Commissioning a bow from abroad?

January 26, 2025, 6:36 AM · Honestly, if your entire budget is two thousand, I wouldn't buy anything unseen (or experiment with ordering copies of bows off Amazon).
2k is not a lot in US bow terms, but it gets you effectively the entire range of carbon fibre, some older bows, and some new wooden ones too.
In your place, I'd go around trying as many as possible, and, perhaps, consider selling one of the couple you have and don't like to increase the budget.

January 26, 2025, 7:30 AM · Not unless you can travel to China and try the commissions in person before buying...

January 26, 2025, 9:48 AM · Commissions from overseas are a bit of a lottery. And the T2 auction may not traffic in quality that is useful to you.

The regular Tarisio auctions have some decent bows that don’t attract too much attention. Antique Germans, for example, tend to be underpriced at retail and are often much less at auction. But that is a bit of a minefield, especially if you don’t know how well the bow has been serviced or repaired, if necessary.

January 26, 2025, 1:23 PM · You may get more bang for your buck with an older German bow.

Edited: January 26, 2025, 2:05 PM · Jeff- I've though about that, but aren't most German bows from that era (I'm assuming turn of the century) mostly just factory bows, that don't hold a lot of value? Not that that has any bearing on how it plays, but is a factor I have to think about when spending 2k.

January 26, 2025, 4:14 PM · Buying an expensive item sight unseen is a huge risk. You would have to trust that all of the bows that the luthier produces are of outstanding quality.

The violin market is international. If a maker charges less, they are usually not established. If they charge less, you need to ask yourself why.

January 26, 2025, 7:48 PM · I'll bet most $500 CF bows play and sound better than the average $2000 wood bow.

Edited: January 26, 2025, 11:19 PM · Gonna try that Artino Aria bow first and see how I like it. But I think sooner or later I'd like to buy a proper professional bow though, oh well...

January 26, 2025, 10:40 PM · I used to play with a Jianfeng Li bow before I traded it for my current bow. It was a nice stick I just didn't like how heavy it was after my technique changed to where I now prefer lighter bows. I'm sure I would like a lighter Jianfeng Li. I paid more than 2k for that bow, but that's because I got it from a shop instead of directly from the maker.

January 27, 2025, 1:52 AM · New bow prices are set by their makers. Even on consignment, shops don’t like to go below that as a courtesy.

Antiques are open season, though, in both directions. If you find a stick made by someone with an unfashionable nationality, you can occasionally get good value.

But if I were spending $2k, I would get to know the best carbon fiber bows I could find. Either that or visit a shop with good contacts in Brazil.

Edited: January 27, 2025, 11:59 AM · Christian, I've actually played a Jianfeng Li bow before, but one of his workshop bows instead of the one he made himself. There's a certain way that it sounded I didn't like as much as my Schaffner bow at that time, but it handled really well. I'm wondering if the one he made himself would be in a different league and the would sound much better than his workshop bows.

Stephen, I like the carbon fiber train of thought. I've heard good things about Jonpaul and Arcus, but never got around to trying them. I plan to try the Jonpaul bows, but I'm not sure where I can try arcus bows in my area (RTP, NC). (I've also heard that it's only their 7+ series that are really good, but those are over my budget.)

January 27, 2025, 9:13 AM · That's where we are, am assuming you have played everything at Jerry's shop and John's shop. Take a look at the hammer prices at the next Tarisio regular auction, a lot of bows sell there at $2-4K. Same day non-stop round trip to NYC is running $121-157. I also agree with looking for German bows.

January 27, 2025, 11:23 AM · Sell all your current bows, take the resulting cash, and plow it all into a single excellent bow.

At $2k, you should probably be buying a carbon-fiber bow; look at the higher-end Jon-Paul models. It's really not enough budget to get a decent wood bow unless you get extraordinarily lucky.

January 27, 2025, 11:28 AM · Commissioning a bow (or a violin) is a shoot in the dark. If the maker has a good reputation, the greater the chances the bow will fully satisfy you.
I have commissioned four bows from 2 independent makers in Brazil, two from each. One thing they have in common is the high wood quality. I sold both bows from the 1st maker (Francisco Silva, not Manuel Francisco) as I didn't like them. Too heavy for my taste. Remember: commissioning is a hit or miss and I was willing to take the risk. As for the 2nd maker, Pedro Lima Jr, I like his work better, both playing and sounding wise. A friend wanted to buy it immediately after trying it and it is gone. Another bow has been commissioned from the same maker for about USD 1,000 with DHL shipping included. It should arrive in March this year.

January 27, 2025, 12:09 PM · Lydia: "It's really not enough budget to get a decent wood bow unless you get extraordinarily lucky."

That's why I wanted to do commissions from abroad haha. I agree that in the states prices are very high for bows from individual makers.

AC: Do you happen to know anyone in the states who carries his works? From his Instagram photos, the bows look really nice! Though the photos are a bit on the blurry side

Edited: January 27, 2025, 12:19 PM · Buying overseas sight unseen is a risk. Odds are you will probably be fairly happy, but there will just be that one thing, or two things, that will bug you. Just enough that you'll never be fully justified in your purchase. I had this experience buying tailored clothes made to measure..
Best to talk face to face when it comes to something so personal, or at least have the option of sending something back for adjustment.

January 27, 2025, 12:57 PM · with the draconian new laws about pernambuco crossing international borders, you don't want to be importing pernmabuco, it might just be destroyed by customs

January 27, 2025, 1:01 PM · Lyndon --- Actually? Not even finished products for personal use? Since when? Genuinely surprised

January 27, 2025, 2:26 PM · new pernambuco of any kind is forbidden I believe, took effect several months ago

January 27, 2025, 2:34 PM · Hi Chao, Pedro makes his bows and does direct sales only. Send me an email if you want more details about what I've learned over the process. andcal@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: I don't know the maker personally nor represent him in any way.

January 27, 2025, 4:37 PM · I believe Brazil has banned the export of finished pernambuco bows too

January 27, 2025, 7:02 PM · The whole point of commissioning is to get something that's tailored specifically to the way that you play, and if possible, the tonal qualities of your violin. That's why people visit bow-makers in person.

January 28, 2025, 7:30 PM · I would visit good dealers.

January 28, 2025, 9:06 PM · I don't know where you are in the US, but if you are in the DC/Maryland area you should look up Joshua Henry in Charles Town, West Virginia. Josh makes and restores bows. Last time I met him he had an impressive inventory of restored bows at various prices.

Edited: January 29, 2025, 7:24 AM · Following up on Paul's post, here is a group of 10 German workshop bows on Josh Henry's IG channel he finished restoring as a group a year ago, priced $1000-2000. https://www.instagram.com/p/CxIihM3gJAB/?img_index=1. You can click through several photos from all angles.

February 1, 2025, 3:19 PM · Don't do it! I commissioned a bow from a Brazilian archetier. Two years later, I tried to trade it in for another bow and he wouldn't take it back. Best to go to your local shop where they are likely to proudly back up their products and offer full trade-in value if you decide to move up to a better bow someday.

February 1, 2025, 3:21 PM · Lydia Leong is always right! Listen to her!!

Edited: February 1, 2025, 4:26 PM · Stephen Symchych wrote:
" New bow prices are set by their makers. Even on consignment, shops don’t like to go below that as a courtesy."
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Yes and no. If a maker wants significantly more for their product than a dealer thinks it is worth, or if the dealer can easily achieve larger profits by focusing on other instruments or bows, a dealer may simply not bother to carry it. So it's kind of a two-way dance between makers and dealers, for the makers who rely on selling through dealers.