John, thanks for helping me become even more enthusiastic about being a violin pupil.

I was so energized by your posting here on Fiddlerman.com that I researched some of what your article mentions.  I've included a youtube video below for illustration.

No wonder the "stick" part of the violin bow is such an important part of the bow, because to my untrained eye, it appears that amongst the shape and appearance of the string movement, there is, by extension, very tiny pressure changes on the violin hair as the string slides past the follicles. There's probably more upward pressure on the bow during the "slide" which is absorbed into the hair and transferred into the stick.  Without a good stick that is properly shaped, my guess is that the pressures on the bow hair would not be optimal for fine playing.  I guess it's true that I could go get a branch from the tree in the yard and make my own bow, but a finely tuned bow will have the correct shape, and stay that way, to take into account the pressure differences between the sticking and sliding of the string.  Has anyone used the fiddlerman carbon fiber bow, it looks like it would be essential and I plan to get one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?f.....O5bq6x_Tws