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Traditional Archery | Historical Bows, Longbows, and Natural Accessories

Traditional Bows Buying Guide: Recurve Bows, Longbows, and Asian Bows

Traditional archery is distinguished from modern archery because it reproduces bows, arrows, equipment, and techniques that have been passed down through history, from primitive archery to medieval and oriental archery. Typically, one-piece wooden bows or bows made of a riser and limbs are used. The arrows are made of wood with natural fletching, and accessories such as quivers, finger tabs, and arm guards are made from leather and other natural materials.

Traditional Bows, Longbows, and Asian Bows

Within traditional archery, we find longbows, Asian bows, monoblock bows, horse bows, and some more modern types such as traditional ILF or takedown bows.
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Traditional Wooden Arrows with Natural Feathers

The arrows and arrow parts used in traditional archery are usually wooden shafts and natural feathers of various lengths (in inches) and profiles (parabolic and shield). It is important that in traditional bows, without arrow rests, we use natural feathers since, during the shot, these fold when passing through the bow window and do not deflect the arrow.

As for the nocks, they are usually made of plastic, and the points for the shafts are made of metal.


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Traditional Archery Accessories

The usual accessories for traditional archery are the waist or sword quiver, finger tabs or gloves, and other accessories such as arm guards, mat-type arrow rests, bow stringers, and limb tip protectors. All of these accessories should be made with natural materials such as leather or fabric.
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Traditional Quivers made of Leather or Hide

Waist and back quivers made of leather or hide, specially designed for traditional archery or historical reenactments.
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Strings for Traditional Bows

The strings commonly used in traditional archery are Flemish strings, which originate from medieval archery and were made from natural materials such as horsehair, hemp, or, in more refined cases, silk. Nowadays, they are synthetic strings but retain the traditional braided design that characterizes them. Non-braided strings can also be found.

For low-power bows and those without tip protectors on the limb ends, high-performance strings are not recommended, as they could damage or break the bow. In these cases, always use a string made of Dacron material.
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Leather or Hide Gloves and Finger Tabs

The gloves and finger tabs used in traditional archery are usually made of leather or hide and are necessary for practicing archery more safely. With the finger tab, we can feel the string and release it without injuring our fingers. The gloves are very important because, typically, traditional bows without a window or without an arrow rest (the part of the bow where the arrow rests) require the arrow to be supported by the hand, and to prevent accidents, a glove is used.


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Leather Arm Guard

The traditional arm guard is a common archery protector made of leather or hide to protect the forearm from potential abrasions or impacts that may occur during the release of the string. The position of the arm can cause the string to rub and even strike the arm. To prevent injury to the arm, an arm guard is used for practicing traditional archery.
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Traditional Arrow Rest (Mats)

The arrow rests for traditional bows are of the mat type and are attached to the bow’s window where the arrow rests. The traditional mat or arrow rest is typically made of natural materials such as leather, hide, or even fur-covered hide.
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Bow Stringer

To assemble the bow or string the bow, a bow stringer is typically used. In traditional archery, we find bow stringers made of leather or hide and string, which, when attached from tip to tip, allow us to curve the limbs and string the bow.



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