Historical Robin Hood kit

[Sir Ulrich]

Would get wool but I dont see any green tunics for sale made of wool or chausses even. Seems to be all sold out. Tailored tunics is all but totally swamped with orders and I dont feel like waiting a year for a commission. I can either sew it myself and probably fail hard because I got a really shoddy machine or take what I can get from HE. I need a second set of clothing for my father anyway for the next DoK as he actually wants to participate this time, I already have a set of soft shoes he can borrow as our feet are the same size and I know he wont wear chausses and braies or any form of "hard shoes" so he'll have to borrow a set of my MRL Robin Hood pants for an anglo saxon impression due to the fact he likes England which can easily be hidden with the leg wraps if they're too farby to be shown..

[Sir Wolf]

just wait till post pensic. then things will be back in stock and custom orders will be back in a week week delivery range

[Sir Ulrich]

I already got the light green tunic and some chausses should arrive soon, I was checking all their stuff on their page and it has a slight blueish tinge and isnt puke green at all. Should work fine for the Robin Hood getup and a second soft kit. I plan to use my reeve with this outfit as it's the most English sword I own and as I'm portraying him as a saxon outlaw it's perfect for that. Now my question is what kind of bow should I get? I want a good one and I am weary about buying low quality ones, I just want one plus about 12-24 arrows to go with it. I dont plan to use the arrows for shooting  as I would rather mess up cheap replaceable ones. My budget for the bow is around 200 bucks.

[Lord Chagatai]

Coming from a Mongol point of view...recurved one!!!


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[Sir Ulrich]

I do know recurved longbows did exist in the 1500s. I will have to ask a few people around about if they did exist in the 1250s. Doing more research I looked up what kind of greens would of been used in period and there really wasnt any greens that were bright and vibrant as they would of been more natural and earthly toned.
I have decided I am gonna use my 12th century shoes with this kit which should be fine. I may or may not need a cloak and I am gonna use my regular 13th century copper hood with the outfit. I will be using my Albion Reeve with the kit as well as it's a perfect Englishman's sword. I am debating on picking up a buckler for this kit as well and I will not be getting a quiver for the arrows but I may use an arrow bag instead.
Tunic came I just wish they gave me the chausses colors for the tunic instead though I assume it was meant to be lighter with the tunic and darker with the legs.

Most tell me to keep it but I am not sure if he would of worn such a faded color and I am a bit hesitant to wash it to shrink it to my size cause I am worried the colors may run lighter. Pics dont do it justice because it seems greener in person rather than the cam which distorts colors but heres the contrast.

[Sir Wolf]

long bow. thats what you want.

[Ian]

long bow. thats what you want.

Yeah, if you want to pass for English, there's only one bow

[Sir James A]

long bow. thats what you want.

Yeah, if you want to pass for English, there's only one bow

Agreed, just don't get an authentic pull weight

[Sir Ulrich]

Would the bows on KOA named Rudder bows be anybit good?
http://www.kultofathena.com/rudderbows.asp
I havent seen any reviews on them but they look decent and historical to me.

[Ian]

Would the bows on KOA named Rudder bows be anybit good?
http://www.kultofathena.com/rudderbows.asp
I havent seen any reviews on them but they look decent and historical to me.

You should lose that vinyl grip they put on them, and stick with the bows that avoid bamboo.  Ideally you'd want a yew bow,  but I didn't see any actual yew bows there.  Non-yew bows are also historic, but bamboo is definitely not for Medieval Europe.

Yew was ideal because if you don't know it naturally does what people try to duplicate when they laminate bows.  Yew is naturally laminated.  You can see the darker heartwood and the creamy colored sapwood on one piece.  The sapwood is flexible and allows the bow to bend without breaking.  The heartwood resists compression and is where the power comes from in the release.  That's why yew was so sought after in Medieval England.  Yew staves were mandated by law to be imported with other goods at certain points in England.

Bowyers without access to yew, or to save money would laminate two different types of wood in order to provide similar properties to what yew does by itself. 

The natural two-tone of yew:

[Don Jorge]

Might want to check this out...

http://www.3riversarchery.com/product.asp?i=8550-2&gclid=CjkKEQjwrLSdBRDYvIL0soO4vo0BEiQABALkqaQHAqXQnr-bWxfIXmPEojqEcg8qVpi_RlYMzPTKNVDw_wcB

[Sir Ulrich]

I would get a yew bow but may just go for a laminated bow instead due to yew ones apparently being hard to find. Still need at least a dozen arrows too they're expensive though prolly most the money being the hand forged heads. After I get the bow it will basically be complete to do this as I got everything else. Gonna go with a low poundage though cause theres no way I can draw back a historical draw weight, and archers were typically the most buff soldiers in the army too due to the draw weights being so heavy, right to the point of their arms being deformed from it as well. I probably will take a while looking for a bow though cause I wish to choose a historical design and choose wisely though I will be avoiding bamboo or other non historical designs. I assume I would need a bow stringer and a bag to store the bow in for travel along with an arrow bag rather than a quiver.

[Lord Dane]

Stay away from red oak. Maybe it was my strength but I snapped it in two trying to draw. Then I realized it had no backing or solid wood core. Stay away from painted staves so you can check the wood type and quality.

[Sir Wolf]

yew is the best, then is it white ash? do NOT get red oak, its open pours will tend to break. yew is actually bad for eastern us climate. too humid will make the bow warp and lose it's shape.

while not in use de-string your bow.

no arrow rests or leather hand guards should be on your bow. horn tips on for certain time frames.

[Ian]

Also the location the yew tree grew in matters.  The colder the climate the tree grew in, the tighter the growth rings will be.  LBC has a ton of yew longbows, they're all kept unstrung when not at shows as far as I know.