Wood Options

Bamboo – We use vertically laminated tempered bamboo as the standard main core wood in all of our bows for numerous reasons. The vertical lamination process eliminates any torque or twist within the laminations themselves. Higher than any other wood, bamboo has a high strength to weight ratio. A light-weight limb material paired with the natural qualities of bamboo to absorb vibration, combine to reduce hand shock.

Blood wood – Blood wood is an extremely straight grained, fine dense wood that finishes to a deep rose color with an occasional yellow streak in the more dramatic pieces. High bending and crushing strength. Medium stiffness and resistance to shock.

Bocote – Its overall color is a light golden-brown paired with rich, dark, brownish-black patterns of grain highlights itself to blend into various natural habitats. The machine ability, moderate density, and finishing characteristics of Bocote make it one of our favorite choices for both handle and veneers.

Cocobolo – A Central American wood that finds favor with many of our customers. The overall color of Cocobolo varies from an orange-red to burgundy wine with deep purple to black streaks of grain. It lends itself well to incorporate various bow and handle designs. We limit the use of Cocobolo to only handles as its darker color and oily characteristics don’t lend itself well to veneer use.

Black Ebony wood – Ebony wood, valued from ancient times, is hard and dark. The various forms of Ebony can vary from a pure black to a dark chocolate brown with dramatic black or slightly grey and beige streaks. Due to very limited quantities and the amount of work that goes into using this wood, we must charge slightly higher to use it in our products.

Elm wood – Red elm has a greyish-white to light brown narrow sapwood, with heartwood that is reddish brown to dark brown in color. The grain can be straight, but is often interlocked. Elm is moderately heavy, hard and stiff with excellent bending and shock resistance. We often use a stain to bring out its brilliant features and is the standard choice for a wood core.

Fiddle back Maple – Plain maple is rather blond and lacks figure, but by selecting types like maple (like Curly, Bird’s-eye and Fiddle Back) and incorporating various degrees of stain, we can highlight the woods features. Having excellent resistance to abrasion, indentation and shock Maple makes a beautiful choice for veneer or handle use.

Montana Juniper – One of the most beautiful woods; reddish brown hues sprinkled with tannish blond patches and the occasional knots gives way to character. Ishi, the last of the Yahi tribe and one of the last wild Indians in North America, spawned Saxton Pope’s and Art Young’s interest in bowhunting, used Juniper in his favorite sinew-backed bows.  We also harvest the Juniper ourselves right here in Montana!

Myrtle – As a Native American wood we use, it only grows in the Pacific Northwest along the coast and the holy land. Color ranges from a yellowish-tan to a brownish-black with varying degrees between. We try to obtain pieces that are curled and or flamed to further enhance the grain figures. Myrtle is very light in weight and can be used in handles as well as veneers.
Osage – A native wood of North America and regal by several Native American tribes, Osage is the best wood choice available for use in their bows. It has the highest density and strength along with a distinctive yellowish-orange color that turns a rich vibrant orangish-brown when exposed to natural sunlight. Pope, Young, and other pioneers of modern bowhunting chose Osage for its strength and durability when exposed to cold climate and rough hunting conditions.
Purpleheart wood – This wood is dense, hard, and has a good structural durability rating. As the name implies, the heartwood of purpleheart is a rich, exotic purple. When initially harvested, it is a dark brown but quickly alters to the beautiful dark purple it is popular for. Further exposure to UV will return it to a more brown color, although the purple will still be quite evident, giving it a mixture of the two colors.
Rosewood – The wood has color variations from chocolate or violet-brown to violet streaked with black, often streaked with golden-brown. The grain is straight, sometimes wavy and only slightly visible but the coloring is unique.  The type used in bows typically comes from Bolivia.

Tulipwood – A Central American wood with an overall color of light pink with darker, pinkish red high lights. Tulipwood may be used in handles and veneers.

Yew Wood – Deep, solid, reddish-brown color, with a rich heritage in the bow world. It was the primary wood choice of the English bowmen that conquered their part of the world with the English longbow. Made entirely of wood and incorporating the sap wood as a protective bow backing.
Zebrawood – A heavy hard wood integrated with the typical so-called zebra stripes, often with an interlocked or wavy grain. The heartwood is a pale golden yellow, distinct from the very pale color of the sapwood and features narrow streaks of dark brown to black. Zebrawood can also be a pale brown with regular or irregular marks of dark brown in varying widths. It is almost always quarter sawn to get the exciting alternating color pattern and a straight grain.