nock protection?

[paulc]

What is the advantage of putting horn or bone or whatever on the tips of a bow?  Is it just to protect the string, or does that have nothing to do with it?  I just remembered my hog feet that are sitting on the car port roof (from two weeks ago) and I am not sure I want to handle them now...:-)

TIA, Paul

[Kegan]

A more rounded nock prevents wear, as well as smooth edges. It also helps keep the string on narrower tips, and can protect the wood from the string on weaker woods. They are also very aesthetically appealing, which is why most of us use the though .

[Pat B]

Some woods like yew and juniper probably need tip overlays to protect the softer wood from the string. Most other woods don't really need them but they are nice looking on the bow's tips.     Pat

[mullet]

 You can whittle the tips down real narrow and put bone or horn on because it is stronger. And you can cut tip weight at the same time. Also if you use Fast Flight or equivalent string it will eventually cut you tip off without the extra protection.

[JackCrafty]

Durability.

[Pappy]

Durability is why I do it also,plus I like the look. I didn't do it for years and had no real
problems so either way is fine.
   Pappy

[Gordon]

They look nice. That said I've made lots of bows without overlays without any problems - and I use FF strings exclusively.

[Jesse]

Gordon do you pad or serve the loops or just use a regular flemish string. I have herd ff is very abraisive and will cut off the tips eventually. Ive never seen it happen but ive only been using ff for a short time.                Jesse

[Gordon]

Jesse,

I use 16 strands for the main string and 18 for the loops - so they are padded a little. If you are going to use self-nocks with FF strings you need to make sure you nicely round down and smooth the 'shoulders' of your nocks. The shoulder is that point where the grove intersects the face of the bow nearest the handle. If there are any sharp points there, FF will catch on them and potentially slice right right down the nock's edge. I also burnish the groves and shoulders with a steel rod for extra protection.

For softer woods like yew, juniper, cascarra and hazelnut, you're better off using overlays. But for harder woods like osage, hickory, ipe, and maple you really don't need them if you do what I described above.