# Best Bow Strings?



## Bob Furman (May 16, 2012)

My own. I haven't bought a string in over 30 years. That way, if it fails, you know who to blame 

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## Seattlepop (Dec 8, 2003)

I also make my own and for a friend or two who are brave enough to test my experiments. If I had to buy a string, OCDStrings.com.


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## bgriffin (Aug 14, 2008)

60X Custom strings will hook you up with a nice set. Never failed me over the years and I shoot a lot.


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## mgwelder (May 4, 2014)

I use only Rogue bowstrings!

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## camperjim (Oct 22, 2016)

I make my own. It is really easy and I enjoy being able to control the exact string length and the thickness to exactly fit my arrow nocks.


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## Lorne (Jun 5, 2016)

camperjim said:


> I make my own. It is really easy and I enjoy being able to control the exact string length and the thickness to exactly fit my arrow nocks.


Problem is, given the supplies and jig needed to make your own bow string and assuming you are making them for yourself, where is the break even point?


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## jy198460 (Sep 5, 2011)

I just got a set of BC custom strings. I am really impressed everything is tight and clean, it took half a twist in a cable to get cams timed everything else was spot on. Also he got them to me in a week.


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## lcaillo (Jan 5, 2014)

Break even point is pretty quick, considering the cost of strings. For me, however, it is having control over getting exactly what I want and being able to experiment. I can try different numbers of strands, materials, brace height, serving type, etc anytime I want without having to wait on anyone. I could never afford to do it buying strings.


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## Stash (Jun 1, 2002)

Lorne said:


> Problem is, given the supplies and jig needed to make your own bow string and assuming you are making them for yourself, where is the break even point?


Easy enough to figure out...

I made a basic string jig out of a 2X4, 3 table legs and some wood scraps and hardware back around 1975, and I’m still using the same jig, so I think I broke even on that a while ago. 

It just depends on how long you expect to be involved in archery. $50 (or a bit more depending on the materials) can get you a serving jig and enough string and serving material to make 20 or more recurve strings.

Definitely worth the investment for the long term.


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## Lorne (Jun 5, 2016)

Stash said:


> Easy enough to figure out...
> 
> I made a basic string jig out of a 2X4, 3 table legs and some wood scraps and hardware back around 1975, and I’m still using the same jig, so I think I broke even on that a while ago.
> 
> ...


I'm 58. Your long term isn't my long term.

My long term is like, 5 years.


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## Victor Triumph (Jun 12, 2020)

Lorne said:


> I'm 58. Your long term isn't my long term.
> 
> My long term is like, 5 years.


I should have bought a fletching jig 30 years ago and I would've gotten good value out of it. But now it's too late. The past few years I've been buying from 60X Custom Strings and I like them. Great quality and very fair price. In fact they charge the same price other string makers I bought from were charging 20 years ago.


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## Rael84 (Feb 22, 2016)

At a minimum, getting a center serving tool is worthwhile. The center serving can wear out way before the string itself does and is an easy repair.


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## cerelestecerele (Aug 5, 2019)

So two of your strings have had part of the serving unravel - it's not common, but not unheard of. It's much more likely to happen though if you're twisting the string in the direction opposite to the twists in the serving, since you're effectively loosening the serving that way. Nearly every time I've had a serving unravel, I later notice that I've twisted it wrong.
The third string has two broken strands - how did they break, and where? Is there something abrasive or sharp that the string contacts while you're shooting? Do you have a bag/box/something to store it in between uses?


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## eagle man (Jun 7, 2011)

Scottsstrings.com He makes great strings any way or color you want. He will make suggestions if you aren't sure what you want or need. Customer service is second to none and his pricing is great!


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## bobnikon (Jun 10, 2012)

So, I did some calculations a while back. 
I figured you would get 20.4 strings per spool of 8125 at a cost of 2.08 per string
End serving was 13 strings per 3d spool at 0.84 per string
Center serving was 34 strings per spool at 0.57 pers string.
So you are looking at about $3.50 per string. 

