Commission a bow

Traditional Asiatic recurves · Handmade in Manchester

The bow of the steppe, made again by hand.

Huns, Magyars, Mongols, Tatars and Ottomans conquered on horseback with short, heavily recurved bows. Robert Pozderka rebuilds them, laminate by laminate, from originals in the Manchester Archery Collection.

Explore the five bows Design your own
Models
5
Draw weight
#28–60
Build time
8–10 wks
From
£500

Chapter one · Masters of precision

Steppe warriors and their recurved bows.

From the vast Asian plains came the horse archers: Huns, Magyars, Mongols, and Ottomans with their swift Tatar cavalry. They used short, heavily recurved bows, from the Ottomans’ 45-inch to the Tatars’ 55-inch designs. Today we shoot them for sport, not war.

Historic routes Manchester today

From the steppe to Manchester

    Chapter two · Modern craftsmanship

    Inspired by Asiatic tradition, built for today.

    Since the 1990s interest in Asiatic-style bows has grown, alongside instinctive ‘barebow’ shooting. Modern versions come in two kinds.

    Type A

    Fibreglass-covered limbs

    Common, heavier in the limb, and built to a price.

    Type B · Paragon

    Lighter, efficient laminates

    A bamboo core under fibreglass, with hardwood risers and siyahs, strengthened with a polymer composite for longitudinal and lateral stability.

    Anatomy of a Paragon

    Ten parts, one bow.

    Scroll to take half a bow apart, layer by layer.

    1. 01
      Back fibreglassClear or black. Clear glass shows the bamboo beneath, and any dye stain you choose.
    2. 02
      Bamboo coreThe working heart of each limb: light, springy and fast.
    3. 03
      Polymer compositeA stabilising layer for longitudinal and lateral stability, so the limbs track true.
    4. 04
      Belly fibreglassClear or black; can be hand-painted as grey cattle horn.
    5. 05
      Hardwood riserAsh, maple or cherry, shaped through the fades into the limbs.
    6. 06
      Grip & arrow passesCow leather, suede, stingray or built-in hard-wearing passes.
    7. 07
      Hardwood siyahThe rigid recurved tip that acts as a lever and gives the draw its smoothness.
    8. 08
      String bridgeSeats the string at brace, as on the historic originals.
    9. 09
      Tip overlayPhenolic in black or brown, or decorative kirinte.
    10. 10
      StringEvery bow ships with a string and a bow bag.
    Robert Pozderka checking a bow limb in his Manchester workshop
    Pl. 01 — Robert in the workshop

    Chapter three · The bowyer

    Crafted in the UK by Robert Pozderka.

    Born and raised in Hungary, with family roots in the Puszta, the Great Hungarian Plain, Rob has lived in Manchester for over twenty years. He studied original bows in the Manchester Archery Collection one by one before building his own.

    Paragon bows honour the traditional Asiatic recurve. They are elegant, smooth to draw, quick in action and easy to look after.

    Meet the bowyer
    Researched in the Manchester Archery CollectionManchester Museum, home to bow SA 3158, taken at the Siege of Vienna in 1683 and the basis of the Raider.

    The collection

    Five bows, five empires.

    Compare side by side
    01 RaiderCrimean Tatar · 15th–18th c. 56″ nock to nock
    34″ max draw     from £550 The Raider     02 GriffinMagyar · 9th–10th c. 52″ nock to nock
    31″ max draw     from £500 The Griffin     03 KhanTimurid · 14th–15th c. 50.5″ nock to nock
    32″ max draw     from £500 The Khan     04 Great KhanIndo-Persian · Long-draw tradition 56.7″ nock to nock
    34″ max draw     from £550 The Great Khan     05 SolakOttoman · 15th–17th c. 50.4″ nock to nock
    32″ max draw     from £500 The Solak

    Decoration

    Every limb a manuscript.

    Full calligraphy by a professional calligrapher, semi decoration, hand-painted horn bellies and kirinte tips. You choose; Robert builds.

    Khan, limb back, full calligraphy
    Pl. 02Khan, limb back, full calligraphy
    Great Khan, limb back, gilt quatrefoil
    Pl. 03Great Khan, limb back, gilt quatrefoil
    Raider, limb back with floral decoration
    Pl. 04Raider, limb back with floral decoration
    Khan, lacquer-red siyah with gilt line work
    Pl. 05Khan, lacquer-red siyah with gilt line work
    Khan, cartouche and floral panel
    Pl. 06Khan, cartouche and floral panel
    Raider, painted belly and grip
    Pl. 07Raider, painted belly and grip
    Great Khan, decorated limb
    Pl. 08Great Khan, decorated limb
    Try decorations in the bow designer

    The range

    Loose an arrow from any Paragon.

    Pick a bow, a draw weight and an arrow, then watch the flight to the boss at 18 to 100 metres, with estimated speed, energy and time in the air.

    Go to the range

    Which bow is mine?

    Start with your draw length.

    Every Paragon bow has a maximum draw. Set yours and see which bows fit, and roughly what a #45 bow will feel like at your draw.

    Open the full bow finder

    Don’t know it? Measure your arm span in inches and divide by 2.5.

      From the archers

      “You commission a work of art.”

      What archers say after the bow arrives. Five-star reviews on the Paragon Bows Facebook page.

      “When you buy a bow from Rob you commission a work of art. You also get a bow that shoots fantastically well!”
      Pat FitzGerald★★★★★
      “Robert Pozderka is a master bowyer and pours his heart and soul into each bow. The bows are truly spectacular and a true delight to shoot! Would truly recommend a bow from Paragon Bows.”
      Trilochan Singh★★★★★
      “The bow made by Paragon is not only an ultimate performance bow but also a piece of art, and a must-have in the collection of any traditional archery fan.”
      Tomasz Matuszewski★★★★★
      “Amazing bows, wonderful communication, incredible quality.”
      Jose Claure★★★★★
      Concept design · not the official website