I've seen many posts referring to D shaped longbows. After reading, I realized that most folks have a different interpretation of what D shaped really means. Some think that D means when the bow is strung, it forms a backwards D (depending on which side of the bow your are standing     ). Truth is fact is the vast majority of longbows are actually American flatbows. The original definition of a D bow referred the cross section of the limb. Flat on the back and rounded on the belly.



Imagine the above bow with a cross section of the limb It would form a D ( flat back and round belly). So, when folks refer to a D longbow, are you talking about how it looks when strung or the limb design?

Danny

Good job Dan. Right as rain!

in yesteryear, the "D" bow referred to the english longbow (ELB) with its "D" shaped cross section.  everything else was some form of flat bow, like the howard hill american flat longbow (AFL).  almost all of these bows braced to "D" limb shape, though this wasn't really part of the archery longbow vocabulary during those times.  there still were asiatic style bows - recurves - that were the opposite of longbows, which became increasingly popular during the 50's and moving forward.

in these modern times, the "D" longbow monicker refers to the braced bow limb shape.  this "D" shape can be produced by an AFL ("howard hill style", with back set, straight or belly set limbs)) or by a mild r/d hybrid longbow (pick a name brand, there are many many dozens to choose) that has some snake to the unbraced limbs, but produces that classic "D" shape whence braced.

that's really all there is to that.    

Thanks!

This subject is laid to rest by the above posts.

I personally own only two "D" bows.

"John jr" and a Rudder bow I picked up a couple years ago in the St Jude auction.

God bless,Mudd

PS: I love my "Hill" style bows too!

what about cursive lettered bows    

 

Thanks guys, I learned something today.

QuoteOriginally posted by Cyclic-Rivers:
what about cursive lettered bows    

   

That is the reflex/deflex/reflex/deflex asiatic d-bow!!    

I believe Howard Hill called the flat side the belly    and the bows he built were American Semi-Longbow, because they were shorter than the English Longbow.

Ric, thanks for clarifying how the "D" was first used, to describe the shape of the self-bow.

Today, there are more longbows that are anything but long, and limbs resembling a semi-recurve of the 1950 and 60's.  I do like the shape, balance, feel and stability of a "D" shaped longbow and think the "D"escription fits.

Really?
Seems to me,that the term D Bow used for the cross section of an ELB,is a relatively new one,that i think it became popular,with a reference from Dean Torges.In times past,i have heard and read the cross section of an ELB,referred to as a round belly,or Stacked belly.Long before i ever heard of the internet,i heard the Term D bow used in reference to a bending handled Native style bow,that bent throughout its entire length,when braced.It resembled a letter D when braced.In order for a bow to have an absolute D shape to its profile,it must bend through the handle.Does the letter D have a slight flat spot,through the center of its arc?I dont believe so.Therefore,i dont believe,that a AFB with a static riser or grip section,would qualify,nor does some ELB's.Also,to use the Term ELB can have different definitions.There are the ELB war Bows that do work through the handle and the latter version of the Victorian style longbows,that had a more static grip.So,i believe by the true definition,that a D bow,is defined by the Braced profile,not the Cross section of the limbs,even though the D profile,can be obtained by different cross section styles of limb.

I'ts not a new term.  I will have to dig for page and paragraph number, but I remember Hardy referring to "D" bows in cross section description, which would take the term back to the early 1900s at least.

Also, many of the early american archery books and periodicals refer to the difference between the ELB and the American flat bow being that one has a D cross setion and the other is flat back and belly.

Actually, I hadn't heard "D bow" used to refer to tiller until The Bowyer's Bibles were published and Tim Baker used the terms "D bow" and "C bow" to distinguish between those with bending handles and those with stiff handles.

it's really all semantics, call any of 'em what you like, but be ready to describe what you mean if you use the "D" bow term without qualification.  else, you could easily be misunderstood, as has happened in lots of trad gang posts about "D" bows.  

the elb nomenclature is specific to the "D" cross section and for the most part those are not the bows most 21st century trad bowhunters discuss.

these dayze, the "D" bow either means a classic afl (american flat longbow) such as a howard hill, or any one of many dozens of mild hybrid r/d longbows that brace to the "D" limb shape.

that's all she wrote and it is what it is.    

QuoteOriginally posted by Traxx:
Does the letter D have a slight flat spot,through the center of its arc?I dont believe so.

Well, actually, as a graphic designer, I'll say it depends on the font.

I think we should start naming the bows by different fonts. Some can be "Times New Roman" bows, some "Lucinda Console", and some "Playbill."

 

Chapter 8, page 101 of "Hunting the Hard Way", Howard Hill shows three cross sections of a bow from near the handle out to the limb tip. I'll be darned, but they look just like a "D".

I know it's only semantics, but you also know the old saying, "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a "D" bow".      

Wait, maybe I got my sayings crossed up.    

The font, you're killing me I actually really did laugh out loud.