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Contents:
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Bow Observations p. 3
Materials
Stick
Modern bow sticks are made of various kinds of wood, composite materials, and even combinations.
The finest sticks are of “pernambuco” - a reddish wood from Brazil also referred to as Pau-Brazil.
Other woods used include woods similar to or inferior grades of pernambuco loosely termed
“brazilwood,” snakewood and a range of somewhat mysterious Asian woods.
Pernambuco itself varies in quality. Straight grain and high density are the most desirable. The best
wood sinks in water. On the other hand, more porous wood often has great elasticity, a good thing.
The Lucchi measurement of the speed of sound in wood is useful here. High Lucchi numbers are a
measure of good elasticity. On the other hand, highly elastic blanks tend to make for twitchy bows
unless care is taken.
There’s some debate about the importance of totally straight grain, the presence of waves in the grain,
and the orientation of the annular rings. An ideal would be totally straight grain with the annular rings
pointing to the string in playing position. However, rather nice playing sticks often exhibit flaws in the
wood and orientation. The most important aspect is likely how the maker compensates for minor
flaws. Wood tends to break perpendicular to the annular rings, so the most serious flaw in orientation
is having the annular rings running up and down the head. The head will break easily under these
circumstances. The final playing quality seems about ½ the result of the wood and ½ the result of the
bowmaker’s skill in working with the wood.
Frog
Frogs are generally made of ebony. Ivory, imitation ivory, bone, fossil, horn, tortoise, and probably
other things have been used. The material matters less than the construction. Except that some
exotic materials shatter rather easily, something to keep in mind when shopping and playing.
A fair amount of machine and hand work goes into even a simple frog. The quality of materials,
design, and construction all play into whether a frog is effective or not. The frog swells at the bottom
to accommodate the slide and hair, and possibly to add a little mass. The slide needs to fit firmly, but
still move out of the way for rehairing. The ferrule should be cleanly made and fit well. Very important:
the frog needs to seat well on the stick without wobble.
Frogs may be either half lined or fully lined. The half lining refers to a metal bearing plate attached to
the frog and separating the ebony from direct contact with the wood. This plate is pinned or even
screwed to the frog on better versions. Fully lined frogs have metal on the bottom and back of the
frog along the center line. While fully lined frogs are supposed to be better, I don’t see any problem
really with half lined frogs. The lining adds mass, which can be useful in balancing a bow, and looks
great.
I’ve intentionally ignored plastic frogs. I used to have a box of broken plastic frogs. Enough written!
Fittings
Much is made of the material fittings are made of. Plated cheap steel lies at the bottom. Handcrafted
gold at the top. The highest level frogs and fittings are often made by the bowmaker for a particular
bow. Most bows come with frogs and fittings either entirely or partially made by specialist producers.
Playing characteristics aren’t influenced by the origin, but as with instruments themselves, the
aesthetic characteristics imparted by a skilled artisan with a good eye are worth something.
Fittings must fit. And stay attached. That’s about it for fitting functional quality. If you’re examining a
bow, look for the fit and finish of the fittings as well as the material. Some work on cheap bows is
surprisingly crude on close examination.
Hair
Virtually all bows are strung with various qualities of horse tail hair. Hair is alleged to come from
Siberia, Mongolia, Manchuria, Poland, and Argentina. Stallion hair from Siberia has been touted as
the best. I have no idea if any of this is true. It may all come from a few sorting houses in northern
China for all I know!
Players and bow makers prefer straight hair with regular structure. Violin players like very white hair
while bass and cello players prefer coarse black hair. Others use a mix. I only see hair after large
amounts of sorting and have no idea whether there’s an inherent correlation of color and texture.
Some hair is apparently bleached. I can’t imagine bleach does hair any good.
Most hair comes from slaughter houses. The hair is cleaned with mild soap or detergents then
dressed for use in various products. “Dressing” involves gathering, sorting by length, and evaluating
the consistency of the bundle. The better the dressing and the more times dressed the more
consistent the hair is and the better it works on a bow. Most bowmakers further sort the hair. The
amount and criteria for this final dressing are very personal. I’ll simply pull out hairs I don’t like. They
may be too fat, too thin, or kinky.
Bowhair works by holding rosin. The rosin particles reside in between the scales of the hair, gradually
working their way out. Players talk about “bite” - a combination of the hair itself and of rosin
characteristics. Players sometimes destroy bite in hair. I’m not sure how this happens. Maybe they
rub the scales down or use a terrible rosin.
Dirt and oil are the real enemies of bow hair. Broken hairs, which generally occur on the playing edge
of the hair ribbon, are the bow’s enemy, leading to warping. Dirty hair can be cleaned a couple of
times before rehairing, but thin hair calls for prompt action.
A compromise exists in the amount of hair on a bow. The best tone comes from the least hair feasible
for a bow. Too much hair deadens the sound and overdrives the stick. I like to have the amount of
hair that gives about 0.5 mm stretch when the bow is tightened sufficiently for good playing.
I rehair bows for emergencies, but generally accumulate them and send them out to a professional
bowmaker friend.
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