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The JonPaul bow workshops in Utah, USA, are famous for their pioneering carbonfibre bows. Recently, they have extended their range to include bows made for them by other workshops. While most of these new additions are less expensive carbonfibre student bows, they have also diversified into traditio...

Eric Grandchamp is widely recognised as one of the world’s great contemporary bow makers. At the age of 15, having already developed a fascination with bow making, he enrolled in the bow making school in Mirecourt, where he trained under renowned French archetier Bernard Ourchard. Further training...

This well-finished, silver-mounted Chinese viola bow is marketed under the “Schumann" brand, although the stick itself is not stamped. The workmanship is very clean, and the pearl slide is particularly attractive. The stick, made from “Ipe" wood, a fine-grained alternative to pernambuco, is very...

The French bow making-making company, Ary France, was founded in 1974 with the purpose of using modern technology alongside traditional bow-making techniques and materials to produce superior student-quality bows. This cleanly-made viola bow has a strong, round, pernambuco stick which sits very steadily on the string but also articulates and bounces well.

The JonPaul bow workshops in Utah, USA, are famous for their pioneering carbonfibre bows. Recently, they have extended their range to include bows made for them by other workshops. While most of these new additions are less expensive carbonfibre student bows, they have also diversified into traditio...

The Utah workshops of JonPaul Bows have played a major role in the development of good quality carbonfibre bows, and their “Arpège" model has been central to this journey. Though no longer listed in their public catalogue, due to the introduction of new bow styles to their range, it is still avai...

JonPaul bows, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, have traditionally focused on the upper end of the carbonfibre bow market. With their “JonPaul Noir" series of which this is their superior one-star model, they are catering for developing students while offering a very playable bow with great articulat...

The Dorfler family have been making bows for four generations, establishing their workshops in Bubenreuth, with the founder, Daniel Dorfler pursing quality by basing their style on the work of supreme French bow maker Francois Xavier Tourte. Their “15A" model bows, stamped “W. Dorfler" have an o...

The JonPaul bow making workshops founded by Paul Prier and Jon Hatch in Salt Lake City, Utah, is not only dedicated to producing high-class carbonfibre bows, they also have a talent for innovation. Their “Fusion" range, made from a composite of carbonfibre and an external sheath of pernambuco comb...

JonPaul Bows, long-recognised for their excellent range of carbonfibre models, have succeeded once again with their “Fusion" bows. The prevailing mantra is that wooden bows give a fuller, warmer sound while carbonfibre bows have greater articulation and agility off the-string. In making a bow with...

Florian Schaeffer one of Brazil’s best bow makers, founded his bow making workshop FF Schaeffer’s in the city of Aracruz, on the coast north of Rio de Janiero, professional grade bows from sustainable yields of pernambuco wood. This advanced student bow shares its clean, skilful workmanship from...

C.F. Ribeiro bows are representative of a dynamic Brazilian bow making school. This well-finished example has a particularly attractive frog, with its pearl eyes bordered by slim nickel silver rings, with a more subtle effect than the traditional Parisian eyes. At 70.4 grams, it has a very standard ...

Acros Brazil, founded in 1995 to develop and showcase Brazilian bow making expertise from the homeland of the pernambuco tree, has also worked hard to support sustainable plantation planting of this increasingly threatened tree. This fine example stamped “C. Lozer" has silver mounts and elegant Pa...

Arcos Brasil, founded in 1995 to develop and showcase Brazilian bow making has successfully marketed. Their expertise worldwide. The eldest of three brothers all working for Arcos Brasil, Claudio Chagas is the principle maker of their special or limited-edition bows, of which this is a fine example,...

W.E. Hill and Sons, expert appraisers and noted violin makers, are now primarily known for their bows, produced under the eagle eye of master bowmaker William Retford. This viola bow, with its “Hill" stamp, is technically rated as their fourth, or lowest grade bow, but in our experience, those “...

This neatly finished German viola bow has a brazilwood stick slightly shorter than the standard length. It’s weight, however, at 70 grams, is the same as a full-sized viola bow, so it will be able to draw as much sound from the instrument as needed, while accommodating a player with shorter arms who wants a good bow with a balance point closer to the hand.

Schumann bows are made in China, both from wood and from carbon fibre. This model is their entry-level wooden bow, but despite its modest price it is very neatly made, with Parisian eyes, nickel-silver mounts and an exotically-patterned abalone slide. The stick is strong and reliable, drawing a warm, full sound, and articulating cleanly.

This intriguing viola bow, with its octagonal, pernambuco stick and silver mounts, comes from the deceased estate of a keen amateur violin maker, and may well have been handmade here in New Zealand. It has been professionally restored in our workshops to maximise its playability, and draws a full, warm sound.