Traditional bows by Steve Thomson
Handmade longbows & re-curves using bamboo and choice hardwood
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Traditional bows by Steve Thomson
Handmade longbows & re-curves using bamboo and choice hardwood
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| Introduction Put a stick with a string on it into the hands of a child, and instinctively they know what it’s for and how to do it. Ever since the first bows & arrows where made, man has had a close relationship with archery. None of us today, can truly say that somewhere along our ancestry, the bow & arrow had not influenced our way of life, and made it possible to be here. My Background My name is Steve Thomson, and up until 1999 I was like everyone else I knew. Trying to make our farm business successful and raise a young family. It was a family decision, that all of us should learn to shoot the bow & arrow. So in the spring of that year we all signed up for archery lessons at our local fish & game club. (as an activity for all of us to do together) That was how it all started. By taking some lessons over a few weeks, something began to stir inside me. A desire to learn more, to understand the ways of the bow, and to become the best that I could be. Any archer knows what I mean when I say these things. However it wasn’t just the physical part of the sport, but rather the new people that I was meeting. The sport of archery draws to it a lot of high caliber people. Sincere, honest and of good character. They are different from the other friends my wife and I have. This I found refreshing indeed. Apprenticeship In the fall of 1999, I met Jaap Koppedreyer and his wonderful wife Kay. He lives about 40 min. from me. Imagine a world class bowmaker in my backyard. In his modest shop, lay hornbows, Asiatic re-curves, Japanese yumi’s and so many more. We became friends, and through his influence my desire to learn and practice deepened. Building bows was an art form that was timeless, and I wanted to be a part of it. After much coaxing Jaap agreed to take me on as an apprentice to him in the spring of 2002. A shop on our farm was set up in a 100 year old dairy barn and some tools bought. With 2500 square feet of space there is room to work, store wood and shoot thru the winter. All snug & warm. Starting with menial tasks I learned some basics and my journey began. Jaap got a huge order to build 115 authentic Yumi bows for the Hollywood movie “The Last Samurai” starring Tom Cruise. My job was to cut & grind all the cores and end plates for these bows. When the movie finally came out in theatres Dec. 2003, I was very proud of the fact that I had helped to make all the bows for this epic. I appreciate very much all that Jaap & Kay have been teaching me, and look forward too great things to come in the future. Acknowledgements There are many other people I have met and been influenced by over the last few years. Lucas Novotny, Stephen Selby, Thomas Duvernay, Gary Davis and his friend Al. (who helped me make my first bow. An Osage selfbow) are just a few who’ve had a big influence on me. There are too many others to mention here, but to all I say “Thank You”. All of you have shown great leadership for this generation of archers. I hope in time that I too can give back with the same generosity as you. Plans for the future My goals for the future are to continue to apprentice under Yumi and learn each year to make 1 or 2 new models of bows. So you’ll see a changing line of bows & arrows each year. One thing that will help is to eventually stop farming full-time and devote more time into going to shows, traveling to other countries and putting on clinics for bow making. Truly yours Steve Thomson Romans 3:25 For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins, and to end all God's anger against us. He used Christ's blood and faith as a means of saving us from His wrath.
Contact Information
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Send mail to
stephann@execulink.com with
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