Kaya Korean ?

[Orda Khan]

That is disappointing news Ginni. Are you going to WTAF this year? Would be a good idea to take the bow along for evaluation.

[JJ]

According to my informations the maximal draw length of the normal-length laminated Pseudo-Gakgungs (Hwarang bow, Koryo bow and others) is considered by the Koreans as "7 chi", which is also the length of their longest arrows. That corresponds to 81,81 cm (27 x 3,03 cm) or 32,2 inches. That information was given to me by Karl Zeilinger. I think there are special bows being built on request for longer draws, but the ordinary ones are like this.

Best regards, JJ

[ginni]

I will get the bow at WTAF, maybe mr Park will fix or replace it.
I definitely have a long draw, but this bow didnt allow me to draw it at 34.

[Thomas Duvernay]

According to my informations the maximal draw length of the normal-length laminated Pseudo-Gakgungs (Hwarang bow, Koryo bow and others) is considered by the Koreans as "7 chi", which is also the length of their longest arrows. That corresponds to 81,81 cm (27 x 3,03 cm) or 32,2 inches. That information was given to me by Karl Zeilinger. I think there are special bows being built on request for longer draws, but the ordinary ones are like this.

Best regards, JJ

Actually, I have seen arrows up to 9 chi, although 7 chi is probably the most common.

[Thomas Duvernay]

I will get the bow at WTAF, maybe mr Park will fix or replace it.
I definitely have a long draw, but this bow didnt allow me to draw it at 34.

Regarding the horn/laminate hybrid bow, although the construction is very similar to the regular laminate, it is still quite different. The bow, although less complex to use than the true horn bow, still needs to be cared for in a similar fashion. Also, higher draw weights are generally not good with this type of bow. With that said, I have a good friend (a master in Kuk Sul Won) who has bought several (including a couple of relatively high draw weight) and had no problems that I have heard of.

It is possible that Mr. Park will repair the bow, but it will probably be very dependent upon whether the core twisted or not. Certainly bring it with you, Ginni.


T

[WarBow]

I am waiting my 50# Kaya Korean Bow (2010 model) to arrive. In the meantime, I did a very crude measurement of my draw length and it came out to 35", if I were to anchor the draw arm past the ear with the elbow pointing parallel to the shoulder. Are longer than 32" carbon arrow shafts available? What is the draw weight of the Kaya at 32", 33", 34" and 35"? Can I use plastic fletching instead of feather? A horseback archer told me that plastic fletches are fine for regular shooting practice. Thanks guys!

[Orda Khan]

Hello Warbow,
While I was waiting for my Hwarang I made a similar check, drawing past the ear to a point where the thumb aligns with the deltoid. Any further than this would mean my elbow would begin to come around my body, so I figured this was a fairly decent, consistent anchor. That was around 35" at least and I was concerned about finding shafts that would be long enough. I've only ever used wooden shafts or bamboo that I made myself. I would have to wait months if I cut new bamboo and all our wooden shafts are supplied at a standard 32".
The arrow in my picture is port orford cedar, self nocked with brass bullet point that draws to 32.5". I had 4 Tiger bamboo shafts that I bought at a fayre, these were cut to 33". I used conventional plastic nocks (in order to gain a fraction more length) and I achieved the same up front with points that push over the shaft. These arrows are 34.5" and the feed back I'm getting from our little Asiatic group at the club is around 2" of arrow over with each shot. So I still seem to be drawing the same and it is quite a bit shorter than I originally thought.
I'm not 100% sure about carbons, I'll ask the compounders and recurves tonight. I know there are a few with long draws and yes plastic fletchings are perfectly ok.....but I would ask one question though
Why choose carbons with plastic veins over bamboo fletched with feathers?

*Feedback*
On the quest for bamboo shaft suppliers. Poletti prices are a little steep. Add on shipping and they become expensive, even bulk orders. A shame but not completely out of the equation.
"Tiger" unfortunately does not ship to the UK. Price was very good, though I expect import duty would hike it up.
Incidentally, the 4 Tiger shafts I had perform really well. They are well finished and nicely straight (though not as straight as my woods which are 'perfect') I would not want to attempt trying to improve them in this way because they group better anyway.
These 4 are over spined and have heavy 125gr points. I'm currently waiting for a dozen bamboo shafts from a guy in the UK. The price is good, will see about the quality.

[daryush]

Tiger doesn't ship to the UK?
Darn it, there goes my options ...

So, where did you get your Tiger shafts from? And who is the guy in the UK (is it Mark something...?)

[Ashbow]

Warbow, the Korean traditional carbon arrows are commonly fletched with plastic vanes.
When estimating your draw lenght you may consider that your body 'compresses' when drawing the bow, especially a relatively stronger one, in effect your actual draw lenght may be shorter then estimated.

Why choose carbons with plastic veins over bamboo fletched with feathers?

I think it make sense for regular practice, simply because the carbons are cheaper and more resistnat to mistreatment...

Orda, thank you for your feedback. My friends bought some bamboo shafts from the Chinese E-bay seller named kashi? I think. Is he the 'Tiger' guy or a different one? The price was much cheaper than the one Poletti charges.
Though I don't have much experience with and my knowledge of bamboo shafting is very limited, I think those shafts are not of high quality, at least I suppose so, don't take my word for granted.
The node placemnet is quite random, the straightness, well... they are, as you put it, "nicely" straight, if straight at all, but not the internodes.
To compare, the Japanese and Korean shafts I saw were VERY straight.
The last batch we roughly weighted is between 21 and 33 grams, avaraging 25-26 g.

Mark Hill?

[Orda Khan]

That's the chap. I will have to let you know how good they actually are. I believe that is the same Chinese seller, the 4 shafts I bought were from the Fairbow stand at Tewkesbury Mediaeval Fayre, so there is always the possibility they have Tiger shafts in stock. They appeared to be nicely straight when I bought them and being heat tempered I would expect them to remain straight. They were lying around since July and in that time I would not be surprised at some change, at least with wooden shafts. Anyway, once fletched etc they all spun particularly well with odd deflections removed by hand only.
I shot them again last night and at the end of the evening a spin test revealed considerable wobble in all but one arrow. Did this affect the last end? Nope, the grouping was still good and earlier I succeeded in the 10m polo mint challenge (something we began at our club )
Even though, I would expect the arrows to remain straight. The bamboo arrows I made in the past are still straight after years.
They are certainly not of the quality of Korean or Japanese shafts but for the price, I would expect that. I believe Thomas once quoted a price of 25$ a shaft? I'd love some Korean arrows ... but not to shoot field archery
I just received a message from my friend saying the shafts have arrived so I will let you know.

[Orda Khan]

Meanwhile, these are some pics of the Tiger shafts compared with my own old arrow from Pseudosasa Japonica in the garden.

[Orda Khan]

The bottom picture.....optical illusion, the shafts are straight

[Ashbow]

Hmm, so it's a different seller then I see. Those 'tiger' shafts look of better quality, hard to judge form the pictures though.

[jack farrell]

I post this for your entertainment. Just please do not tell the Koreans.

I sold one of my Korean bows to a fellow shooter and he kept unstringing the bow while shooting. This had never been a problem for me at all so the assumption was that he was pulling sideways on the string. This went on sometime till I came up with this idea. It did solve the problem. Mongolian style bridges; a white horn on top and black on the bottom limb.

[jack farrell]

An old style Korean grip was added. Have never liked the rough rubber grip which comes on these bows. This is authentic.