Endless strings vs Flemish

[Gordon martiniuk]

What are the pro and cons of endless strings vs Flemish twist what is better on recurves and long bows which is easy on limb tips of is there no diffrence

[blueline]

I have made both. You need a good jig to make the endless, Dont really need anything to make the flemish. I personally like flemish with padded loops to protect the nocks.

[Scott J. Williams]

It has been my experience that the continuous loop strings are a bit noisier, than the Flemish.  This is due mostly from the wrapping of the Flemish string being softer, and the continuous loop being harder, due to the wrap on the loops.  

One sure way to cure the noise on a Flemish string is to dip that part of the loop in lacquer thinner. It removes the wax, and will greatly silence the string, as it becomes softer.  Some guys will put mole skin on the curve of the limp to quiet a loop string,  I have mixed results with this method.  

Continuous loop is an easier string for most novice to make, and as afar as which is better. Well to me one is as good as the next, with the continuous loop lending it self more to the the twisting up for tuning, or down to get the brace height correct for a given bow, and shooters style.

A Flemish twist string, which I shoot, can only be un-twisted so many times before it is in danger of coming apart.  Be mindful of which way you go when adjusting it.

[Keuka]

Scott,
Where on the loop are you removing the wax and does it put you at risk of breaking a string? I'm also shooting a Widow recurve and have mixed results with the mole skin on the limb tip.

[JRY309]

I have made both,I made up an endless jig for around $20 and have had a flemish jig I got from Kustom King years ago.I like to use endless loop for my older recurves with dacron.I have made some endless loop D97,it seemed faster and shot harder requiring me to retune my arrow setup.But it was louder,but quietened down quite a bit with two sets of cat whiskers.But I didn't get it as quiet as a flemish D97,but I only played with a couple of endless D97.I have even made padded loop endless,it was easy to do by laying in some extra strands of the same string before serving the ends.If I was going for speed an endless D97 would be my choice but a flemish twist D97 is quieter.But I like and prefer endless loop for my dacron bows.

[Gordon martiniuk]

Thanks that is what I was wondering had a good flemish string on my Kemph Stealth and well it broke after 2 yrs I built a endless string and had to put large beaver fur on to quiet still seems fast but a little more noise I was wondering if the next string i build I will try and pad the end serving

[SHOOTO8S]

Padding endless strings doesn't work very well...the problem is the strands under tension migrate to the direction of tension and the padding strands end up on the non-tension side of the loop, doing nothing.

[James Wrenn]

I don't really see one as being any better than the other.I use flemish because they are easy to build.I clean the loops with laquer thinner like Scott.It makes them quieter on recurves and the string does not build up grit in the string grooves like it does with a waxed string.A plus is you don't have nasty black wax all on the bow tips either.I use d-97 strings and have smooth string grooves so never had a string wear or break.