In short..this is always a sticky subject,and you will soon see it in peoples responses that most people are adamantly on one side or the other. And the arguments for both are valid and both do have advantages over another. Me..Im on neither side and I do it both ways depending on the woods characteristics and what type of bow I'm making. Its all about reading the piece of wood you have,what type of bow you are making, and most importantly this is a personal preference issue,and one is not better than the other.