Shaft bow

Its area of distribution is contiguous; in addition to Finland and Estonia, it has been used by other Baltic Finnic peoples in Russia.

[1] They appear in Sweden later yet– the Swedish explorer and naturalist Carl von Linné only saw his first shaft bow in Finland in 1732.

The Finnish terms are ancient, and words like vemmelsääri (bowleg or luokki leg) to mean a hare in a playful context are still in use.

In Finland usually the shaft bow is made of springy wood, but in Russia cast iron versions are common.

[citation needed] The usual wood for making a Finnish shaft bow is European white elm and small-leaved lime, which are light, flexible, durable, and they keep their shape well.

Other trees used for making shaft bows are rowan, yew, juniper and the northern, slowly growing birch.

A wooden, so-called "pressed shaft bow" can be made of bird cherry (which is the most durable), lime or birch – all these trees grow slowly in the Finnish climate.

The wood is softened by storing it in a dung heap for about a week, warming it by an open fire, steaming it, or using microwaves.

[5] The Ilizarov apparatus in turn has inspired other medical devices for external fixation, including the Taylor Spatial Frame.