Anyone know any stores that sell bows made of South American ironwood?

Blazemourne · #1 01-08-2007, 10:16 PM

I am looking for heavy bass bows that weigh at least 190 grams.

Silversorcerer · #2 01-21-2007, 01:39 PM

What tree species is South American Ironwood???? So many different woods are referred to as "ironwood" that the term is almost meaningless. Among them are Osage Orange (also called hedge apple and ironwood), Lignum Vitae (which is South American and might be what you are referring to) and then there is Texas Ironwood, which is yet another species. I have recently commissioned Martin Brunkalla to make me a bow of an American hardwood of his choice, which will probably be either Texas Ironwood or Osage Orange. Lignum Vitae is probably not limber enough and it has some internal oils that make it great for bearing seals on ship propellers, etc. but make it nearly impossible to glue in any normal way. It is also used for mallet heads.

Then again it could be some other South American wood that you refer to. Ipe is also very hard and has been used for bows. 190 grams is really heavy. There are not very many woods denser than ebony or Lignum, so that may be the way to go if you can find a maker that will do that for you.

Silversorcerer · #3 01-21-2007, 06:55 PM

OK, I did some bowmaker googling;- check this out. I think Swartzia is what you are looking for, which is about half a dozen different species. But this guy makes bows from this. I don't know about that weight though.
http://www.historicalbows.com/index.html

bejoyous · #4 01-23-2007, 02:15 PM

Max Kasper of Symphony Nova Scotia makes pernambuco, snakewood and ironwood bows. He also make Dragetti style bows. You could probably contact him though the symphony site.

**Basschair** · #5 01-23-2007, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silversorcerer

OK, I did some bowmaker googling;- check this out. I think Swartzia is what you are looking for, which is about half a dozen different species. But this guy makes bows from this. I don't know about that weight though.
http://www.historicalbows.com/index.html

Excellent website! I've been there before, but didn't remember the address. At any rate, check out the alternative woods section for other possibilities. There are a lot of woods out there that can be used, are denser than pernambuco, and that aren't endangered.

Blazemourne · #6 01-23-2007, 04:22 PM

Yeah I am looking for Swarzia. That guy seems to only make light bows.

kontrabass · #7 01-24-2007, 08:57 AM

I've only heard of Henk te Hietbrink and Max Kasper using ironwood. Snakewood would be an excellent substitute, I think.

**Basschair** · #8 01-24-2007, 09:22 AM

As far as snakewood goes, there is an alternative to paying the possible higher price. You can get non-figured snakewood (I forget the name...starts with an "a"), and it is much less expensive, with the same properties.

Silversorcerer · #9 01-24-2007, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blazemourne

Yeah I am looking for Swarzia. That guy seems to only make light bows.

You might try Martin Brunkalla (link above earlier). He seemed like a pretty adventurous maker and one who tries to please the customer's special wants. He has also worked with some other woods. I don't have a bow by him yet, but he stays pretty busy, so I think he is in demand, but not so pricey as some of the other makers that are regularly discussed here. He will probably have my bow made by this summer. I'm in no real hurry. I'll bet Martin has heard of this Swartzia wood.