Lighter Bows?

[Ken Smith]

The other day I somehow sprained my right hand (thumb/index area muscle). It hurt when I picked up the phone, moved my hand abruptly or used one of my Bows for a long time, in a certain position or made sudden movements with the Bow.

Wednesday evening I switched between my Lipkins/142gr and Balint/146gr Bows to see which I could use with less pain. The Lipkins was easier to use even though I preferred the fuller tone of the Balint Bow. Yesterday I picked up the lightest Bow which is an old French Bow made at least 75 years ago which is only 126 grams but plays well. I tried this out in the office and then took it to rehearsal along with my Lipkins. I used the Old French Bow for the first half and then switched to the Lipkins after the break. After a few minutes I went back to the Old Bow because suddenly the Lipkins felt heavy in my hand due to my sprain. I thought it would be easier with a normal weighted Bow to bow easily with the weight of the Bow rather than use the lighter Bow and dig in more when needed to pull sound. When I switched back to the lighter Bow, my hand felt better. The Lipkins does sound a little bigger and better but my hand needs some rest before going back to my regular Bows.

Have any of you guys/gals out there had this experience with a lighter Bow over a great classic or master Bow and still got thru it just as well?