Yew Longbow Wood
Generally accepted as the traditional wood of the Self English longbow due to its inherent contrasting qualityies of a sapwood excellent under tension (the ideal property of a backwood) and tough heartwood hard enough to take the compressive forces when bending in the belly of the bow.
My own laminated longbows featuring Yew heartwood as a belly and/or core preferably coupled with maple as a back, generally produces a technically superior bow to the traditional self Yew.
Yew has a beautiful appearance, orange in colour with a prominent grain which can twist and curl through the length of the wood.
English Yew will often have minor blemishes and pin knots (see below) although in a carefully selected piece these will be minimal and have no effect on the bows performance.
