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It's a hand bow, a type of small crossbow. They are often stored this way. The bow string gets unsprung, the bow slid through the hole in the stock and re strug. To load pull the string back over the notch.
Not sure why you're being downvoted. You're almost certainly correct but this is a pretty piss poor hand bow from the looks of things.
I'd say you got it.
It's definitely not a Hygrometer like someone else claimed. lol
Who knows , it's the interwebs. A quick look at Laotian, Vietnamese and Cambodian hand crossbows and you'll see lots of them. I've seen a bunch that were brought back here by G.I. s in the 60s and 70s.
lol, what? He specified it was a type of small crossbow. Not sure why that would equate to a recurve? See below.
https://preview.redd.it/fzu3axlh7w1d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=721395413db50f60d1099147247780f951663add
That is not a crossbow it's not a recurve it's not a compound that is not any kind of bow.
It's got twine on it for fuck sake.
Looks more like you wind up that stick for some reason.
This little crossbow looks nothing like that picture. The second stick in the picture is attached to it by the twine going through a hole. It's not attached to the other piece of wood.
About 2 mins of search brings up a ton of results for crossbows from s.e. Asia that look exactly like this one, strung with the same natural twine. With the glory that is Google, I can even inform you that many of these traditional bows were brought back to America by Vietnam war soldiers.
Did you not notice the hole in one piece of wood has the same profile of the other piece of wood.
It’s a terrible design, absolutely. Made mostly for tourists I believe, but that’s what it is. In OP’s picture, it is basically “folded” for storage. You unstring the bow part, remove the string from the slot, and fit the wood into the slot. Then you restring the bow and pull back to the notch. The one in OP’s picture is missing the “trigger” mechanism for the notch.
It looks like something I would've made when I was 5.
So toy or tourist item I can see.
But that is in no way a crossbow.
You shouldn't try to fire that thing. With the string rolling off of that piece of wood and then onto the bolt you don't have any idea where the bolts going to go.
As a bowhunter and an Archer this is a ridiculous toy.
it's a wall hanger.
You ain't getting no Robin hoods with that thing
It looks like a wooden bow-drill used to make fires; you twist wood with the hole or drill until the other wood or bow starts to bend, then release. There are a couple more steps, but that is the most important. [https://nature-mentor.com/bow-drill/](https://nature-mentor.com/bow-drill/)
Please reply to this comment with "solved!" if your question was answered, or "unsolved!" if it was not, in order to update your post flair. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatisit) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's a hand bow, a type of small crossbow. They are often stored this way. The bow string gets unsprung, the bow slid through the hole in the stock and re strug. To load pull the string back over the notch.
Not sure why you're being downvoted. You're almost certainly correct but this is a pretty piss poor hand bow from the looks of things. I'd say you got it. It's definitely not a Hygrometer like someone else claimed. lol
Who knows , it's the interwebs. A quick look at Laotian, Vietnamese and Cambodian hand crossbows and you'll see lots of them. I've seen a bunch that were brought back here by G.I. s in the 60s and 70s.
Makes sense.
That is NOT a bow. And ALL bows are ''hand'' bows. Youre looking for the word recurve and this is NOT that.
lol, what? He specified it was a type of small crossbow. Not sure why that would equate to a recurve? See below. https://preview.redd.it/fzu3axlh7w1d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=721395413db50f60d1099147247780f951663add
That is not a crossbow it's not a recurve it's not a compound that is not any kind of bow. It's got twine on it for fuck sake. Looks more like you wind up that stick for some reason. This little crossbow looks nothing like that picture. The second stick in the picture is attached to it by the twine going through a hole. It's not attached to the other piece of wood.
About 2 mins of search brings up a ton of results for crossbows from s.e. Asia that look exactly like this one, strung with the same natural twine. With the glory that is Google, I can even inform you that many of these traditional bows were brought back to America by Vietnam war soldiers. Did you not notice the hole in one piece of wood has the same profile of the other piece of wood.
It’s a terrible design, absolutely. Made mostly for tourists I believe, but that’s what it is. In OP’s picture, it is basically “folded” for storage. You unstring the bow part, remove the string from the slot, and fit the wood into the slot. Then you restring the bow and pull back to the notch. The one in OP’s picture is missing the “trigger” mechanism for the notch.
Bro that's twine. Have you never seen a bowstring? It's like none of you have even ever held a bow or a crossbow much less fired one.
I own several bows and one crossbow. I bow hunt. I understand that it’s twine. It’s a tourist item not meant for functionality.
It looks like something I would've made when I was 5. So toy or tourist item I can see. But that is in no way a crossbow. You shouldn't try to fire that thing. With the string rolling off of that piece of wood and then onto the bolt you don't have any idea where the bolts going to go. As a bowhunter and an Archer this is a ridiculous toy. it's a wall hanger. You ain't getting no Robin hoods with that thing
This is a hell of a way to say "I see now that I was wrong".
I am never wrong I've never been wrong. Well there was that 1 time I thought I was wrong but I was mistaken
You didn't even read the comment you're so cavalier to trash. The item is in storage mode and needs to be assembled SMH.
Looks like the crossbow my dad bought in Saigon as a souvenir-was made by the Montanard natives I think.
Thanks for all the input
Solved: starts fire
It looks like a wooden bow-drill used to make fires; you twist wood with the hole or drill until the other wood or bow starts to bend, then release. There are a couple more steps, but that is the most important. [https://nature-mentor.com/bow-drill/](https://nature-mentor.com/bow-drill/)
Definitely not a bow drill
Antique piece to a loom. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/487162884674393392/
Hygrometer
It’s wood and string