Whisker Type String Silencers-How To

[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

Hey folks, I have seen a lot of questions lately on whisker type string silencers, do they work, how to tie them, where to tie them etc, so I will try to answer some of those questions.

Whisker type silencers are not for everyone, you won?t see them on most target or 3D shooters bows, and/or on the ?Speed Freak? hunter bows either .

Reason being is they add a few feet per second loss, do they work well enough-to compensate for speed loss?, all my personal bows will always wear them, however I am into power hunting, where silence over weighs a couple feet per second any day .

There are other types of string silencers on the market, however they have the same speed loss and break very quickly.

Mathews Bows are already extreme quite with their built in string suppressor system, however with a set of whiskers a shooter will hear a extreme difference again ?pure stealth.

If you think you don?t need them, try them, then decide.

The whiskers I have in stock are custom made by ?Apple Archery?, and hands down are the best in the archery industry; they are designed with strength for today?s modern fast bows.

The older types on the market start breaking in little as a dozen shots; where as ?Apple Archery?s? whiskers will last the lifetime of the string, they are tuff and durable.

The whiskers sold by Apple archery are in only Black, I had mine done for the shop in bulk custom colors, black, green, brown and gray.
http://www.applearchery.com/

When bought by the package they will come by the pair approx 5 inches long, I cut the 5 inch in half and use the four 2 ? inch strips for my whiskers.

1-2-3 or four strips may be used, the more you use the more effective they are and complete a fuller whisker.




The whisker will sit approx 2 ? to 3 ? from top string suppressor and 3 ? from bottom suppressor, with the DXT they need to sit at 2 ?, which allows a clear sight pin view without obstruction, longer ATA bows can be set lower, just make sure a clear view of sights is clear at full draw.

I have measurements for certain bows on different bow squares, measure and mark string, this is where your tied in whisker ?stop? will seat and prevent whisker from moving downward when shooting, elsewhere they suggest a drop of Super Glue on string and slide the whisker into place, believe it or not I don?t suggest it.




With bow under slight pressure I use my starter string separator [large diaper type pin] and insert string/serving material, thru center of strands, and tie onto string using a ?Constrictor knot?, a knot I use constantly in my Wilderness Survival Courses and other wilderness adventures, best outdoors knot going.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constrictor_knot




Finish Constrictor knot with a triple loop and single loop knot [surgical]-cut just under ? and with lighter melt ends together and push into main knot body to form a melted locked knot.

Warning* Do not allow flame near string or allow knot material to burn close to string.




Fold Whiskers over string and use trusty plastic clothes pin to hold whisker on string




Tie whiskers on using constrictor knot and finish with the surgical knot cut and melt end as in tied stop.

Caution* It is suggested to use leather gloves to tighten knot severely







I have a 7/8 inch mark drawn on my clothes pin ?I use it to mark ends of whiskers to be cut-from center to both ends.




Then cut whiskers with sharp scissors




Then fluff whisker out by pulling on whiskers, most can be separated quickly just by pulling on ends, whiskers will fluff even more after several shots.




Use scissors? to trim to desired size and even out, some may like the whisker that size or even trimmed down smaller.








End results will be a trouble free whisker that will last the life of the string, and considerably lower the bows noise that much more. And HEY they look good, make you look like a hunter not a gulldarn paper shooter .




Sorry about the quaility of the pics-done them quicly by myself.

Neil
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[BigEves34]

Another great demonstration Neil!!!

But why the 6 threads...
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Chad
80# Monster XLR8 + Easton DG FMJ's =
(266 fps) + (757 gr) = 119 ft/lb KE

[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

BigEves34 wrote:

Another great demonstration Neil!!! But why the 6 threads...

Chad I dont know---I tried to enter the post and it read message error so itried again ...and..... Ricky will fix it

Neil
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[BigEves34]

L.O.S.T.Arrow wrote:

BigEves34 wrote: Another great demonstration Neil!!! But why the 6 threads... Chad I dont know---I tried to enter the post and it read message error so itried again ...and..... Ricky will fix it Neil

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Chad
80# Monster XLR8 + Easton DG FMJ's =
(266 fps) + (757 gr) = 119 ft/lb KE

[BO@WORK]

Thanks Neil!

Now I can do mine right!

[Jeff K in IL]

This works...
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Mathews Prestige
Gold Tip XT Hunters
Flex Fletch FFP-360
Steel Force Phathead SOB

[andy7yo]

Awesome post Neil. I agree 100% too, whiskers are by far the most effective string silencer......period.

