What is a violin bow made of?
Violin Bow Materials A bow typically consists of a length of wood with some other material stretched between its ends. The type of bow used to play the violin and related instruments has many hairs stretched between its ends, but bows used in other cultures often stretch a single piece of string between the ends of the wood. Fine modern bows used to play orchestral string instruments of the violin family (the violin, viola, cello and double bass) are usually made of Pernambuco wood from Brazil and are strung with horse-hair. Silver or gold, ebony wood from Africa, ivory, pearl shell, leather, and sometimes tortoise shell are materials commonly used for the “frog” and finger grip. Some fine synthetic bows are also made of fiberglass and other man made materials. Cheaper bows can also be made of synthetic materials and less suitable types of wood. A bow maker or luthier typically uses 150 hairs for the bows for violin family instruments. Inexpensive bows often use nylon or synthetic hair
