Silver Winding and Leather Grip

The winding on a bow is designed to protect the stick and give the bow adequate weight and balance. A leather thumb grip is added for comfort. I use my homemade bow winder when doing a solid wire winding but still prefer to do the fancy brocades and silk by hand. Check out my article of winding materials for photos and more information regarding the available options for windings.

The old winding is removed and the stick is cleaned. If the player was happy with the way the bow played, it’s important to replace the same amount of material, including the type of material, length, and gauge, to ensure the same playability. I solder the end of the winding and dress it with a file then polish up the winding with a microfiber cloth and some buffing compound.

The leather is selected and feathered to achieve a uniform thickness when wrapped around the winding. If properly feathered and wrapped the seam should be practically invisible to the eye. I like using the pistol grip knife but a good Skew Chisel works great as well. Traditionally a soft string is used to tie on the leather but recently I have starting using grafting tape (the same used for plants and trees) which also produces good results.

When doing a wire winding I like to add a leather cap to the end towards the head. I think it adds elegance as well as functions to prevents any movement of the wire to work loose.

Check out the video below for the whole process.