# Very new, need advice on bow string for Samick Sage bow



## beerbudget (Feb 5, 2011)

Go to eBay and search for people who build flemish strings and pick your colors. If the current 16-strand is good for the nock fit then order another 16 strand otherwise adjust accordingly. If all you're doing is play SCA, I think D50 or D97 makes no difference, colors would be more important.


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## Thin Man (Feb 18, 2012)

Hello. 

Another option is to call Lancaster Archery, describe your bow and the type of arrows and nocks you are shooting, and let them help you select the proper string and nock fit from their stock. They speak fluent "recurve", sell this particular bow, and are constantly setting up these bows with a more appropriate string than the stock one that comes with the bow from the factory.

As BeerBudget mentions, a custom string maker can also fix you up right proper.


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## dhaverstick (Jul 26, 2006)

I can make you a string for that bow but it will be made out of B-50 Dacron since I'm too cheap to buy spools of D-97 and the like.

Since all string making materials today have adequate tensile strength, the number of strands used to make a string is not really a factor for string strength. It's more of a preference of what feels good in your hand and what you like to look at. I know a lot of folks who love "skinny strings" and they just add thicker, or another layer, of serving to the string to make their arrow nocks fit tightly.

Most every string I make is 14 strands; just because I like the way it twists up and feels. I've got several colors you could choose from and it won't cost you a dime. Just PM me with a name and address where to send it to.

Darren


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## BWBOW (Feb 21, 2009)

Just made a bcy"x" Flemish string for a guy that had a stock b50 string on his Sage. He was very happy, less noise, less vibration, and a few extra fps. And it's a much more stable material


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

I checked the ebay site. Chances are those arrow may not be suitable for your bow. There is no spine listed. If you check their more costly Port Orford cedar arrows, you will notice that they are for bows under 30 pounds. You should not buy or use arrows without knowing the spine. Arrows that are too weak can be hazardous to the shooter, or those around the shooter. They look to me as arrows designed for "toy" or light weight youth bows.


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## ChadMR82 (Sep 22, 2009)

58.5" SBD 8 strand string, thank me later


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## singlearrow (Jun 30, 2014)

Hank D Thoreau said:


> I checked the ebay site. Chances are those arrow may not be suitable for your bow. There is no spine listed. If you check their more costly Port Orford cedar arrows, you will notice that they are for bows under 30 pounds. You should not buy or use arrows without knowing the spine. Arrows that are too weak can be hazardous to the shooter, or those around the shooter. They look to me as arrows designed for "toy" or light weight youth bows.


good advice from Hank and very important. I will not shoot those arrows. It's too risky. Do more research about arrow spine before buying arrows. It can be dangerous(serious injury) if arrows are too weak. I am very new too for recurve. I have Samick Sage 35 lb. I use 500 spine arrows uncut 30.5 in. These arrows are very stiff. I have visited the range for only 3 times . I think I am OK with the arrows for now and will keep using them. I am a low budget shooter and those arrows were on sale. FYI on the string, I use dacron 12 stand 58 in. The brace height on Samick Sage is 8 1/16 in(untwist). This is after I had left it on the bow for 24 hr. Next buy I will try 59 in.


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## grey2112 (Oct 3, 2014)

Thank you, Darren! Sent you a PM.



dhaverstick said:


> I can make you a string for that bow but it will be made out of B-50 Dacron since I'm too cheap to buy spools of D-97 and the like.
> 
> Since all string making materials today have adequate tensile strength, the number of strands used to make a string is not really a factor for string strength. It's more of a preference of what feels good in your hand and what you like to look at. I know a lot of folks who love "skinny strings" and they just add thicker, or another layer, of serving to the string to make their arrow nocks fit tightly.
> 
> ...


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## Captainkirk (Sep 18, 2014)

A guy made me a Flemish Twist Fast Flight for my Sage (for free also...what's with all these "free" bowstrings!!!) and I LOVE it! BTW, the Sage IS Fast Flight compatible... Much better than the Dacron crap that came with the bow. It will wake you up, let me tell ya!


