Bows

H. F. Grabenstein was Bowmaker at the Tourin Musica from 1983 to 1990. Grabenstein builds a full range of historical bows for the viol and violin families of string instruments. Using snakewood, pernambuco, ebony and other hardwoods he creates violin bows that play expressively. Clients include members of Fretwork, The Kings Noyse, the Van Swieten Quartet, the Baltimore Consort, Ensemble Galilei, Chatham Baroque, The Orchestra of the 18th Century, The Boston Symphony, and The Cleveland Orchestra.

Kees Van Hemert historical violin and other stringed instrument bows are used by solo musicians like Hidemi Suzuki and Wouter Muller, and chamber performers in orchestras such as The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, De Nederlandse Bachvereniging and Anima Eterna, La Petite Bande, Les Arts Florissants and the Japan Bach Collegium. Kees welcomes the opportunity to discuss your personal violin bow or other stringed instrument bow requirements.

Pieter Affourtit makes historical bows for the violin, viola, violoncello, and viola da gamba. He has searched and selected the most beautiful violin bows from the baroque and classical era and his goal is to let their beauty and charm re-live in the copies he makes from them. On the page about historical bows he explains some reasons in choosing bowmaking, and on the pages which follow you can find some examples of his work.

Ralph Ashmead makes historical violin bows made from some of the finest available materials. They are designed in consultation with professional baroque and renaissance musicians. Within the Ashmead site are samples of many modern and period violin bows, all hand crafted by Ralph. The information presented on his site is intended to be used as a first step towards selecting the bow that most closely meets your needs.

Ken Altman makes violin bows one at a time, incorporating time honored methods and materials. Each stick is carefully chosen for its characteristics of grain, density and flexibility. These factors are all taken into account as the wood is shaped into its final form, with the goal of producing violin bows that will respond to the player's demands. Bows may be tried on an approval basis.

Canadian bow maker Michael Vann was trained by the renowned master Bowmaker William Salchow. He has won six international and more than a dozen Canadian awards for his bows. Michael makes bows for all instruments of the violin family. He is also a dealer and restorer. His violin bows are in use by members of symphony orchestras in Amsterdam, Chicago, Montreal, New York, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St.Paul, Tokyo, Paris, Toulouse, Nice, Copenhagen, Salzburg, Dusseldorf and many others.

Berg violin, viola, cello and string bass bows are the result of over four decades of dedicated research and development. The fiber in the Berg violin bow shaft was chosen for its superior sound wave transmission qualities. Their unique combination of materials results in outstanding durability and stability. The shaft is molded as one piece and is very strong. They offer a lifetime guarantee on all of their violin, viola, cello and string bass bows.

IncrediBow offers handcrafted violin, viola and cello bows. They only make violin bows of Carbon Fiber Sticks, no horsehair. All the bows bow "outward" and the hair is permanently tensioned. They are not designed for rehairing.

Antonino Airenti was a professional violin maker until 1995. Since then he has focused all of his attention on making baroque violin bows. Antonino also makes bows for the violoncello and double bass, as well as for soprano, tenor and bass bows for the viol family of instruments.

Douglas Raguse was introduced to violin bow making by noted bow makers Lloyd Liu and William Salchow in the 1970's. Douglas continues to make and restore violin,viola and cello bows in his studio on Michigan's Leelanau peninsula. Raguse bows are made by hand one at a time. They are the limited production of one maker.

Steven Beckley is a maker of violin bows and bows for other stringed instruments. He has been a bow maker since 1981 and has been a member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers since 1989. His bows are being used by musicians around the world. Take a look at Steven's Gallery of Violin Bows to see pictures of some of his work.

Stephen Marvin is a maker of bows for all string instruments, including the Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Violone, Viola D'amore and Viols (bass, tenor and treble). His violin bows are based on historical examples from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

Andreas Grutter makes bows for the violin, viola, cello and bass. His website discusses all aspects of bow making, including the response, damping, tone, weight, balance, wood, varnish, distribution of strength and aesthetics. 

David Hawthorne is a maker of artistic bows for violin, viola and cello in modern, 18th century and 17th century styles. Repair and restoration services are available as well.