We have been looking for a decent arbalest, at a reasonable price for a number of years, that met Wolfe Argents Standards, and needless to say, we have gone without a representation of a crossbow for years, due to one or two of our requirements being off. For instance, there was a fellow in Canada, from Poland originally, who made fantastic later Renaissance crossbows, but his bows were definitely later Renaissance, and he used metal nuts for the trigger action exclusively, and decorated his staves as a rule with lovely etching. In the past several years, European sources that once were possibilities priced us out of the potential market with the weakening of the US dollar.

Several times in the past, we were recommended to David Watson, of New World Arbalest, known as Master Iolo in the SCA. I had never seen anything in the flesh from him, other than standard production crossbows, and SCA combat crossbows, so we did not try him for a number of years, as these pieces all are for a different purpose, or audience.

Last Year, we decided to push our arbalest aquirement project forward, and after hearing repeatedly that David Watson could make pretty much anything we needed, justr that a historic bow was going to cost more than a production model, we decided to give him a try.

The end result was more than worth it. Here are some shots of our arbalest -

Our requirement was for a typical last third of the 15th century arbalest, as seen from images from the Low Countries to the Middle of the HRE, to be cocked by a crannequin (we went with Matuls for the latter, who provided us with an excellent working model), with either a European Walnut stock, or a Stock of Pear or Cherry, with a bone table, inlay if possible, a bound in horn nut, a bound in stave, of no less than 135 lbs draw weight, and as much draw weight as reasonably possible, and to have a stirrup.

The European Walnut was right out, both in regards to cost and availability. Swiss pear was our second choice, which we tried to track down, to no avail in a piece of the size and quality needed, so we opted for Cherry - according to Jens Sensfelder's new Catalog of the crossbow exhibition currently running in the Dutch Army Museum, cherry is listed alongside pear as a common stock choice.

Link to a larger image
http://www.wolfeargent.com/crossbow/crossbow-front-bolts.jpg

As you can see, David not only met, but exceeded our requirements. The bow does not only look as we requested, and it ought, but it is a great shooter. It has a 150 lb draw weight, as I intend to eventually use it hunting, so it can take up to medium sized game. I had been worried about the action, with a bound in nut, but the action is as smooth as silk, and the crossbow shoots flawlessly.

There are two very minor differences between this bow, and a historical one, but small enough not to notice, and one David canot help. Firstly, and most visible, the stock is a little chunkier in the forehand, where the hand sits whjen shooting than is commonly seen on extant bows - it falls within the spectrum, but it trends a little bigger than normal. Secondly, the modern screw holding down the bolt retaining clip (which is hardly possible to help). At some future point, I am going to contact a smith and enquire about a hand made one, or re-heading a modern one, to more closely resemble the rare extant specimens. The prod itself is from a company called Alchem, and it is an excellent prod, but it differs in slight detail of geometry from an original - not so badly that you really notice, unless you know what you are looking for.

All the above points are very minor, and in no way detract from the excellence of David's work.

The bow was exceptionally reasonably priced, at less than $760, including a dozen historical bolts - with barreled shafts. We had enquired last November, and David honoured his quote some months later, when our cranequin finally arrived from Poland, David being unable to undertake the project until the cranequin was gotten. A recent quote for a friend, for essentially the same bow, came in at $800, quite understandable given the recent cost increases we have faced across the board in the United States.

The original schedule for the arbalest was to have it complete, and in hand by the end of September. David began the project in May, some months later than anticipated, due to our wait for the cranequin, so David was, in my estimation, several months early on his projected schedule.

I highly recommend New World Arbalest, for making an excellent product, being pleasant to work with, and being prompt on delivery.

[ 08-19-2008: Message edited by: chef de chambre ]

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Purdy...

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Andy V.
You're friendly neighborhood Roman Dude