Lost Strings?

[mmattockx]

So, I always take a few minutes to watch the local classifieds for archery equipment. On Kijiji (the Canadian version of Craigslist) I regularly see bows that are being sold without a string because the owner 'lost it somewhere'. Is this common? It seems idiotic to me and I cannot imagine 'losing' a bow string. Maybe I'm just naive or uninitiated in the ways of the duffer archer and indifferent equipment storage?


Mark

[osage outlaw]

I don't know how they got lost but I've bought several bows that were missing the string.  I'm glad I learned how to make my own many years ago.

[mullet]

 I wont by a bow without a string unless I can hole it in my hands. Sometimes they are "lost" on purpose if the limbs are twisted. This is easy to tell if they have a string on them.

[AndrewS]

A lost string means:
- Torn string and not replaced
- Lost string during transport without bow case (or simply lost)
- the string is worn out, although the bow was shot very little...
- the string does not match the colour of the bow
- "someone" tied knots in the string to shorten it
- the string never fitted to the bow and the owner did not know how to make a new one
- the string was just "shit."
- the seller has no idea about archery


and all other reasons you can think of

P.S. I haven't lost a string yet either, but I have seen many bows without string offered for sale. But better without string, than for example if the string is pulled  the wrong way on a recurve or the string was never relaxed...

[Eric Krewson]

All the bows I have seen without a string were passed down to people who didn't shoot or care about the bow. These bows usually spend a bunch of years in dusty closets or out in a corner of the garage.

My wife bough a Bear Grizzly at a yard sale for $10, it was completely black with accumulated kitchen grease from being on the wall for so many years, it had no string.

I went to work on it with some Naptha and a rag, it took me two days to get the"patina" off. Underneath the grime was a pristine bow, just like new. The bow was a lefty, I made a string for it, the limbs were dead straight but I couldn't shoot it being a righty. I sold it to a guy on the Stickbow site for $90, he said it became his favorite bow, he killed a deer with it the first year he had it.

I have never seen a bow at a flea market with a string, most are junk but if the right one shows up at the right price not having a string won't be a deal breaker

[mullet]

Eric, when I find one at the Flea market or yard sale without a string it's not a deal breaker for me either. It usually means I'm about to get it cheaper then what was asked.