Welcome to Forest Knights Bow Making Courses.

Forest Knights have an impressive record of teaching bow making courses for  more than 20 years.  We have taught bow making courses throughout Europe.  Bow making connects us to the skills of our ancestors.  Now only will you learn how to hand craft a Holmgaard bow on our 3 Day course.  You will also learn how to make an arrow and a bow string.  We are confident that you will leave our courses with all the skills needed to become a Bowyer.

The ensure our bow making students get the maximum contact with our experienced instructors we ensure a maximum of 4 students per course.  We feel its our duty to ensure that each student gets the support they require to achieve the best possible results.  Not only a functional bow but something that is elegant and beautifully made,

Which course is right for you?

Every course is unique as every student is unique.  4 students maximum means we can adapt our program to suit your requirements and ensures that the instructor team can devote time to guide you to success.  You need no previous experience to attend our bow making courses.  Our high staff ratio enables us to ensure that you whatever your previous experience we will ensure that you come away having enjoyed your experience and learnt new skills.

The 3 Day Course.

Our 3 day course is suitable for anyone over the age of 16 years old.  We take an Ash Log and using only hand tools carve a Holmgaard style bow  .  We supply a vast selection of Axes and other Greenwood working tools for you to use during the course.  Tools are very personal therefore it is important that you have the opportunity to use tools suitable for your size and physical fitness.  During the course you will not go hungry.  Forest Knights are justifiably proud of our catering.  All meals are cooked over the fire from fresh local produce.   Camping is generally available on the 3 day courses.  However we never forget that it is your course.  If you’re local to the course venue you may choose to enjoy your evening meal with us and the return home for a hot bath and a glass of wine.  Other students choose on occasion to stay in local hotels or B&Bs.  Not everyone who wants to make a bow wants to Camp.

If you do not wish to camp we can advise you of good value local accommodation.

We also understand that not everyone can commit to the full 3 days of Bow Making at once so you can by arrangement choose to do the course to suit your busy life.

Bhutanese Bow Making Course.

This is one of our most popular courses.  Bhutanese Bows originate from the Kingdoms of Bhutan and Nepal in the Himalayas.  Archery is the national sport of Bhutan.

The Bhutanese Bow Making course is suitable for all ages and was designed to enable our younger guests to be able to experience the joy and satisfaction of hand crafting their own bow in a day.  This 1 day course starts at 09:30 with an introduction to the instructors and a hot drink.   There is not a lot of Ash or Yew in the Himalayas,  There is a lot of good quality large bamboo.  Bow designs are not only influenced by the intended use but also by the availability of resources.

Forest Knights are the only Bushcraft school in the UK teaching Bhutanese bow making.  The joy of using large diameter Bamboo is that using an axe and drawknife you can shape your bow effectively in a day.

We still limit the course to a maximum of 4 students. Often for our younger clients we will run this as a bespoke course.  During the day you will split the bamboo with a Froe.  Then use an axe and drawknife to shape the two bow limbs.  We then join the two limbs together.  Each bow is created for the archer.  Once the  basic shape is achieved the magic begins and we enter the world of the bowyer. Each bow needs to be tuned to achieve an even tiller.  The bows are considered finished when the archer can get their bow to full draw.  During the day you will also make an arrow and a bow string.  A bow without a string and an arrow is just a stick.

We aim to have a shooting Bhutanese Bow by 5pm however sometimes we finish a little later and occasionally sooner.

During the 1 Day Course we provide endless hot drinks.  We suggest you bring a packed lunch or something to cook over the fire.

Bhutanese Bows are not toys. They are proper bows and depending on the draw weight achieved could be used for competition within the NFAS Primitive Class.

Mini Bows.

Our chief instructors favourite bows.  Having made literally 100’s of bows from all regions of the world. The challenge of making a mini bow never fails to bring a smile.

Our mini bow course requires all the skills used to craft a Holmgaard bow or a Bhutanese Bow.  The bamboo still needs careful shaping and will be  to be able to be drawn to the bow’s full draw length.  The tools are the same.  Axe, knife and scrapers.

A mini bow is still a real bow and depending on the bow can effectively shoot an arrow up to 100m.

Our students can choose either to make a Bhutanese or a mini bow on their bow making day course.  Mini bows are suitable for our younger guests to make.