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For a while now, I thought I was just a crappy player. Well, okay to be fair, I am pretty bad (hello, beginner 
Basically, I couldn't make my violin sound good to save my LIFE! 
When I brought my violin into the luthier for something unrelated, he asked me if I wanted to rehair my bow while I was at it. His anecdotes, plus the fact that I'd never done it before, convinced me to try it. What the heck, it's only $35 in the life I'd had the bow (three years now).
Long story short, I got it back today, put it to my violin.... HOLY CRAP. The difference is incrediballs!!! Originally the bow had quite a bit more hair than what the luthier added; I'm not sure if it's going to play differently now (not that I'm skilled enough to tell the difference, let's be honest), but holy hannah it just grips so much more evenly. I didn't realize there was even a problem; strings weren't breaking, nothing was discolored or looked out of place. But, wow. Just wow.
So. If you've got a bow you've had for years learning with, and can't quite get that awesome sound you've been working toward, look into getting a rehair. (And yes, spellcheck, I'm typing "rehair" NOT freaking "repair"...although, in this instance they'd kind of work interchangeably) It's cheap insurance that can make a huge difference, and is much less expensive than getting a new bow. 
Regulars
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It'll be a while until I need to rehair, but my teacher was showing me the bows she just got rehaired, which don't have any rosin yet. She has the guy put fiddler hair on her bows, which she said is unbleached and I guess naturally has more grip because of that. That intrigued me, and I want to try that hair out someday.
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Funny you should mention this. A while back, I was certain that my bow needed to be re-haired, so I took it to a fiddle shop. I had been experiencing bad tone quality and my bow skating across the strings. I figured that the bow was no longer grabbing the strings properly.
Well, the shop owner told me that I had probably over-rosined the bow and turned me away, telling me to go home and play the rosin off the bow, then come back if I was still having problems after that.
His advice seemed to work, so to this day, I have not yet had my bow re-haired and have been very conservative in rosining the bow.
When the work's all done and the sun's settin' low,
I pull out my fiddle and I rosin up the bow.
Regulars
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Back in Feb 2012 I posted this thread on a bowhair project for all to read on.
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
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How many of you do or have tried to do your own re-hairs?
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
I tried. I bought two hanks of hair from "Fiddlershop" (some time ago). I couldn't get the plug out of the tip, so I ended up taking the bow and hair to my luthier and letting him do it.
Was easier and quicker that way.
Ken.
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Getting the plug out of the tip is easy enough if you know how.
Certain bows are obviously easier than others. Some "one way" bows even have the plugs glued in and are not suitable to re-hair. You should be ready to make a new plug when removing the one that's in there. You need to pry it out in a way that you are not damaging the ivory, bone, plastic, or the actual surroundings and bow. There are many ways of prying it out but no guarantee that you can reuse that plug. 
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
LOL, yeah, I just looked on the wall and that particular is still hanging there. I guess it was two other bow's I had done.
I've watched Mark (my luthier) do a lot of them and I could probably do them myself now, but all my bow's are in good shape so no need.
It's a cheap bow anyway, so it can hang till h*ll freezes over now, I have 8 bows.
Ken.
Regulars
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There are many "kits" on ebay from time to time that include many different wedges and other parts to repair or replace on a rehair job.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASSORT.....xfa03UyRlA
I'm getting ready to do 5 currently. Waiting on some hair to come from Europe.
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
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