Custom Flemish Twist Bowstrings

Custom Flemish Twist Bowstrings by Pete Ward
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Often we don’t think about a custom string when it is time for a replacement. We go to the nearest shop and buy something over the counter and put it on our bow. Many times we don’t know what the material is or if it will even fit our bow. The kid in the shop knows little more about trad bows than the mouse in the stock room, but he talks like a seasoned pro. The string we get is often at best a generic that will work. Sometimes they are very good but??

Below are some shots showing how a “Greatstring” is made and what a properly made string should look like.

Rod has been making strings and competing with them at World Champion IBO level. He is the official supplier to O.L Adcock for his ACS and ACS-CX longbows, which he also won the 2004 IBO world Championship with last year.

The performance advantage of custom strings is another matter. You have the choice to take a standard count string or ask for specific colors to match your bow. You have the option of deciding if you want a high performance fast string, or you can have some extra strands added for a quieter shot or something in the middle. Many hunters opt to use Dacron because of its known quietness even on bows built to handle the new FF type materials. Dacron is available from Great Strings, however it is primarily for old bows not designed for Fast Flight or other new strings like 8125, DF 97, D 75 etc. Custom strings can be made from the new no creep/stretch materials in a heavier string for the same quiet shot without having the creep and stretch associated with Dacron. All Great Strings are pre-stretched to give a fast break-in. I found that within 10 shots they had stabilized. Great Strings can also be ordered with silencers installed for those need this service.

Proper bow nock fit is also compromised with generic strings. Rod will make the loops sized to fit your bow. If you have limb tips that are not in the normal size rang, and any size loop is available for the asking. Not all bows are best suited to standard sizes. Proper nock fit keeps the string on the bow without putting unnecessary stress on the tips or the string. It must allow the string to slide down the limb when unbraced and it must fit the nock properly. To tight can cause nock wear and stress the string where the loop joins, and to large can allow the string to come off a narrow nock. This can be a concern with very slender limbs and tips as well as extra wide limbs and tips.

I have shot in a couple of Rods strings and let the bows sit strung for several days to check for creep and stretch. I normally unstring my bows after shooting but when testing a new string I leave them under tension. The brace height has not moved since these bows were strung and they have been shot frequently during this time. Although unscientific it shows me that they are stable and not changing. The strings seated in within 10 shots according to the chronograph. After this they remained constant until the bow was unstrung.

The changing of strings brought to my attention an interesting observation. Every string needs to be shot in after the bow is braced again regardless of the material or the maker. This was confirmed with the chronograph. I tested every material I have after first noticing this, from Nylon, Dacron TS1, DF97,8125, Fast flight, 450 , 452, and several others. The average number of shots to re-seat a string was 6 shots and the speed change was from 6 to 10 FPS. I made these observations with strings from 7 different string makers. Those warm-up shots are a good idea if you want the same performance and trajectory that you are used to.

One sore spot with me is nock fit. Factory strings may or may not be served to suit your nocks. Often they are too tight. If you shoot carbon arrows with small nocks this robs performance by up to 10FPS on some bow/string combinations. It also has a severe effect on accuracy. Rod will gladly build and serve your strings for the noc fit you desire. All he needs to know is the type of noc you are using, if you are not sure he will help you determine what string is best for you.

In order to have a broader baseline to do this review I have installed “Great Strings” on several other bows that I have. The first bow is a Francois Merlin “Shannon” 60# @ 28″. This bow shot a 520gr arrow at 176FPS when I chrono tested it before changing strings from 18 Strand FF to 10 strand DF97. When I installed the 10 strand DF97 string the bow gained 10FPS, with the same arrow weight, draw length, and silencers. This allows me to shoot a heavier arrow at the same speed I had before or shoot that arrow at 186FPS, but now I have more KE and Momentum with either setup. The heavier arrow shoots just a quiet as the old setup with lighter arrows did. This is a win win situation. Similar results were found on the other bows in my rack that I have put the Great Strings on.

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