Wood
and Materials
Alternative Bow Wood |
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Hakia: |
Very
strong rather plain yellow to brown hardwood. I am not aware of
any original bow from this wood, so I would use it only for modern
bows. Now sometimes called "Pau D'arco," it has been demonstrated to have very close physical characteristics to pernambuco, including high "Lucchi" test result. Very successful for this purpose. |
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Beefwood: |
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Attractive,
looks like Pernambuco when worked, but is usually lighter in weight
and somewhat more flexible. Good for some high-tipped classical
bows, and cello or gamba bows. Its strong point is that bows from
this wood produce a particularly sweet tone quality. | |
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Ipe: |
This
can be a very beautiful bow wood. It is a good weight, but tends
not to be as stiff as might be ideal. Good for some early classical
models. For modern use requires a higher tip and frog. |
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Greenheart: |
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Greenheart
wood has many of the qualities required for fine bows: good colour
(beige to brown, not green) appropriate elasticity, good tonal qualities.
Worthy of further study. | |
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