Hi i'm new here on this forum and i hope this question hasn't been asked earlier. I have searched the forum quite a bit and i haven't found anything that could resemble the questions i have. I am also very new to to the topic of historical bows. i'm planning to buy one for myself later on when i have figured out wich one i should buy.
I am wondering if anybody could describe what different kinds of historical bows there are and what the function of the different bows were. I am of course familiar with the flatbow, recurved and the longbow(are there more types?), but i would really like to get a more general explanation of the bows strength and weaknesses so that i can compare them to each other and pick the one that serves my purpose best.

I am also wondering if anybody has bought a bow from this guy ( http://www.ancientarchery.com/ )?
I am looking for a bow of good quality and its important that its serious craftsmansship behind the production. This webpage is the best i have found so far. The only problem is that he doesn't make historical replicas. So i am wondering if anybody knows another seller with the same high standards as this one?

And the last question....what kind of wood do you want for you bow?

i hope my english isn't that bad(i'm swedish) and that my questions contribute to this forum wich i'm really starting to enjoy

greetings from Sweden/ Johan

I have an Osage English Style Longbow from Thomas of Ancient Archery. Absolutely love the piece. My only regret with it right now is not getting enough time to practice with it. If you want a true historically styled bow, contact Thomas. He did costum work in the past and is a great guy to chat with about archery.

Wonderful to hear that he can make accurate historical bows. Now i'm pretty certain that i will buy my own from him. If there isn't somebody out there who can compete with his high standards?
thanks guys for the info! But i still miss an overlook on the subject of bows...anybody feels motivated to answer my question?
The discussion thats is taking place here on this forum is very interesting and of high quality but it is pretty hard for a newbie like me to get a general idea of the topics discussed here.

greeting from Johan Fröding