Phil Brooke Longbows | The Way Of The Woods

Certificate Of Traditional Bow making L4

Phil is the chief Instructor at Woodcraft School in West Sussex where he licenses and delivers an array of course's including the Applied Bushcraft level 4, Bushcraft Advanced Award level 3, Bushcraft Intermediate Award L2 and the Traditional Bow Making Level 4. For further Information on the fantastic array of Bushcraft and natural history courses available please follow the links below the course's descriptions where they can be booked.

Traditional Bow Making L4

Course Content

Selection of suitable felled timber for specific bow designs, processing and preparing timber from round wood. Construction of a range of Longbows of different designs using a wide range of timbers. making repairs, exploration of design and techniques to improve efficiency, bows of varying draw weights, character bows, dealing with knots, twists lumps and bumps, arrow plates and horn nocks.

Whats it about

We have been planning this course for several years with the aim of providing a platform from which to explore the variety and craftsmanship to be found within this unique aspect of our social and woodland heritage. We focus on wooden bows which historically have informed so much of life in this temperate home of ours. Tracing back the designs to earliest bows of Europe’s Mesolithic hunter gathers, through to the those great weapons of war and then on to explore the new, or at least rediscovered technologies and uses of materials that are available to the modern wooden bow maker. We anticipate that students will make several Longbows of a variety of designs and specification. These should culminate in a deep understanding of the archery heritage found across North West Europe. The course will run over several months with attendance required in three day blocks spread evenly across duration of the course. There will be some requirement for working on projects at home and for this reason a set of hand tools will also be needed by each participant.

Although not assessed, arrow making and string making will also be explored deeply.

This course runs in modules of 3 days and totals 18 days in the field.

To make travel easier clients are welcome to arrive on the evening before each module starts

Course Dates

To complete the qualification you'll need to attend 5 workshops and 1 Assessment. You can do this over an 18 month period. The workshops are -

Longbow making workshop
Flatbow making workshop
Arrow making workshop
Warbow course
Laminates & self bows stave production. Fault finding & fixing workshop.
Assessment weekend.

To book onto this programme please book and pay the deposit below. We will book you onto the first workshop of your choice, from there you have 18 months to complete the modules.

You need to be over 18 years of age to attend this programme.

This course is written and quality assured by Woodcraft School and run under license by Phil Brooke. The course location is near Hellingly, East Sussex

Course: Traditional Bow Making

Location: Nr Hellingly East Sussex

Start Time: 8.30 am

Completion Time: 4.00pm

Course Leader: Phil Brooke

Course Size: 8 (maximum)

Cost Per Person: £2035 (Deposit £100)

Certification

The award level is set at level 4 by using national benchmarks. Successful candidates will receive the Certificate In Traditional Bowmaking from the NCFE who we will be using to underscore the quality of this programme.

Levels

The level of our programme's implies the degree of work needed to be done by the student to achieve certification. Our awards are set at level 3 and 4 this does not imply that levels below these benchmarks are needed prior to joining a course. Guidelines as to the complexity of the levels can be found here.

Assessment

The assessment process varies to include the production of bows of various designs and to various specifications but also a professional workbook detailing technical aspects and the rational behind the designs together with personal evaluations of each design produced. If you have any questions or would like more information about this course, please feel free to contact us for an informal chat.

It is possible to take the training element of this course and not the assessment in which case a certificate of attendance can be issued.

Fees

The total cost of this course is £2035 which after the initial deposit can be paid, per module. This price also includes all materials for the production of the bows made during the course.

You will be expected to work on projects in between sessions, it should possible to make between 6 and 12 bows during the programme

Camping & Facilities

Woodland camping is included at no extra cost.

The Course is now run from the comfort of our woodland workshop nestled deep in the woods facilities include.

Heated workshop
kitchen
Showers
Toilets
Camping included in the woods or field campsite.

However this is not a course requirement, there’s plenty of local B&B's/hotels available.

Catering

Please note 4 of these modules are catered and the last two are self catered.

Reviews

Joe Garnett Traditional bow Making level 4 - 2020

The Level 4 Traditional bow making course is a fantastic insight into the world of the bowyer. Phil is excellent at passing on his depth and breadth of knowledge to help you produce a range of bows, to a quality you never thought you could. The hands on nature along with the emphasis on self experimentation gives you the confidence to practice what’s been taught in-between sessions. In short, this course gives you all the opportunity you need to be able to produce bows that can be enjoyed for many years to come. Thank you Phil!

Jack Warren 2020 Traditional bow making level 4

This is a fantastic course for anyone who wants to delve deeper into bow making than just the experience of making a single bow. From felling your own timber and splitting out multiple staves across several species, you'll learn how to craft both functioning and beautiful bows. You will get a deeper understanding of the properties of wood and experiment (sometimes to the point of failure) how efficient a bow can be. Mastering not only the carpentry but also the skill of tillering along with fit and finish, by the end of the course you will have the skillsets to carry on making bows with a much deeper understanding of how to make them shoot well and last. This was a challenging course, which a level 4 should be, but very rewarding. Covering multiple styles of bow construction across varied woods I feel that I've not only got a new skill but am better connected to my ancestors and can appreciate just how knowledgeable and skilled they were.

Stuart Barrett 2020 Traditional bow making level 4

Having made a longbow on the Bushcraft Leadership course a few years ago I thought I would be well prepared. However, be under no illusion this course was time consuming and hard work. At times I was frustrated, but the adage of ‘remove wood where the bow isn’t bending and leave it where it is’ eventually makes sense. Ultimately, the satisfaction of independently making bows from start to finish, bending to full compass is extremely gratifying. I can’t imagine any other provider doing a better job than Phil Brooke. His knowledge, craftsmanship and personal interest in the subject is exceptional, this said, he won’t be making the bows for you!

PRICE: £100.00