Making my own skinny strings

[Warchild]

I have been making my own skinny fast flight strings lately with great results. I bought 2 rolls of BCY Dynaflight 10 material and began tinkering around. I shoot a 51# Fast Flight Schafer Silvertip and the strings that I have built shoot even better than the string that was provided with the bow.
My favorite string so far, is an 8 strand with loops padded to 16 strands with double FF serving. These are quicker and more quiet than any ff string that I have ever shot. There is something to using fewer strands and stretch free string material. I love to tinker around with different strand strings and different materials. I intend to use my strings exclusively for both a Michigan black bear hunt and whitetail deer hunts this season. I'm also shooting 160 grain Grizzly heads for the first time. These heads sharpen so nice and fly like darts, thank God that Bill with Zipper got involved with Grizzly, I plan to really study the results of the penetration, hole size and shape and also the blood trailing properties.

[D.Ellis]

Skinny strings are great.......I'll never use a fat string again after seeing how fast, quiet and shock free a bow shoots with a skinny.
Darcy  

[ermont]

Can you post some pics? I would love to see the final product on your bow..

[-snypershot317-]

what are the benefits of a skinny string? and what would be a safe number of strings for a 55# recurve? ive heard about these strings but otherwise nothing more...

[LBR]

 what are the benefits of a skinny string? and what would be a safe number of strings for a 55# recurve?

Depends on who you ask and what you are comparing them with, and probably what bow you are using them on.

I've been making strings for around 20 years, and quit counting long ago at around 10,000.  Not that I'm any kind of expert, but I do have better than average experience with strings.

In my own comparisons, I've found no real benefits when comparing a "skinny" (low strand count) string  with an equally well made moderate strand count.  

I've compared them on a longbow (moderate deflex/reflex) and selfbows.  Dont' remember if I tried one on a recurve or not--dont' think I did, after seeing no reason to based on the results I already had.

Negatives are increased stretch, increased creep, and decreased durability.

The minimum number of strands also depends on who you ask.  If you ask a manufacturer like BCY, you will likely get an answer that is about double the number of strands that some are using.

I don't care for a way overbuilt string either.  There's normally a happy medium for most materials, and with the way they are improving there's less and less need to go with extremes in either direction--at least that I can see.

This is just my opinion, my thoughts, my observations.  I don't claim to be any kind of expert.  Your results may vary.

[Warchild]

Main difference I beleive is the material. I definately see a difference in a lower strand string also. The 8 strand strings are way faster than the 16 or 18 B50 strings that I have purchased and made. I have seen a difference in 12 strand B50 strings and 18 strand B50. There is a difference. Another reason that the skinny strings may be faster is that there is no need for silencers or the fact that you can use smaller and fewer silencers as they slow the string. Can't post pics here, not worth the trouble I have tried many times and photobucket sucks. I could email you a pic ermont if you pm me your address.

I have been trying to make them, too. I find it difficult to blend in the B-50 I am padding the loops with. Any suggestions?

[LBR]

Out of curiosity, how many fps difference on average?  I'd expect some difference between an 18 strand dacron vs. 8 strands of most anything.

Laying in the padding is simple.  I wax it so it will stick to the bundles.  Just taper the strands, lay them in, and make the string like normal.