Make Your Own Yew Longbow

with sustainably-harvested Vancouver island Yew wood

Every so often, we get to host guest luminaries at the Fern + Roe Tannery to teach more on their landbased craft. I am so excited Ryan Gauthier said yes to coming down island and making bows with a small group of folks. Ryan and I did a trade a few years back, I gave him buckskins and he handed me the most beautiful longbow I’ve literally ever seen. He made it a poundage (strength) that would custom fit me (somehow, even though we hadn’t met in person before), and he gifted me a set of handmade arrows. This man is skilled. I am so deeply appreciated of craftspeople like Ryan who know their craft in and out and continue making year after year.

Join us at the tannery with local island bowyer Ryan Gauthier, as he takes you through the process of building a traditional yew longbow. You will shape a seasoned stave of premium Pacific yew wood, begin tillering the bow to bring it into shape, and by the end of three days shoot your first arrow.

Yew wood has been a favourite bow-making tree around the world for centuries and it grows right here on Vancouver Island. Prior to each workshop, a dead standing tree is cut, then dried carefully to preserve its contours, and turned into a ‘stave’ for a bow to emerge through hand tooling and scraping. All tools, staves, and materials are provided.

Join here.