I'm searching the woods I hunt in for a nice piece of knot free wood to make a self bow. I'm not having much luck at the traditional lumber (knot free hickory, elm, walnut, etc...) but what I am finding a lot of is Osage. I have about 8 pieces that seem knot free for about 6 to 8 feet and have a nice gracefull curve in them that would make for a natural recurve.
I've always heard that Osage may make a nice self bow but is very difficult to work with for a beginer like myself. What do you guys think, should I keep searching or use one of the Osage limbs?

Osage is one of more popular selfbow woods, but as I understand it (never tried it myself) it can be diffcult to work with for a few reasons: It's seldom straight, it usually has knots, and the growth rings are very tight. It sounds like you may have avoided the first two problems anyway, so I'd get some good instructions (books, web sites, and/or videos) and start shaving. Dean Torges is supposed to be one of the authorities on osage. Gary Davis is another that knows a lot about selfbows. I know Dean has at least one or two books out on it, not sure about Gary, but Gary does set up at several different shoots through the summer and helps folks out. There's also the Traditional Bowyer's Bibles that might help.

Chad

There are lots of Osage on my property. It's found along the roads all over the county. I used to think that someone must have planted it that way but now I'm sure the stuff just uproots it'self at night and crawls to a new place before morning. I had a lot of trees to pick from. I can get other woods but I don't want to cut down those other trees when the Osage is just so darn plentiful.

ever think about ,using ash ,maulberry, ive made flat bows out hackberry vinemaple even red oakwalnut makes an excellent bow it`s just a matter of choice.

I just finished making myself a nice longbow out of blackolive, don't know if it grows in you all areas,but it does in south Florida ,It shoots very fast and smooth no vibrations, also cypress is used by the Osceola tribe and the Miccossukees.
We also have the sea grapes trees ,bends very well , you can hardly brake it ,even if you tried.
I do have an osage ,but unless you have good wood working equipment is hard to make bows, although a good sharo machete is your best tool to work it.

Have fun !