had a discussion with a fellow local bowyer about wether or not an unbacked hickory board bow is still considerred a selfbow. looked all over the net and found peoples opinions to be 50/50. so what do you guys think? yay or nay?

Yes. Even with a cloth or paper backing I still consider it a self bow. If it is one piece of wood or two billets joined at the handle it is a selfbow, be it board or tree stave.

Is too me.

I would say yes

Not sure how anyone could say it isn't.  I'd like to hear their reasoning.  As long as the working portion of the limb is the same piece from back to belly, it is a selfbow.  

We had a discussion here or on the Stickbow *********** many years ago debating whether a selfbow even had to be made of wood to meet the definition.  Some argued that technically, a steel or solid fiberglass bow is still a selfbow.  I have no problem either way on that one.

well d@mn, i've always been told a selfbow is a one solid piece of wood turned into a longbow. no backing, no overlays, not even a built up riser. just a "simple" piece of wood. thanks guys for clearing it up. i stand corrected henceforth.

I always heard the same, unbacked bows are the only "selfbows" as they are self backed. All other bows are backed bows.

Backings of any type: sinew, linen, silk, fiberglass, paper, rawhide, carbon, etc. serve the purpose of giving more strength to the bow that might otherwise break without these backings. In other words the backing is used to reduce the probability of limb failure.

In my opinion it is more difficult to build an unbacked bow as you are completely relying on one piece of wood. That is probably why some who actually complete this task are particular about what they are called.

First of all, silk, linen, paper and even rawhide do not add anything to the performance of a selfbow. They are mearly insurance for the bow if it has any questionable maladies and believe me they will not keep a flawed bow from breaking.
 There is no set rule that makes a bow a selfbow except that it be one piece of solid wood or a set of billets joined at the handle. I would even say a solid wood bow joined at the handle with take down sleeves I would still consider a self bow.

I hear you Pat, just summing up what I've typically heard or read. Those backings may not add performance but they do decrease the lilkeyhood of raising a splinter and they definitely add insurance.

Yes, an unbacked board bow is a self bow.    Jawge

By definition, a selfbow is technically comprised of a single homogeneous piece of wood.  That being said, most people, including myself, categorize selfbows using a definition similar to Pat and John's.

I would have to agree with the majority here; a selfbow is any bow made of a single piece of wood, board or stave. The addition of a backing does, technically, void the selfbow status, as it doesn't allow only the wood to do all the work (shooting and stabilizing). Just my two cents on the matter.

As a side note though, a board is basically just a stave which has been decrowned; if you think about it. All staves or billets are turned into boards on their way to becoming a bow anyway.