The loop bandages are best made from tanned kangaroo leather.

The bandages lend an extra finishing touch to the bowstring.

Johnny Snyman, well-known writer on bow matters and one of South Africa’s best-known bowyers, gives a tip on the protection of string loops on traditional bows.

On traditional bows, string wear at times occurs around the insides of the bowstring loops. Like all forms of wear, it shortens the life of the string. Bandages can readily be made to protect the loops and prolong the life of your bowstrings. What is more, the bandages add an extra finishing touch to your strings.

Tanned kangaroo leather works best for string-loop bandages. It is thin, lightweight, pliable, and very tough, and is usually obtainable from leathermongers and manufacturers of leather products, e.g. whipmakers. If you cannot find kangaroo leather, pig leather will also do – although it’s a bit thicker than kangaroo leather.

• Here’s how to do it:
• Cut a strip of leather 300 millimetres long and about 5 millimetres wide.
• Begin by feeding one end of the strip of leather through the string loop, leaving a 25-millimetre section at the beginning of the loop.
• Wrap the strip of leather in a tight spiral around the loop.
• Once the entire loop has been wrapped, leave a 25-millimetre section of leather strip protruding and cut off the excess leather with a pair of sharp scissors.
• Overlap the two 25-millimetre sections where they begin to spiral around the string loop and glue them together with superglue.
• Once the glue has set, snip 15 millimetres off from the excess overlapping leather.
• Repeat the process with the other loop.