb draw. Another guy is ambiguous in terms of string-holding, but in two different places he's shown with his string hand back by his right shoulder. Both people are distinct within the frescos.
Will see if long-suffering wife will take a pic tonight or tomorrow so I can show what I'm doing. Thanks: as the saying goes, self-taught man has a fool for a teacher, and I use as much help as I can get.
The painting is interesting. Judging from the equipment it was done long after the Mongol invasion. The archer with the two extra arrows seems to be using a thumb draw, though whether he is at full draw is obscured by the missing part of the fresco. The fact that some arrows are on the left of the bow is not necessarily indicative of a finger release. Artists in Western Europe in the medieval period often had arrows depicted on the wrong side of the bow. It was usually a choice to show the whole arrow instead of having part of it obscured by the bow handle.
The closed quivers and their construction are well observed and look like the style of the late 1300s in other Mongol influenced areas.
The closed quivers and their construction are well observed and look like the style of the late 1300s in other Mongol influenced areas.
A bit counter-intuitive (okay, more than a bit), but it does the job without forcing much distortion of the technique like a tab would. Though shooting this way, I consistently find myself wanting to do a full, long, manchu-like draw to the shoulder (except for the fact that my bows would explode). I suspect that not having the string biting so hard makes the very long draw more attractive.
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