Hi everyone!  I just got in a native american style longbow that was worked from a single piece of hickory to get myself back into shooting traditional, nothin fancy just something to work on form and fundamentals.  My question is what can I put on my bow to protect the wood since it is untreated?  I was thinking some type of oil or even fat or tallow.  My main objective is protect the wood from moisture and also to keep the wood from drying out and cracking.  Any suggestions would be great, thanks.

I used Linseed oil on my Walnut stocked muzzleloader.  I built it from a kit and there was no finish on it either.  Don't know if it will work on a bow though since it flexes.  Believe me, someone will have a tried and true answer for you soon.  I have never stumped these folks with a question yet.

a lot of the guys on bowyers bench use truoil.

Has anyone used mink oil or something like that?  I had thought of linseed but wasn't sure.  Thanks for the ideas fellas, keep 'em comin!

Birchwood Casey TruOil is good.  Regular application of furniture wax is good too.  If you go the wax route apply a thin coat, let it dry, and then buff it briskly enough to get the bow slightly warm.  This helps the wax penetrate.  I've never used wax on hickory but it works well on osage.

John

Look up "Massey Finish".  It's a mixture of two-ton epoxy thinned down with acetone or MEK.  Brush it on and sand between coats.  Or spar urethane.  They have both worked well for me.  But I also use paste furniture wax on top of all of that.

Aaron

Teak oil, rub it on with a rag and use multiple coats. reoil it occasionally.

I've used truoil with good results.  I've also used a lot of spar urethane.  I always finish off with a coat or two of Turtle wax.    Water beads right up on the finish.

One of my favorite finishes for a hickory bow is bear grease and ground charcoal. The charcoal highlights the grain and the bear grease is quite water proof. You will have to add more grease as time goes on.
 Hand rub the bear grease in and add the charcoal dust while you are rubbing. Bacon grease will work too.

QuoteOriginally posted by Pat B:
One of my favorite finishes for a hickory bow is bear grease and ground charcoal. The charcoal highlights the grain and the bear grease is quite water proof. You will have to add more grease as time goes on.
 Hand rub the bear grease in and add the charcoal dust while you are rubbing. Bacon grease will work too.

So it sounds to me as if Mink Oil will work, which is basically Mink fat.  Its very waterproof and I've used it on many many other things but I didn't know if it is ok to put fat on a bow.  I figured thats what the Indians prolly did but wanted to get all you guys expert advice.  I'll get her all oiled up and be sure to post pics.  Thanks everyone for all the great input!

Birchwood & Casey Tru Oil Gun Stock Finish from 3rivers archery.If its good enough for a gun stock its gotta be good enough for a bow.bowdoc

Tru-Oil is great stuff. I like the way it brings out the grain in the wood (Any wood)