#102 Hanno Börner on the Bowyers' Dispatch

Hanno Börner is a bowyer and the owner of Bogenschule Stellmoor, an traditional archery school in Hamburg, Germany, where only bows of natural materials are permitted. Hanno and his wife have taught archery at Stellmoor since 2004, and teach about 120 youth during the summer. Please enjoy this episode of the Bowyers' Dispatch on Salish Wolf with Hanno Börner.          Episode Links: https://www.stellmoorbogen.de/https://www.instagram.com/hannoboernerhttps://www.youtube.com/@stellmoorbogen7401Bowyers’ Dispatch Quiver at Anchor Point ExpeditionsSummary:Bowyer and archery-school founder Hanno Börner joins Todd to discuss teaching children with natural-material bows, building traditional bows, and the history behind the Stellmoor name. Todd also shares his experience teaching archery in Costa Rica and experimenting with tropical woods, creating a practical conversation about craft, community, and how climate affects bow performance.Show Notes:Hanno and his wife have taught archery since 2004, growing from a small field to a school and range serving around 120 children in summer.The range requires organic-material bows and arrows, with no fiberglass or carbon equipment; Börner builds bows and offers bow-building classes.Children learn safety and responsibility through an archery-captain role, games, target practice, and rounds through a wooded course with 3D targets.The Stellmoor name refers to nearby archaeological finds of arrow shafts with string notches, estimated at roughly 12,000 years old; no bow was conclusively identified.Börner traces his path from childhood stick-and-string bows to bow making, describing traditional wooden self bows, bamboo laminates, and horn-composite bows.He explains why bow-building classes need manageable materials and workpieces, and why hand tools offer quieter, cleaner work than power tools.Todd describes bow failures in Costa Rica’s humidity and his experiments with local lemonwood and other tropical woods; Börner discusses seasonal stability and dense woods.Chapters:00:00 A natural-material archery school in Hamburg02:52 From a small field to a growing club06:08 Natural bows, bow building, and a workshop reset09:14 How the school found its first students12:11 Getting kids outdoors and earning neighborhood trust15:09 Teaching safety through games and group roles18:08 Play, meditation, and different reasons to shoot20:59 The Stellmoor name and ancient arrow finds23:59 A replaceable foreshaft from prehistoric archery26:59 Hanno’s first bows and the pull of woodworking30:14 Learning bow making through trial and error32:53 Finding bow wood and developing as a craftsperson35:56 From self-made bows to traditional archery38:52 The range of bows Hanno builds today41:56 Choosing materials for a two-day bow-building class45:11 Why students need room to make mistakes48:07 Leaving power tools behind for quieter handwork51:05 Balancing craft, efficiency, and customers’ bow preferences54:08 Inspiration from Dean Torges and the Bowyers Journal57:12 The ambush bow challenge and a second-place finish59:59 A damaged horn-composite bow and a hand-carved self bow01:02:53 The crooked knife and its maker’s story01:05:53 Greenwood tools and working wood before it dries01:09:01 Finding Hanno’s work and the archery school online01:12:02 Todd’s search for Costa Rican lemonwood01:14:52 Tropical wood, humidity, and bow performance01:18:04 Local woods and lessons from dense tropical species01:20:53 Seasonal draw weight and closing reflections