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Trade Secrets: Restoring the octagon of a violin bow

2023-05-02T09:35:00

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A repair method that avoids having to rebuild the whole octagon from scratch

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By Erich Perrotta

Bow maker based in Verona, Italy

A musician brought me an old French violin bow (a Lamy, according to her) to be rehaired, but the part that needed the most maintenance was not the hair but the octagon at the frog. It was so worn that at some points it had reached the mortise containing the eyelet, especially at the corners. Many years of use and poor maintenance had consumed the wood, which was cracked in several places. This is not a particularly strange kind of wear, especially after decades of use, but not all players use bows in the same way and a lot depends on the way they hold the bow, as well as the acidity of each player’s skin…

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