Since the dawn of archery many millennia ago, wood has been the most common material to produce bows. In some parts of the world, particularly the Eurasian Steppes, where proper bow woods like yew or elm were not available, and archers on horseback required short, powerful weapons, a composite of wood, horn, and sinew was used instead (see Bow International 161, pp55–58).
It was only in the 20th century with the advent of new synthetic materials that preferences changed, and glass or carbonfibres were incorporated in bows or limbs. Since the 1970s, aluminium and magnesium were used to produce stiff but lightweight risers for takedown recurve and compound bows. But apart from that, metal never appears to have been considered a proper bow-making material – or was it?
Bows of…