This should be a sticky.
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Andy

[bow4life]

Great post, Neil. I'll get this moved over into the faq area so it stays around.
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Don't Shoot The Messenger

[wishbone]

I did fined the material....Thanks Neil..

http://www.applearchery.com/shop/string_silencers_by_the_spool.php

[Lane]

Sticky

[PA_MATHEWS_MAN]

My Bow Will Be there Oct 12th... Bring the Goods
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LEADER OF THE MATHEWS MISFITS

[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

PA_MATHEWS_MAN wrote:

My Bow Will Be there Oct 12th... Bring the Goods

Will do Allan.......Or I just thinking about it --I will just throw everything in an envelope and fire them your way....cant say you dont know how now ha ha..

Neil
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[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

Update-- Apple archery has these in containors with pre cut 5 inch Now--

I was to send some of you a sample I had here but accidently nuked my saved box for addresses - please re-pm me.


Neil
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[RickyM]

Nice tech topic Neil.
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.

[Hydrapress]

Nice Post!
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Hydra-Press Bow Presses

[KILL EM ALL]

Very well put together Neil

You can send some my way if you want to
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Athens Accomplice 32 29/70 Exceed 300 70 /29.5
Grim Reaper Pro Staff / Wicked1strings pro staff
Sword ProStaff / Flex Fletch staff / Victory arrow staff / Stealth archery Pro-staff
808 slings pro staff/TruBall staff

[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

Thanks for the kind words gang

Thanks to Travis who wanted a pair ...he found these whiskers...black or colored at Bass Pro....they look to be the same...


http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10093____SearchResults


Note there are some out there ..if they feel too thin ...they usually are and will only last 50 75 shots...they worked reasonably with older bows...but with the high efficient newer ones the older whisker material doesn't hold up...

Neil
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[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

L.O.S.T.Arrow wrote:

Thanks for the kind words gang Thanks to Travis who wanted a pair ...he found these whiskers...black or colored at Bass Pro....they look to be the same... http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10093____SearchResults Note there are some out there ..if they feel too thin ...they usually are and will only last 50 75 shots...they worked reasonably with older bows...but with the high efficient newer ones the older whisker material doesn't hold up... Neil

Word is that they are indeed too thin from here..I reccomend finding the Apple Archery ones


Neil
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[tnarcher]

First let me say kudo's for a great thread.
I have a question or two. What is the first knot you put in the middle of the string for? Are the wiskers tied above or below this knot?
Thanks for the thread.

tnarcher

[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

tnarcher wrote:

First let me say kudo's for a great thread. I have a question or two. What is the first knot you put in the middle of the string for? Are the wiskers tied above or below this knot? Thanks for the thread. tnarcher

Sorry was away for a long weekend with outdoor adventures

The simple knot in string is to keep whiskers from creeping inward after a couple of hundred shots...both top and bottom will creep slightly toward center of string without the knots...due to slicker coatings on newer strings.

bottom is not a imeadiate worry, but top whisker may creep into sight range and block peep or pin sight.


Also... stabilizeing them both to stay in one l;ocation will result in more consistant tuning and shooting.

So top whisker above knot and bottom below knot..


Neil
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[tnarcher]

I was using an S.T.S. on my XT to tame string noise not shock because there is no shock.
I installed these whiskers on my XT with these instructions and all I can say is WOW!!!!!!
I never used these becuase everyone just tied them around the string with a half hitch and it looked retarted and did nothing for string noise.
With this method they not only look great but I can barely hear my bow go off. I'm the one shooting it! These whiskers removed more string noise than an S.T.S. I'm hooked.

Thanks again for an awesome thread.

tnarcher

[WyoHunter]

Great post! I've been doing something similar with my cat whiskers for years.

[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

A little update... we saw a couple of bows brought in ...they had tied in their whiskers ...but didnt use the constrictor knot and the whiskers were tied in somewhat loose...

With the modern bows speed . a loose whisker will wear the string if not tight...even to the point it may need changing.

I have switched myself to using a flat waxed nylon cord that i used in taxidermy...very tuff and knots go super tight...

just a heads up..


Neil
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[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

Update...I thought the whiskers may not work with the Reezen as with the speed ... But they work awesome..in fact with the whiskers My Reezen is even quieter than my DXT...

The only difference is the tied in stop an string should be above both top and bottom whiskers...toward the Idler wheel...as the top whisker will travel upward quickly with the Reezens preload limbs..


neil
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[All4Huntin]

Lost Arrow... Loved the post ... Now for the question reference to the Reezen.. You say on top of BOTH upper and lower silencer? Meaning if I am holding the bow in hand, the "stop" knot is directly above BOTH silencers? Just making sure cause I am gonna install these on mine and want to get it right without damaging the string ( as stated in above post ) by wearing the string. Why would you not want to put one below the lower silencer...one would think that it would slide in opposite directions...
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2009 Reezen 6.5 : #70 : 29.5", Lightspeed Arrows, Camo Blazers, Lost Camo Vital Gear Drop Away, HHS Site, Grim Reapers, Green Tracer Nocks, G5 Peep, Stabalizer Video Camera

Keep The Sun At Your Back And Stay Below The Ridge Line.. Good Huntin'