Alpha Capo

What do you all think about the use of Laminated woods in bows....

for this year Martin has decided to use Laminated Birch instead of real hardwoods on most all of their models....Hope they go back to real wood soon... them using real wood was one of the big things that separated them from Bear. i'd rather them raise there prices and keep real hardwoods than use the Laminates. not that laminates are bad...it just lacks real charactor.

Arthur P

I don't reckon I'm particularly fussed about it. Laminate risers are nothing new and they ARE quite a bit stronger. They are even nice looking if they're well done. Often you can't even tell a laminate riser from a solid piece of wood without doing some real close looking.

Martin's problem is they can't raise their prices any more. They've already got custom bowyers that are offering bows at competitive prices and Samick/AIM is biting at their heels. Any more increase and they'll have priced themselves out of the market.

BobCo19-65

I agree with Art. I don't have one of the modern type of laminates, butI do have a Brackenbury which was one of the first to use a laminate. I can say that it is very strong, although not one of the prettiest.

bigcountry

I have two martin bows, a dreamcatcher and a savannah, and can assure them, I will not buy another bow until they go back to hardwood risers. I just don't like the looks of them. And reason I shoot both, is I considered them beautiful.

LBR

Actionwood, Dymondwood, etc. are more consistent (and predictable), not to mention usually stronger, than natural wood. The looks don't bother me, but I do prefer most natural woods over them.

My guess it was a cost cutting measure, due to what Art mentioned--but that's only a guess. Getting them purty gals to pose with bows ain't cheap, not to mention the cost of getting those ads put in magazines.

I sure would hate to see Martin go under though--they are the only company I know of that maintained and continued to offer a full line of traditional bows when compounds hit the market hard and heavy and put almost allthe rest out of business or switched them over to wheels-only. Even BW went into hibernation for a while. I do know of one other company that stayed the course back 30-some odd years ago, but not too many folks knew about them back then.......

Chad

Alpha Capo

well..... i guess its ok for them to cut cost by using Lam wood as long as they can afford to keep put'n hot lil' mama'sholding bows in picture books...cant have your cake and eat it too, but , it is nice every once in a while.


they've been cutting a little cost on their Compunds too(they are still super high quality and well made and put together)....and they are still some of my favorite bows.

BobCo19-65

Did Black Widow make a compound or just stop making bows all together for a while?

Didn't Bear maintain a traditional line through the years?

LBR

The way it was explained to me about BW.....

When compounds hit the scene hard and heavy (early 70's?), BW sales dropped something like 80%. The Wilson brothers (founders of BW) were around retirement age anyway, and evidently were ready to kick back. The company was sold to one of their bowyers (don't know his name). I don't really know what happened for the next several years, but BW seemed to go into hibernation until Ken Beck bought the company and got them back in the spotlight. The bowyer who bought the company may have kept producing bows, but I've never seen or heard about them.

Bear dropped their trad line for a while--brought a couple back.....oh shoot......mid 90's I think? A buddy of mine bought one of the first ones that came out.

Don't count on my (pitiful) memory for exact details here--if you find a site with more accurate information, I'd appreciate if you'd let me know. I need a refresher!

Chad

Chris W.

Martin/Howatt using laminate action wood is nothing new. They've used the grey actionwood in the hunter line for years. This year they've used just a bit more of it.Personally, I think it looks rather sharp. Back in the early to mid/late 90's, there were several models that were actionwood, the mamba, nighthawk, and even the hatfield had a good bit of grey actionwood in it's riser. Exotic wood prices have gone up sharply in the last few years, so it may be a cost containment move, but truthfully, actionwood is far more consistant and stableso it only benefits theshooting characteristics of the bow.

I tend to shoot a bow because it's a good performer. Looks are a secondary thing, but some folks would rather look good than shoot a good performer that they believe is ugly, I guess.

Arthur P

I'd definitely rather shoot good with a pretty bow than to shoot good with one that looks like hammered lizard poop, but that's just one of those aesthetics things.