Cable-backed bow
A bow reinforced with a tensioned cable on its back.
A cable-backed bow uses a tensioned cable—made from animal, vegetable, or synthetic fibers—attached along its face to reinforce the weapon. Tightening this cable raises the bow’s neutral plane, which is the boundary between the stretching back and the compressing belly when the bow is bent. This shift relieves tension stress on the wooden core, so even poor-quality wood that is weak in tension can form an effective bow. The cable’s material, diameter, distance from the wood, and tightness all influence how much tension is relieved and how much the bow’s power increases.
In the Arctic, Inuit bowyers used sinew cables on short bows crafted from driftwood, baleen, horn, or antler. These cables prevented the bow from breaking under tension and boosted its power. They were fastened at several points on each limb with half-hitches, then tightened by twisting a small toggle inserted into the bundle of strings. Such bows could be reflexed, deflexed, decurved, or straight.
One variant is the Penobscot or Wabenaki bow, invented by Frank Loring (Chief Big Thunder) around 1900. It consists of a smaller bow attached by cables to the back of a larger main bow.
- Inventor
- Frank Loring (Chief Big Thunder)
- Invention date
- about 1900
- Variety
- Penobscot bow or Wabenaki bow
- Cable materials
- animal, vegetable, or synthetic fibers
- Users
- Inuit of the Arctic
- Cable materials inuit
- sinew
- Bow materials inuit
- driftwood, baleen, horn, or antler
Lore & Background
The cable-backed bow uses a cable attached along the face of the bow, secured by bindings and tightened to increase power. The material, diameter, distance from the back of the wooden element, and tightness of the cable determine how much tension stress is relieved and how much the shot is strengthened. The Inuit of the Arctic used sinew cables on short bows made of driftwood, baleen, horn, or antler to prevent breakage in tension and increase power. The cables were attached at several points on each limb with half-hitches and tightened by inserting a small toggle in the bundle of strings and twisting. These bows could be reflexed, deflexed, decurved, or straight.
One variety of cable-backed bow is the Penobscot bow or Wabenaki bow, invented by Frank Loring (Chief Big Thunder) about 1900. It consists of a small bow attached by cables on the back of a larger main bow. The shapes of several Inuit cable-backed bows show an interesting mix of deflex, reflex, and decurve.
Reader's Guide
The cable-backed bow represents a significant adaptation for using poor-quality wood weak in tension, as the cable relieves tension stress from the wooden element. By raising the neutral plane, the design allows a bow to be made from materials that would otherwise fail under tension. The Inuit of the Arctic employed this technology with sinew cables on short bows of driftwood, baleen, horn, or antler, making them unlikely to break and increasing their power. The method of attaching cables with half-hitches and tightening with a toggle demonstrates a practical, field-reliable system. The Penobscot bow, invented by Frank Loring about 1900, further developed the concept by using a small bow attached by cables on the back of a larger main bow. This innovation shows the cable-backed principle applied in a compound-like configuration. The cable-backed bow's legacy lies in its efficient use of available materials and its ability to produce a powerful shot from a short, robust bow, a solution that persisted in Arctic cultures and influenced later bow designs.
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