A bow should not be scraped clean from time to time, but gently cleaned every day. After applying rosin, the stick and the sides of the head usually become coated in rosin dust. Removing it immediately keeps the bow clean. If left for a few hours, heat makes the rosin adhere to the bow.
Rosin also tends to stick to the bow during playing, so it should be cleaned both after applying rosin and after use. We recommend wiping the stick with a soft cloth to remove all the rosin. This takes only a minute, a small amount of time that musicians should always give to caring for their bows, keeping them clean and bright.
Without daily cleaning, the rosin melts and adheres to the bow. The musician can then no longer remove it, and only the bow maker can restore the original finish when the bow is rehaired.
BOW CLEANING TECHNIQUES
We always advise musicians against cleaning bows with solvents, because using these products well requires considerable professional expertise. There is a risk of damaging the lustre and aged patina that give a bow its beauty.
Sometimes even restorers use a few drops of straw oil to make a bow shine. Great care is needed with such substances: oil that penetrates the fibres slowly damages the stick and reduces its elasticity. We therefore advise against using oils other than essential oils that evaporate very quickly.
HAIR TENSION
Hair tension is important because it helps produce a softer or firmer sound. Tightening the hair puts the stick under tension and moves it further from the hair. The bow becomes more responsive and the sound less gentle. Adjusting hair tension can therefore adapt a bow to the musician’s needs.
Hair tension places the stick under stress up to a certain limit. Beyond this point the wood begins to yield because the hair tension exceeds the stick’s resistance. Overtightening a bow causes it to lose its strength quickly: excessive tension breaks down the wood’s fibres much faster and irreversibly.
When a bow is too weak for the musician’s needs and the hair is already at maximum tension, we recommend choosing another bow with more suitable characteristics.
