Pernambuco is becoming rare, especially the beautiful, dense and dark kind they had in the old days. Everybody is looking for substitutes. Sometimes Ironwood makes good bows. I have also tried Snake wood and Bania Swarzia. They can give good results, but the bows are different from Pernambuco bows. Lately, I found a new wood […]
Curve and Taper
Yung Chin, a famous bowmaker in NY once said, he had never seen a bow with a full curve that sounded good. A full curve is when a stick touches, or even goes through the hair, when the bow is not tightened. A bow with a full curve will usually bounce very enthusiastically. Some bowmakers […]
De Perfecte … Strijkstok (Volkskrant 31-10-2015)
De Perfecte…Strijkstok
Judging Pernambuco Wood
Looking at a piece of Pernambuco wood we are in the same situation as with a finished bow. We need to be careful in our judgment. All the real masters of our trade have been amazingly careful with their judgments. I have changed my mind about the same bow so many times that I do […]
Hair and Rosin
Horsehair can come from anywhere, but is mostly imported from Mongolia, Siberia and Canada. The hair we use, as far as I know, comes from dead horses. At least that is what I saw in a film over Mongolia. Usually it’s shipped to China where the hair gets selected, which is a lot of work. […]