Recurves and skinny strings

[macksdad]

I.ve been expirementing with strings on my hoyt recurves and strings. I have found that they like skinnnier 12 strand fast flight strings better than 14- 16 strand fast flight or dacron strings. Shoot alot quieter and alot tighter groups. Is this typical of most recurves or possibly just a hoyt trait.

[KentuckyTJ]

Steve, yes I have 8 strand padded to 16 in the loops on all my bows and the benefits are amazing over 14 strand throughout strings of the same FF material. This has been talked about a lot on here and some will say they haven't noticed much of a difference. I think bow design may have to do with the different findings. But I have done the comparison on at least 12 bows and on all of them there was a noticeable difference.

[Bob Morrison]

That Not Skinny   . 6-8 Strand is skinny. I feel either one is quieter and has be a little quicker. 8 strand is what we send out with our bows.

[LBR]

Depends on who you ask.  

Black Widow's "stock" string is 14 strands of Dynaflight '97.  Some bowyers won't warranty anything other than dacron, some prefer endless, etc. etc. etc.

There's no "one size fits all" answer--you have to do your own homework.

I personally don't like to use less than 10-12 strands of Dynaflight '97 on anything except a very light draw weight.  I don't have any problem getting my bows very quiet--just take a little time to tune--but that's me.  One one bow I use 12-14 strands--I found no benefit to less, I only got more stretch/creep and less durability with fewer strands.

One of the nice things about learning to make your own strings is you can do your own experimenting. No matter what the question is, you'll always get different answers--and your results may be different yet.

Chad

[Carbonkiller]

8 to 10 strand strings for me as well! i notice a difference in them compared to the thicker d97s.

[Rob DiStefano]

like bob posted, 8 and under hmpe fiber is considered skinny, 10 and over ain't.  

this is for most hunting stick bows in the 40+ to 70+ range.  yes, 8 strands of hmpe is more than enuf with 70 pounds holding weight, considering a single strand of the average hmpe has over 100# tensile strength, which will yield more than a 10:1 bow:strand ratio.  

there are no rules, do yer own testing and see what works best for you. that stuff can be fun, particularly if you can twist or spin up yer own bowstrings.  

6 strands or 16 strands, it's all good if it works good for you and you know what yer doing.    

[wv lungbuster]

I had the same results with 8 strand BCY Dynaflight 10 on my longbows. No stretch either also quieter than 97.

[ozy clint]

i shoot a 7 strand endless D97 on my 54# recurve. i like it much better than the 14 strand dacron i used to shoot.

[Friend]

I have three specific preferences-

#1 choice - Skinny!

#2 choice - Skinny!!

#3 choice - Skinny!!!

Be sure to stick with both your bowyers and string builders advice.

[WildmanSC]

My arthritic string fingers can't handle skinny strings.  When I receive a bow I've bought and it has a skinny string, before I shoot it I change the string out for one that has at least 12 strands.  The pain isn't worth the added speed I might gain and I shoot heavy enough arrows that getting the bow quiet isn't a problem.

Bill

[Swamp Yankee]

They helped reduce the noise from my Black Widow PSA-V significantly.  I've read several comments about nocks not fitting etc...  A PROPERLY built low strand count (a.k.a skinny) string will be padded out to normal 16 strand diameter at both the nock loops and center serving.

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by Swamp Yankee:
...  A PROPERLY built low strand count (a.k.a skinny) string will be padded out to normal 16 strand diameter at both the nock loops and center serving ...

yes, that's the ticket for flemish twist strings, though there are more than a few ways to beef up the center serving.

for endless loop strings, 12 strands in the loops (plus the padding of #4/00 nylon braid) and do whatever it takes to thicken the center serving, i.e. - heavier serving fiber, doubled served fiber, padded strand fiber, etc.

[Kentucky Jeff]

I'm not sure where pain comes into the equation with skinny strings.  The center servings are pretty much the same diameter as thicker strings as the maker usually serves them with a thicker material.  

I have skinny strings on all my recurves except my old Ben Pearson that's not set up for FF.  Without exception they all were dramatically quieter with a skinny 8 strand string.  This includes bows from Kota, Black Widow, Hoyt, and DAS....  I've not seen a significant benefit in my longbows mainly because they are already so quiet and I'm not good enough to take any practical advantage of a few FPS gain in velocity.   So unless I get a longbow that's noisy I pretty much use what comes with it.

Keep in mind you may need to re-tune your bow/arrows if you switch over.  

YMMV

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by Kentucky Jeff:
I'm not sure where pain comes into the equation with skinny strings.  The center servings are pretty much the same diameter as thicker strings as the maker usually serves them with a thicker material. ...

exactly - with like diameter at the center serving, there is no difference 'tween an 8 strand and 14 strand string of the same strand fiber material.

[WildmanSC]

Jeff/Rob,

My fingers can tell the difference between an 8 stand and a 12 strand string.  They may have the same thickness of center serving, but the stress on my fingers is very noticeable with a skinny string.  Wait until you're knocking on 65 and you may well notice the difference, too.

Bill

[Kentucky Jeff]

Originally posted by WildmanSC:
Jeff/Rob,

My fingers can tell the difference between an 8 stand and a 12 strand string.  They may have the same thickness of center serving, but the stress on my fingers is very noticeable with a skinny string.  Wait until you're knocking on 65 and you may well notice the difference, too.

Bill

Could be your body and not the string...but I'll post again in 16 years and tell you how I feel about it.     :D

[Swamp Yankee]

Originally posted by WildmanSC:
Jeff/Rob,

My fingers can tell the difference between an 8 stand and a 12 strand string.  They may have the same thickness of center serving, but the stress on my fingers is very noticeable with a skinny string.  Wait until you're knocking on 65 and you may well notice the difference, too.

Bill

I don't have to wait until next year when I'll be knocking on 65 to say I can relate!  At some point stuff hurts simply because it can..

[Rob DiStefano]

i'm well past 65yo and there is no difference to my string fingers if the string is 6 strands or 16 strands, because my string fingers wrap around the precise same center served area diameter.

[Friend]

Believe I am approaching 65 at the same rate, though some of you have had a much bigger head start.

I would have to believe that the particular finger placment and tab/or glove design may be a significant factors.

One tab and one particular glove is sensitive to my skinnys from a 51# bow. The same string on my 55#r, using the Big Shot, yields no difference even after 150 shots.

[3arrows]

Guess this is my last year shooting the young man string.LOL