Taking a look at the evolution of string: From the legendary days of Robin Hood and his ability to handle a bow and arrow made out of hard wood and strings made from rawhide, linen or hemp to the bows and arrows of today, which are made from advanced composite material and synthetic fibers.
Crary Brownell (Brownell & Co.) was one of the first to take a look at alternative materials for making bow string, both because he enjoyed the sport and because he owned a textile manufacturing facility. It is desirable to have a very strong and durable string with minimal stretch so that all of the bow power can be used to propel the arrow.
In 1928, Brownell introduced a string made from linen that was durable and had a low stretch. In 1957, he revisited the archery market and thought of improving the string performance by making it out of Dacron, which was a synthetic fiber made by DuPont. After some trial and error, Brownell was able to successfully use Dacron fiber to make strings for bows called Brownell’s B-50, which became the standard bowstring material well into the 1980s.
In 1985, Allied Signal introduced Brownell to a new fiber called Spectra and asked that they should try to use it to make their string. Spectra is much lighter and strong as steel, exhibiting very little stretch. Although it was a challenge to get Spectra to work well, Brownell’s engineers succeed, testing to ASTM Standards F1752 (Standard Test Method For Archery Bow Component - Cord Material) and ASTM F1648 (Standard Test Method for Archery Bow Component - Serving String Material). This product, Fast Flight, was introduced in 1986.
Over the last few years, Brownell has been using High Modulus Polyethylene (HMPE), which is sometimes also referred to as Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE). This material has similar characteristics, but is lighter, stronger, and tends to be more durable. Additionally, Brownell developed blended fiber products from both HMPE and Vectran (a product of Kuraray Co LTD).
Crary Brownell (Brownell & Co.) was one of the first to take a look at alternative materials for making bow string, both because he enjoyed the sport and because he owned a textile manufacturing facility. It is desirable to have a very strong and durable string with minimal stretch so that all of the bow power can be used to propel the arrow.
In 1928, Brownell introduced a string made from linen that was durable and had a low stretch. In 1957, he revisited the archery market and thought of improving the string performance by making it out of Dacron, which was a synthetic fiber made by DuPont. After some trial and error, Brownell was able to successfully use Dacron fiber to make strings for bows called Brownell’s B-50, which became the standard bowstring material well into the 1980s.
In 1985, Allied Signal introduced Brownell to a new fiber called Spectra and asked that they should try to use it to make their string. Spectra is much lighter and strong as steel, exhibiting very little stretch. Although it was a challenge to get Spectra to work well, Brownell’s engineers succeed, testing to ASTM Standards F1752 (Standard Test Method For Archery Bow Component - Cord Material) and ASTM F1648 (Standard Test Method for Archery Bow Component - Serving String Material). This product, Fast Flight, was introduced in 1986.
Over the last few years, Brownell has been using High Modulus Polyethylene (HMPE), which is sometimes also referred to as Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE). This material has similar characteristics, but is lighter, stronger, and tends to be more durable. Additionally, Brownell developed blended fiber products from both HMPE and Vectran (a product of Kuraray Co LTD).
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