If you buy them for $20 a piece your $16.50 saving per string pretty quickly pays for your Beiter Server, the original spools of string material and serving, and your first jig made out of 2x4s and hardware store bolts/screws. After you start making strings for your buddies, you can pretty quickly upgrade your string jig and start buying more colours of material. And then... you are hooked.
I was able to shoot my 1st string,, and was actually very happy with my second one. Not rocket surgery, and you can make strings while you watch TV.

-edit-
Just priced out the Beiter Profi X-Heavy, a spool of 8125, 3d, and 62xs. You are looking at $160. So your break even at $16.50 savings per (if you are only paying $20 for a string) is about 10 strings. After that you will need to buy another spool of 3d, and you will be looking at all profit for the next 9 strings. 

And you get a string made to your specifications with a known quality and repeatability. 

Cheers


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## camperjim (Oct 22, 2016)

For those of us who are particular, I don't know of any good way of buying a string with the precise correct length and thickness. Anyway there is little cost to making your own strings. I am happy with the cheapest $10 serving jigs. In fact I bought a more expensive one and did not like it. There is very little cost to making a wooden endless string making jig. I used some spare parts except for buying a section of steel dowel for about $2. If you had to buy every piece of wood and hardware the cost would barely hit $20. The biggest expense will be buying string and serving material. Depending on your choice of materials that could cost up to about $50. I would guess that material would make at least a dozen strings.


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## Kevinc1953 (Jul 2, 2020)

Lorne said:


> Hello,
> 
> I've been having a problem with bow strings recently. My first failed when the center serving unraveled and the second failed at the serving on the upper limb loop. The third as a couple of broken strands that are not ideal, but don't look to be getting any worse over time.
> 
> ...


OCD makes a great custom string. Not cheap (35.00) but worth the money. They will match serving to your nock. You give them your riser and limb maker and measurements as well as poundage and they will make you a great string.


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## 10tarentz (Mar 8, 2018)

TTT string made by Trevor Fielder are super solid!


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## DNez2001 (Sep 3, 2017)

Chad at recurves.com makes a great string and very reasonable

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## Nojiri (Nov 15, 2019)

Make my own with Angel Majesty 777 and Angel Izanas serving. Really like both. Wouldn’t use anything else unless there was pretty broad consensus that something better had come out.

Cheers!
Nojiri


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## Navy-Chief (Jan 30, 2020)

Kevinc1953 said:


> OCD makes a great custom string. Not cheap (35.00) but worth the money. They will match serving to your nock. You give them your riser and limb maker and measurements as well as poundage and they will make you a great string.


Agreed. Just ordered a string from her and she was amazingly detail oriented on making sure everything was perfect. 

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## SouthShoreRat (Mar 4, 2007)

We use Competitor's Edge Custom Bowstrings on all my kids bows. They compete paper/3d and shoot hundreds of practice arrows daily.


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## stick monkey (Mar 9, 2015)

OCD string is the best I have ever bought...60 x is horrible... I've bought from them 2 times and both were horrible...first one was too long...longer than my finished length spec by too much... replacement was hardly usable...it had loose strands within the bundle and it came too short so I had to stretch it to get the right length...i ended up not even using it and I contacted them and their offer to fix the situation was to give me 50 percent off my next purchase... what next purchase... I am done with 60 x.
OCD is hands down the best quality and made just beautifully... and they use angel serving which is not a option at most string builders I have looked at.


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## Seattlepop (Dec 8, 2003)

^ Regarding OCD, I couldn't agree more...


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## FerrumVeritas (Oct 9, 2020)

I'm just curious: how often are you guys replacing your strings?


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## Recurvebow (Jul 8, 2019)

FerrumVeritas said:


> I'm just curious: how often are you guys replacing your strings?











How many shots out of your strings


For people who shoot a lot I was wondering how many shots you get out of your strings before changing them?




www.archerytalk.com


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## calbowdude (Feb 13, 2005)

Whenever the string is way too fuzzy for even wax to tone down. Or around 30,000 shots, whichever comes first...


