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A few years ago, I started a company called Pioneer Valley Luthier Supply Co. My 'silent' partner was Erich Husemoller, formerly of Wagman Primus. From him, I met Michael T. Sowden, of Sowden & Sons, where I learned everything I know about preparing horse hair for the western world. I also met and spent some time with the owner of Glasser Bows, Andrew Glasser. I met his father, one of the founders of Glasser, before his death in the early '00s, and got to know how Glasser does business.

I traveled to Argentina first, then Canada, finally China, discovering more truth about horse hair than I thought possible. 

I spent several months following the hair back to the source. I took a train with empty pallets and bales to the slaughterhouses in Harbin and Liaoning Province. From there, I went to inner Mongolia and the far Northeastern parts of China where the animals that produce bow hair mainly live. There I spent some time with the farmers on the land, learning about the animals, their life-cycle and the way of the culture relating to the animals. A fascinating trip where I came away with a fresh perspective on the world of horse hair.

During my travels, I found several people I trusted to supply me with the highest quality horse hair, and some other people I trusted to prepare it the way I knew my western world clients wanted. I followed Michael T. Sowden's guidelines of color, drift, texture, shape and elasticity. I thought about Andrew Glasser's desire for strong white hair at an affordable price. And I thought about the other challenges facing the western music industry.

Horsehair varies remarkably, depending on climate and treatment. A good quality product does make a difference. Horsehair from animals with healthy diets that live in northern climates tends to be stronger.

Other factors that affect quality are consistency and color. Both players and bow makers value straight hair. Many bow rehair techs prefer a white hair, particularly for violins and violas, because hair of this color is usually finer in texture. (There is, however, some disagreement about the extent to which color correlates with textural differences that affect sound.) Many bass and some cello players use the coarser, discolored, or even black hair, which some say is grabbier, while others opt for a salt and pepper combination.

My bow hair is the best in the world. Here's a short list of some of the people who have purchased my hair:
George Rubino, Bow Maker, Benoit Rolland, Bow maker, John Montgomery Violins, Serge Sioufi, Bow maker, Matt Wehling, Bow maker, Gianna Violins, Pier Bergeron, George Heinl & Sons, Nicholas Caraccio, Bow maker, Jon Vanderhorst, Brad Dorsey, Ted Herbert's Music, Renaissance Strings, Collins Violin Bows, Bridgewood & Neitzert, Schonau & Tardif Luthiers, Inc., Arte - Suibumn Leigh, Seoul, KR