Skinny string adding hand shock to a bow?

[jonsimoneau]

Has anybody had this happen? I had a bow with an 18 strand string. I put a new 8 strand on it made from BCY D-10 on it and now this bow which had zero hand shock has noticible hand shock. Normally when I do this the opposite occurs. Anyone know what's up?

[VA Elite]

i think it adds shock. seemed like mine did. but im a newbie so take it with a grain of salt

[VA Elite]

what i mean is i had an 8 strand and when i went to a ten ring string the vibration became less

[katman]

Might try adjusting brace height a little.

[fnshtr]

Never had that happen. I have replaced stock strings on several bows with 8 strand strings.

?????????

Good luck.

[dnurk]

Two bows I've gone down to skinny strings and both have been more quiet and less hand shock.  One of those I put a SBD 8 strand on a bow from Chad Holm and it made a HUGE difference. So much better with the skinny SBD string

I'd agree that messing with brace height could help.  It's also possible that you've picked up enough of a + to your power stroke that you need to adjust the tune.  Maybe add a bit to the point weight?

[Sirius Black]

I've had a few D-10 strings now, and I haven't noticed less shock, or a quieter bow, like some people have said. But I have seen added speed in my arrows, where I've had to go to a stiffer spine.

[Nativestranger]

Yes certainly it does for some bows. Reading so much good stuff about certain skinny strings I ordered some 9 and 8 strand flemish strings to replace the 14 and 12 strand endless loop fast flight string on 2 of my bows hoping to see a performance increase. All they did was add noticeable handshock and they actually chronoed the same if not slower than the stock strings! Not until recently when I read a thread on Paleoplanet (by Alan case) about study of Hickmans mathematical stiff limb bow model that I understood why this is the case. A skinny flemish string has more stretch than a endless loop string of normal diameter due to the twists and small diameter. Stretchy strings reduces the efficiency of the bow in transfering stored energy to the arrow (especially) at the end of the powerstroke. And that energy is left in the limbs as handshock.

[Montanawidower]

Just called dan Toelke to report the same.   I have always shot 14 strand stings and just switched to one of his 8 strands.   It made my Lynx louder and jumpier in my hand.   I ran the entire gambit of brace heights and could not erase it.

   I have gone back to the old strings.   I would rather a bow shoot quiet and smooth.   A few fps is not worth it to me.  Ps it also changed the tune on my go to arrow set up.  So don't forget to bare shaft if you decide to change.

[Steelhead]

Most the bows I have shot with skinny strings shot quieter and softer.The string should be very well made,prestressed.built up loops and about 1 twist per inch

I usually shoot 8-10 strands, 2 bundle D-10.I am leaning toward 10 strands these days
I always use a generous wool puff to begin with and trim it into a smaller,denser tighter ball.

Perhaps some bows shoot better with a higher strand count.All bows are not the same.
I have had a few bows that shoot softer and quieter with B-55.It shoots specifically better on a fews.But not most bows.

Your milage may vary depending on the bow and what string material/strand count That bow works best with.

In general I have had excellent results with skinnier strings that are professionally made and set up right.

[jonsimoneau]

Thanks guys. I've never had this problem. I've done this to lots of bows and normally had it quiet down, and less handshock. Not so this time. It really struck me because this bow used to be the deadest bow I have. I'll keep messing with it.

[Orion]

Maybe the string just needs to stretch out and settle in.  On the other hand, a lot of twists in a string may never totally settle in and will cause it to stretch and contract when shot, which always increases hand shock.

[Biathlonman]

Have you tried a stiffer arrow to make sure it's not the arrow slapping the riser?

[ranger 3]

I'm not a big fan of skinny strings.

[Bladepeek]

I'd get it as quiet and dead as possible with the skinny string; then put the fat string back on. If it improves, then I think you have the answer as to what to shoot on that bow. If it doesn't improve to the way you remembered it, then maybe something else has changed too.

[LBR]

I'm no fan of skinny strings, but I haven't noticed any increased hand shock.  My first thought is it could be due to the increased stretch lowering the brace height?

[BowDiddle]

Does anyone replace a string without checking the brace height after putting on the new string?

That's the first thing I do and then check it often till I know it has settled in.

[M60gunner]

If you have had good luck with skinny strings on other make bows I would think it is the bow not necessarily the string. Then again not all the skinny strings are made from same material. Maybe messing around with the string will help but If I had to have a skinny string I would try another material.
By the way, I use skinny strings on all my FF bows and limbs. Mostly SBD but have a Ten ring on my Wallace Royal. I have not experienced any issues yet. Wallace is real quiet.

[BAK]

I've only shot SBD's and have had zero problem with hand shock.

[Mike Mecredy]

Here's what doesn't make sense to me, the D-10 string would have very low stretch properties, the Dacron string doesn't.  The D-10 string doesn't vibrate like the Heavier Dacron string will.  Vibration = noise & hand shock.  Unless the skinny string has an excessively built up serving area and the arrow nock is too tight, and the arrow is heavy, there shouldn't be more vibration than that of a massive heavy Dacron string.  

Another possibility is the note the string makes when its becomes taught, it might be a key that your ears doesn't like, or slight off key, that can be irritating from a musicians perspective.