otherwise known as a bundle bow. for those unable to craft a traditional bow here is an easy alternative. usually made with three to eight branches of relatively equal thickness. most are between five and six feet long. this one is a bit shorter at four feet. it's made of honeysuckle bound with flax and pulls around 25lbs at full draw, more than enough for small game at close range.

I would say there are too many long branches and not enough short branches in that. Its bending in the middle and not at the ends. If you shorten some of the branches its like tillering the bow and it will bend at the ends as well, giving much more power.

I am going to try this... I would go out now if it wasn't dark.  We are attacking with the honeysuckles but there are still plenty of them for this... don't know if they are Japanese though... oh well, I'll try anyway
Will jute work for binding/string?

David is, of course, right. by using longer and shorter lengths you mimic tillering and produce a much more efficient bow. i was just being lazy    here it is again properly bundled. i'm using reletively thin branches so it goes 10 at the handle, 8 at the mid point, and 6 at the ends. if yours are thicker you might want 7,5,3 or even 6,4,2 depending on size and material. just about any cordage is suittable for the binding as long as it's TIGHT! for the string, though, you want the strongest cordage available. this one is hand twisted two-ply jute.

Talking about survival, I remember my father made one bow like the last one to me when I was a youth, but from steel ribs(?) from a parasol.  It was short, obviously, but immensely powerful, as I remember it.  The arrows splintered when fired at wooden targets.  I fear they make parasols from lower quality materials these days .
timann

That's a great tip, paleoarts!  I never considered doing that in an emergency, or just for something to do on a camping trip! 25 lbs would be plenty of pull for all but deer in my area.  I want to try it.

looks better ! (not that it looked bad before lol)

Now I have a use for those damn plants that have been growing behind my shed.