Upper Franconia / Bavaria
Traditional bow making
Ancient craft: from tree to bow, over a long weekend — with drawknife, rasp and your own hands. Your craft.
Christian
For over 20 years I have been building primitive wooden bows – flatbows and longbows from a single piece of wood, in every variation. I have been passing on what I know in courses for a long time, most recently as a bow-making instructor at the Dictum course workshop.
In the course you build your own bow, in my workshop: at the workbench, with a vise and sometimes the bandsaw. That makes the rough cutting faster and leaves time for the hand work over the weekend. At the end you hold a bow that shoots – and you made every step of it yourself.
Three full days, four participants at most – enough time for every bow to be properly finished.
What happens in the course
You pick your stave and bring it into shape at the workbench — drawknife and bandsaw for the rough cut, rasp and scraper for the fine work.
We tiller together — that is the part that decides whether the bow bends evenly. In between we make arrows, and you wind a string to fit your bow.
And at the end you shoot it in yourself.
The woods:
- Black locust or ash from my own woodland. Sometimes I also have elm or yew to choose from.
Where the course takes place
- In my workshop in Bad Staffelstein, Bavaria / Upper Franconia. My house is in the lovely district of Uetzing.
There are several places to stay in the village. I am happy to help with the search and give my recommendations. - Food: you can get everything in the village. Three inns, a small grocery shop and a bakery.
We organise the food together and eat in my garden, or try out the rustic inns.
Dates
Here you can see the upcoming dates. Click one to get to "Date & booking" and the detailed "Course description".
Bogenbaukurs – 4. Juni – 6. Juni 2027
Plätze frei · 4 frei
Bogenbaukurs – 10. September – 12. September 2027
Plätze frei · 4 frei
Gift voucher
As a gift: the bow-making course is also available as a voucher – just tell me who it is for.
On the road
A bow-making course can also take place at your location, if certain conditions are met. I bring all tools and materials.
On the road, at your place: for closed groups (≈ 4 – 8 people) I come to you — friends, club, company, birthday. I bring the tools; you need a covered space and tables / vises. Ideally someone nearby has a bandsaw we could use once (e.g. a local carpenter).
The only change in price: plus travel, €0.50 per kilometre driven (there and back) – within 50 km for each course day, further away once there and back plus an overnight stay by arrangement.
We will agree a date of its own — just write to me, no obligation.
Prefer the outdoors?
The wilderness bow-making course
If you want to combine the craft with real time outdoors — three days in camp, sleeping in a tent, cooking on the fire —
this is the wilderness bow-making course.
The same craft, a different setting.
Just the wood?
Want to build at home? I sell bow staves — ash, black locust, yew, properly seasoned, roughed out on request.
Blog posts
Natur-Schnur herstellen
Von Mai bis August werden von Ulmen und Linden die Rinden abgeschält und die weiche Innenseite abgetrennt. Der beste Zeitpunkt um Baumrinde zu ernten ist im Mai, wenn der Saft in der Rinde aufsteigt. Zum Drehen und Zwirnen braucht man nur Daumen und Zeigefinger und benutzt die selbe Technik wir bei den Brennesselschnüren.
Primitive Take-Down Bow Sleeves
Ulme „American Flatbow“ als Take Down Version – Take-Down Bow Sleeves