On Turkish snap-on nocks and bow tips

Old Turkish arrows generally have very hard snap-on nocks. This video shows how they work, and why.
All equipment made by the presenter, Ivar Malde, at the one-man company "Kviljo Buemakeri" (bowyers workshop, in Norwegian). Ivar holds four official world flight records, including the worlds longest shot with all natural material bows and arrows, at 566,83 meters. Bows and arrows like these can be ordered via www.kviljobuemakeri.org

[@Soviless99]

my mind is blown. i just made the connection of why so many eastern arrows have bulbous nocks. the string angles on horn bows are so extreme at full draw

[@xyz8512]

Good analysis.

[@markroberts6971]

Very informative

[@HistoricalWeapons]

great video Ivar!

[@rogerdevero8726]

Appreciate Ivar's calm and measured delivery. Beautiful well-crafted bows and arrows Ivar; thank you. (Subscribed & Liked)

[@plantbasedbrooklyn2666]

Great stuff Ivar. Really fascinating, well-researched details about these incredible bows.

[@HeidelZerg2]

I much enjoy your videos, Ivar! So far the ottoman bows I have built have not broken at the tips (elsewhere...), but I cannot imagine how you can repair a broken tip -- I would have thougth that was the end of the bow. Would you be ready to share this? That would be super-interesting!

[@kviljo]

Thanks for the tip! 😅 That is a good idea for a video. I will keep it in mind for when I have some spare time. There are several ways this has been done in the past.

[@bailaenlanoche]

Makes perfect sense! I have a short kepaze that draws to ~30-31, and the string angle with the nock gets very acute. Regular snap on nocks tend to pop off if I’m not careful.

[@nomadicartsarchery268]

Very well made video and explanations are clear and to the point!

[@WaynesGoneWild]

Great video. Very interesting, very informative, and quite educational!

[@templetonlee1722]

An intelligent review and well explained.

[@EREBO95]

Awesome thankyou! And great editing

[@BenRothArchery]

Thank you for your research. I found this very interesting and informative. I usually like a tighter fit nock, this really helps me visualize why. :)

[@antoniovillafane1114]

Superb presentation, thankyou.

[@agamagreen]

This is a very interesting and informative video! Very good presented, too! I have learned a lot ☺️ Thank you so much for sharing! 👍 Will you take a video of how to make the snappy arrow nocks? Normally I use plastic nocks, but I would like to learn to craft these snappy self-nocks 😁

[@kviljo]

Thank you for the kind response. I will consider making such a video. It's not so difficult, but it does require some very small files to shape the inside of the nocks like this.

[@bambooarchery]

Brilliant

[@delcat8168]

Excellent video :)

[@maxm00d]

Hi Ivar, great video. Got a question - although the nock is locked in position when at full draw due to the shape and the 45 degrees of the string it sits on. As the string returns to the brace position and is pushing the arrow all the way, as the string angle to the nock changes from 45 degrees to vertical 0 degrees - wouldn’t you suggest this will cause the nock to fall downwards as it gets looser effecting the consistency of the arrow flight? What do you think?

[@kviljo]

I suspect the pressure of the string against the nock during the shot is enough to prevent the arrow from sliding on the string. That is, at least if there is a wrapping on the string. On an unserved fast flight string, it would definitely slide down, I think. If the string is a little too thin for the nock, the arrows will slide up and down a lot during setup of the shot, and so I find it almost necessary to have a small nocking point above and below the arrow anyway.

[@markroberts6971]

I am surprised the your wood grain orientation at the tip is flatsawn. Vertical grain or quarter saw grain orientation would be so much stronger, and resist the splitting. Was the flatsawn wood grain orientation a traditional characteristic?

[@markroberts6971]

Ah, I see I mistakenly took your grooving for vertical grain wood orientation. I’m still somewhat perplexed. Did bowyers of old not use the extra strength of VG or quartersawn grain orientation, for its greater strength, vs flatsawn?

[@nomadicartsarchery268]

If I can add. Structure and construction of nocks would be nice . Perhaps some close up images and way it was done . We tend to forget that these things are taboo for many .

[@kviljo]

Taboo? :)

[@nomadicartsarchery268]

Well , I noticed on Facebook that someone asked "where can I buy these nocks" . To me and you is obviously easy , but not to all 😉

[@alancase1745]

Ivar, This is presented very well and I thoroughly enjoyed your video! I may have missed some detail, but do the old original strings have a nocking point on them above the arrow to prevent the arrow from sliding during the initial part of drawing back the bow? It seems logical that the old strings would have this because it is an easy enough thing to do. Thanks!

[@kviljo]

Thank you, Alan 😄 There are very few strings preserved, so my claim about the nocking point is simply based on my own experience. It may also be that the strings were made just thick enough to fill out the arrow nocks. This would make the snap-on effect even greater though. From memory, there is one warbow string kept in Vienna, which has two nocking points. Other old strings may have nocking points too, but I have not yet studied this in depth. Two may well be likely for flight as well. One would just have to space them enough apart so the arrow would be free to accept the string at 45 degrees.

[@mbfloris612]

@@kviljo The two nocking points were called 'dügül' and the single ones 'gül'. Nowadays Turkish archers simply call the nocking points dügül.

[@matthewmaxcy1574]

What is draw weight of the green bow? And how much would one like that cost

[@kviljo]

Hi Matthew, at the moment it would be 2850 Euro. That is, for a bow up to 80#. The green one is 70 pounds at 27 inches. I do have a couple Turkish bows that will be ready soon-ish.

[@gorazdg1]

Great! One question: bow at 8:20 - have you covered the sinew with the leather first and then did painting or did painting on the sinew directly ?

[@kviljo]

Thanks! The sinew is covered with leather and then painted

[@gorazdg1]

@@kviljo i have one uncovered turkish horn bow and I didnt decide yet to just paint the sinew with acril colors and gloss varnish or cover with leather before and then painted... Would painting directly on sinew work? Have you used the hide/fish glue for gluing the leather or some artificial glue (poliurethan, etc) ? All the best with your bow making !

[@kviljo]

@@gorazdg1 I haven't tried acrylic paint, but I think it should be ok, at least for some time. Getting good adhesion is important, to avoid flaking later on. You can paint directly on the sinew, but leather is a good protection and also evens out the surface.

[@kviljo]

@@gorazdg1 I use the same type of glue for the leather as the rest of the bow. This ensures good adhesion.

[@picatchouartbraille3379]

Pourquoi es poignée d'arc Turc sont L’ envers ??

[@kviljo]

It's because of the way the horns are joined on the belly of the grip, and the desire to have not so much reflex in the grip itself. There are other explanations as well, but I feel the handle construction is the most important.