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

grey,

When an arrow is shot it bends. If the arrow is too flexible it will bend in on itself and split into a sharp skewer which can go into your arm. It has happened many times to folks. Check those arrows carefully to make sure they are stiff enough. Too stiff is better than too flexible. I would post a question to the ebay seller regarding the spine of the arrows and the bow weight limitation. I did not see it in the listing. I have never seen an arrow made for a real bow, like a Sage, that has a crimp on wood point. Also, question what hand selected means. For a reputable arrow maker, they will hand select matching spines and weights within a pre-established tolerance. The tighter the tolerance, the more you pay. My expectation is that hand selected just means they looked for dowels that were not defective, i.e. crooked, knots, cracks, etc.


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

grey,

Going to another Dacron string is really not going to change much. There is nothing special about a custom string unless you are having something made that you cannot buy. There are some high end string makers but you will pay more for their product. You can order D97 strings from either Lancaster or 3 Rivers. They will be very familiar with what works for the Sage. It is a very common bow. Lancaster has very good customer service. Just Google Lancaster Archery Supply. You will get the string very quickly.


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## grey2112 (Oct 3, 2014)

I've seen arrows just like these at some of the SCA practices, but I will have the range marshall check them out to make sure they are OK. I was a little confused at first when you said "ebay seller" - I got them from Amazon.com. But I will contact the company and see what they say.

Just for my own edification, what arrows would you recommend? Keep in mind this is all just practice (and very noob/beginner at that) for right now. I don't mind spending good money for good kit, though. God knows I've spent tens of thousands over the years for quality firearms, ammo, and optics.

We are lucky to live on an acre-and-a-half with a lake as a back drop, so we can set up our own archery range for practice, though for right now we're keeping it at 20, 30, and 40 yards.




Hank D Thoreau said:


> grey,
> 
> When an arrow is shot it bends. If the arrow is too flexible it will bend in on itself and split into a sharp skewer which can go into your arm. It has happened many times to folks. Check those arrows carefully to make sure they are stiff enough. Too stiff is better than too flexible. I would post a question to the ebay seller regarding the spine of the arrows and the bow weight limitation. I did not see it in the listing. I have never seen an arrow made for a real bow, like a Sage, that has a crimp on wood point. Also, question what hand selected means. For a reputable arrow maker, they will hand select matching spines and weights within a pre-established tolerance. The tighter the tolerance, the more you pay. My expectation is that hand selected just means they looked for dowels that were not defective, i.e. crooked, knots, cracks, etc.


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

grey, my goof on ebay. I hit the link and it looked like ebay. 

The good thing about wood arrows is that they are not that expensive. If you are not concerned about tight tolerances, you can get arrows from a company like 3 Rivers. You just need to be sure that the seller lists the spine, which will be in five pound increments for wood. You will see ranges like 30-35 which means 30 to 35 pounds. There are factors that affect that. A fast flight string will produce more speed and require a slightly stiffer arrow. How your bow is cut to center affects it. The length of the arrow as well. An uncut arrow will be more flexible. Also the point weight affects flexibility. Pushing a heavier point makes the arrow bend more. Here is a link to 3 Rivers. I am not a real fan of their arrow since they have large weight spans, but that makes them more affordable. Usually , you can get help from the seller to determine the best spine to start with. http://www.3riversarchery.com/3Rivers+Hunters+Wood+Arrows_i4072X_variablekit.html

I buy my arrows from Wapiti Archery. They are really good arrows but still affordable compared to carbon.


