Have you ever seen one of these?

 

The late Frank Scott told me this was a Bear Kodiak "Salesman Sample Bow" from about 1960. I've never seen another like it.

What's so unique about this Kodiak is that the top half of the bow was completely finished, while the bottom half of the bow was left unlaminated, uncut and unfinished.

 

 

The idea, according to Frank, was that a Bear salesman could show dealers and consumers exactly how a Bear Kodiak was made, how the limbs were laminated and how everything was then expertly shaped and finally finished.

Sure is a fascinating piece...

Bill Krenz
Colorado

 

Wow never seen any thing like that before...

That is cool a find.

that's really cool. thanks for the pics.  

Real good to see you on here Bill. Haven't seen you at the Colorado shoots in a long time.
Ron

Bill,

Good to see you here.

The only photographs I have ever seen of a Salesman's Sample Kodiak were the ones from you several years ago.

I remember thinking at the time, if I had the bow, I'd glue up the lower limb and shoot it...

Hey TX,

Thanks for the pics...yet another fascinating piece of history!

By the way, got the stats for that riser to add to the list?

Bernie

I have some salesman sample bows in my collection and most are short little bows that show the basic bow in a down sized version. All are complete little bows. I also have some unfinished Bear bows with riser and no glass that would be considered salesman samples.

A little plywood for a form and a couple pieces of black and white fiberglass and you'd have a shooter.  

What a neat piece of History.  Thanks for sharing.

Trap

Hi Bill good to hear from you.Nope I've only seen pics of one and that may be the one I saw the pics of.bd

Hello Bill- Nice to see you posting here. You were one of my seminal "go-to" sources back in the Bow Hut days; I still have stuff I bought from you. That's a real interesting specimen. I've seen several "sample" items over the years but this is a first for this particular take on them. I'm with Wade on this one though- I'd have to see that as a little "fixer upper",LOL. Thanks. I hope you'll post more- you've got a lot to share.  Grant Young

Thanks guys. I've been sidetracked from additional collecting by business startups and whatnot  for the past few years, but definitely still have the internal fire to gather and learn. So much to learn.

I've often thought that a special display of this maybe-one-of-a-kind sample Kodiak ought to be in with a much bigger display of Bear Kodiaks.

 

The idea would be to create a unique display rack that flared the laminations out, showcasing the manufacturing process involved. At one point, Frank Scott and I talked about that.

But I just never seem to have the time to get that done. Maybe someday someone else will get fired up enough about this piece of Bear history, buy it and  complete the project. It could be the dramatic focal centerpiece of any Kodiak collection or display.

Great stuff! The salesman display is a very cool piece of history and your rack of Kodiaks is Awesome! Thanks for sharing. Greg