When did flemish twist become popular? When I grew up I never saw a flemish twist bowstring it wasn't until the last 20 years that I started seeing them. I am just curious and figured yall would know..

1980s/90s from what I noticed.

I had some bows back in the fifties (when I was a teenager) with Flemish twist strings on them. Also, seems to me I once heard another name for Flemish twist was "Archer's Weave." Could this be an old English archery term?

Archer's weave isn't the same thing. The Flemish string was also known at one time in history as Belgian.

Sorry about that, had to fold my omelet.

Any who, the Archer's weave is more similar to the string that L.E. Stemmler describes in The Essentials of Archery in the chapter about bowstrings.

Ye old archers of merry olde england obtained their strings from the Belgians who made them in a "flemish splice".

Least ways thats what I read somewhere.

It was also written that the making of the strings was mysterious and not understood by the brits and they were not able to make them for themselves. Somehow I doubt that but I did read it somewhere AND IT WASN'T ON THE INTERNET! :-)

Lol I just don't recall ever seeing them as a kid only endless loop strings. If I had a endless loop jig I'd probably still use them but flemish are so easy to make.

You'd think I would know the answer to that, but I don't.

I know, I learned how to build both endless loop, and flemish strings when I was in early scouts in the mid to late 60's.

I built endless loop strings for myself for years, and didn't start building flemish twist until the early 80's when it seemed they became popular. Once I started on the flemish I liked them so well I just stuck with them exclusively.

Rick

lol good point about lack of hand use.

I don't know when they became popular. Cordage until recent times was spiced and twisted, and thick relative to strands of material nowadays. Twist countertwist is one of the very earliest of skills man invented to make cordage. When man invented the bow it is very likely used twisted material, since long thin strands to make an endless loop were not available.

Back in the self-bow days of the 19th century, folks were making Flemish strings, but they sort of fell out of favor when companies began producing a lot of recurves commercially in this country beginning in the 50s and into the 60s and 70s, which were almost universally fitted with commercially produced endless loop strings.

Compounds came in in late 60s, early 70s and began displacing recurves. I remember starting to build my own Flemish twist strings in the mid-80s, as the interest in traditional archery started to increase again. Not too many folks shooting sticks then, but many of those who were getting into or back into stick bows also looked to make more of their own equipment like strings and arrows. I'd say the popularity of the flemish string among stick bow shooters in this country started to take off in the late 80s, early 90s.

A string made by using the method as described by Stemmler is also a little more difficult to learn. As with any other method, once learned, it's as quick as any.

My experience is that it makes a string that creeps less than Flemish twist strings, at least when I make them. The method IS the same as splicing an eye in a rope essentially. Therefore it tightens the body of the string, around the spliced butts as pressure is applied.

I've never read anything that mentioned that the Belgian stringmakers created their strings in the Flemish method. Not saying they didn't, I've just never read anything historical that mentioned it.

I posted this on another site a year or two back ...

.... ""Foreign" Longbow string makers beware !!!

If any of you are caught making and / or selling long bow strings in the City of London you're going to face a fine of six shillings and eight pence from the City Chamberlain ... according to the ordinance of the Ancient Company of Longbowstringmakers (yes it's all one word) 15th of November 1498.

You'll be called before the Master and Wardens of the company and asked by what authority you were "well and truly governed" so there should be no "false work". If you could not prove that you were "well franchised" and be able to "make true and able work" a further fine of three shillings and four pence is to be imposed and your strings are to be put in the Town Clerks keeping. If it is found that the "foreigner" was not making strings of "well chosen" English hemp but is using "tubbed" or Coleyn Hemp then an additional fine of five shillings is to be imposed ...

Flemish strings as we know today were around from the latter part of the 15th century, although only looped at one end.

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