Hi steveduf and others.  My bow collection is not extensive or expensive.  The only frog with a method of weight adjustment I know about is from my Heddon steel bow.  It has 4 cavities to put lengths of lead solder entered from the stick side.

Silver wrapping is expensive at $23/Troy oz.  I have used various colors of lead core fishing line, which is attractive and inexpensively obtained.  I would like to use simulated whale bone if I can find an inexpensive Asian source for it.

I hair the bow from the frog end first.  Have you found a method of accurately determining where to put the knot in the hair to provide adequate adjustment range on the frog screw?  It is a little hit or miss with my attempts thus far.

I would also like the name of a chemical to soften a super glue joint.  I find that many bows bond the maple wedges with this material and it is maddening to remove the wedge with sharp implements without causing damage to stick or digits.  I dare not use heat (perhaps a flamed exacto blade)?

One of the nicest bows I have came with an older Cecilio CVA 600 15” viola.  The black vinyl case has the weight and size of an alto sax case.  The winding is called simulated whale bone in two colors.  I will submit a photo of it tomorrow.  I have also seen similar on some bow auctions so I don’t think that it is an expensive addition.  I find it to be very attractive.

As long as the stick has a nice balance to it, I don’t see much of a disadvantage of a bow having a light weight (although I use black hair and dark rosin, so I get a fair amount of bite, and I put on a bit more hair than is likely standard).  And my light bows are constructed of steel tube so I am likely causing more tension on the hair than would be available from a wooden bow of the same weight.

I think that I have found a cheaper source of material for imitation whale bone whipping.  Rexlace comes in a variety of colors, most unfortunately garish, and is quite inexpensive (some even have sparkles, which the kids would love).  Tandy sells rolled leather strip under the trade name pro-lace, which also seems interesting (although more expensive).

I did find a method to install imitation whale bone on a bow on another forum.  Similar to the installation of webbing on a bicycle handle bar.

I think that I can do it using the “bicycle handlebar wrap” method, adding double sided tape to the stick under it.  I used friction tape on the handlebar, so the effect is similar.  I am even thinking about trimming the start and end of the wrap in a long vertical “v” so that the ends form a 90 degree angle.

That last photo of yours sure looks like the real thing to me.

I just purchased a large hank of black horse hair.  Did you have any success with rehairing a bow?

I went to the hobby store and got some sparkle Rexlace.  The gold color also seemed interesting.  Slightly more expensive was 2 mm diameter shiny leather lace in black, dark brown, and white ($9/10 yd, much cheaper on eBay by a factor of 10).

I read that the e-packet postage will shortly become a thing of the past, so these bargains may soon be over in the US.