WILL’S BOW Part 15. The grip or winding and thumb-leather.

Now that the bow is haired we take the time to make sure the camber is exactly as we want it and make a few corrections if necessary. The argent-sur-soie grip is wound on the bow under tension and smoothed with a burnishing tool.

Then the thumb leather is fit and reduced to a knife edge on each end. When it is glued on, the two ends overlap perfectly and the joint is nearly invisible. Here we are using Morocco leather, a tough goatskin with a beautiful grain. The finest Morocco leather actually comes from Nigeria and is used primarily by bookbinders.