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## nickle (Sep 25, 2017)

SouthShoreRat said:


> We use Competitor's Edge Custom Bowstrings on all my kids bows. They compete paper/3d and shoot hundreds of practice arrows daily.





Lorne said:


> Hello,
> 
> I've been having a problem with bow strings recently. My first failed when the center serving unraveled and the second failed at the serving on the upper limb loop. The third as a couple of broken strands that are not ideal, but don't look to be getting any worse over time.
> 
> ...


i made my own jig with some 1 x 4 lumber and a 1' dowel for maybe the price of one string. i bought some dacron string and made about ten strings for my older bows for practice. by then i was good enough to make strings for my target bow and my brother. i already had a string server. have not had a string fail yet.


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## woof156 (Apr 3, 2018)

Making your own takes a good jig and several misfires but at least you can't complain about the results. I find the selection at Lancaster to be good and have always had good luck with flex string archery- but there are lots of good brands out there. Not sure what bow your are shooting but find out it can handle fast strings before you buy one.


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## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

years ago, when my wife owned a shop, I had an apple jig that I gave to one of the other guys in the shop. I bought a dream machine used for 100 dollars and a second used one for 100 dollars that I kept at a gun range that used to do archery. I now have dozens of serving jigs and lots of string material. I make all the recurve and bare bow strings for the two junior programs I run and the recurve and BB strings for the range where these programs are based. I use BCY materials almost exclusively, though I do have some Brownell material I obtained from LAS on close out. The people at BCY-Chris Deston, especially, have always been supportive of my junior archery programs. It takes me about 15 minutes to tie a really good string. If I am making one for one of my national class archers-I usually let it sit on the jig for at least a half hour-sometimes overnight to even the tension on the loops. Having tied 1000s of strings and set up hundreds of bows, I note that various brands often require a slightly longer or shorter than standard string. For example, I recently obtained a GILLO 27" riser that uses Hoyt Formula limbs (which I have a ton of back when the day when several of my kids shot Hoyt bows). This riser with medium limbs is 70" but I needed a slightly longer than 67.25" string to obtain the proper brace height. So I have a 67.25 string that I made for it that I will put on another bow. It was too short for the GILLO. That's the advantage of making your own. Plus its a final step in getting a really good tune as well. BTW I have been going back to Spectra lately-several of my top recurve archers (NFAA PB 590 in one case) found that she got better sight marks at 70M with a spectra string compared to Mercury or then now discontinued 8190/8190F dyneema. 

BTW Trevor Fielder's strings are extremely well made if you want a flemish twist. He sometimes shoots at our indoor range and several of the girls coached by US BB legend Fawn Girard use his strings. He also is a wonderful archer and shares his knowledge freely.


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## Jls4oak (Apr 13, 2018)

+1 for OCD strings. Julie puts in the work and it shows. Super smooth, tight serving with almost seamless ends.


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## Theisgroup (Oct 19, 2020)

I’ve not seen strand break on modern strings. Back in the Kevlar days, that was common. But once fastflight came about, strands breaking was a rarity. I’ve seen strings break, but very rare now a days. 

Servings, for me, as soon as I see fuzzing on my center servings, I tend to replace the center serving. But that usually takes me an entire season. 

I don’t have end servings to worry about. One of the reasons I don’t shoot endless loops. I’m sure the current generation of string makers are more consistent then in the past.


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## andyman1970 (Apr 2, 2008)

I also make my own. Had to step away for a few years for personal reasons, but now officially back in action.


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## carlosii (Feb 25, 2007)

Lorne said:


> I'm 58. Your long term isn't my long term.
> 
> My long term is like, 5 years.


I'm 81. My long term is like 10 minutes ago.


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## Lorne (Jun 5, 2016)

carlosii said:


> I'm 81. My long term is like 10 minutes ago.



So, you don't buy green bananas?


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