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## grey2112 (Oct 3, 2014)

Hank D Thoreau said:


> grey, my goof on ebay. I hit the link and it looked like ebay.
> 
> The good thing about wood arrows is that they are not that expensive. If you are not concerned about tight tolerances, you can get arrows from a company like 3 Rivers. You just need to be sure that the seller lists the spine, which will be in five pound increments for wood. You will see ranges like 30-35 which means 30 to 35 pounds. There are factors that affect that. A fast flight string will produce more speed and require a slightly stiffer arrow. How your bow is cut to center affects it. The length of the arrow as well. An uncut arrow will be more flexible. Also the point weight affects flexibility. Pushing a heavier point makes the arrow bend more. Here is a link to 3 Rivers. I am not a real fan of their arrow since they have large weight spans, but that makes them more affordable. Usually , you can get help from the seller to determine the best spine to start with. http://www.3riversarchery.com/3Rivers+Hunters+Wood+Arrows_i4072X_variablekit.html
> 
> I buy my arrows from Wapiti Archery. They are really good arrows but still affordable compared to carbon.


Thanks, Hank. Wow, and I thought reloading ammo was involved - LOL. I'm hoping that someone at our archery practices in the SCA will be able to also steer me properly once we get the bow set up - there may even be some arrow makers that I can learn from.


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## dayrlm (May 20, 2010)

Having been in the SCA since 1986 and selling Archery Supplies within it since 87 the arrows you purchased should be safe to shoot from a 30# bow. The performance may not be satisfactory. In my experience the arrows are more important than the bow. With a good set of arrows a fiberglass bow will outperform the finist custom made bow with poorly matched arrows. I noticed you are in Florida North Star Archery is owned by memebers of the SCA and they are from Florida so others there should be familiar with them. Another option is to look at someone's merchant guide from Pennsic and there are at least 3 archery merchants in it that can help you. Don't get me wrong, Lancaster, 3 Rivers and Kustom King are commercial archery supplies with good customer serice, but I like to see SCAdians support their own. Good luck in the Archery and the SCA and perhaps we will meet at Pennsic.


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## grey2112 (Oct 3, 2014)

dayrlm said:


> Having been in the SCA since 1986 and selling Archery Supplies within it since 87 the arrows you purchased should be safe to shoot from a 30# bow. The performance may not be satisfactory. In my experience the arrows are more important than the bow. With a good set of arrows a fiberglass bow will outperform the finist custom made bow with poorly matched arrows. I noticed you are in Florida North Star Archery is owned by memebers of the SCA and they are from Florida so others there should be familiar with them. Another option is to look at someone's merchant guide from Pennsic and there are at least 3 archery merchants in it that can help you. Don't get me wrong, Lancaster, 3 Rivers and Kustom King are commercial archery supplies with good customer serice, but I like to see SCAdians support their own. Good luck in the Archery and the SCA and perhaps we will meet at Pennsic.


Thank you! I will check out North Star - I too like to support SCAdians and I feel like they would really know what I need for my usage.


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

dayrlm said:


> Having been in the SCA since 1986 and selling Archery Supplies within it since 87 the arrows you purchased should be safe to shoot from a 30# bow. The performance may not be satisfactory. In my experience the arrows are more important than the bow. With a good set of arrows a fiberglass bow will outperform the finist custom made bow with poorly matched arrows. I noticed you are in Florida North Star Archery is owned by memebers of the SCA and they are from Florida so others there should be familiar with them. Another option is to look at someone's merchant guide from Pennsic and there are at least 3 archery merchants in it that can help you. Don't get me wrong, Lancaster, 3 Rivers and Kustom King are commercial archery supplies with good customer serice, but I like to see SCAdians support their own. Good luck in the Archery and the SCA and perhaps we will meet at Pennsic.


How do you know they are okay if the seller does not list the spine? I looked at all the sellers products and it did not make me confident. I did some searches to see if poplar was normally a stiff wood and did not find anything. 

grey, I would show the arrows to the person that runs your practice sessions. Better to be safe than have an issue.


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## grey2112 (Oct 3, 2014)

Hank D Thoreau said:


> How do you know they are okay if the seller does not list the spine? I looked at all the sellers products and it did not make me confident. I did some searches to see if poplar was normally a stiff wood and did not find anything.
> 
> grey, I would show the arrows to the person that runs your practice sessions. Better to be safe than have an issue.


Roger that - thank you.


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