how many strands are (plenty enough to shoot safely without ANY bow damage) and, how many are 'just too many'?

DF-97 material
recurve bow
FF compatable tips
bow marked 46#s @ 28"s
padded loops
a full 28" draw
450 grain total arrow weight

I may be WAAAY off here but I was thinking a 16 strand string would be fine. now, what do the experts think?

sswv -- can't help you with your string question, as strings are the only component of my gear I still don't make myself. But I sure admire, and agree with, your Ursilla quote (about the last thing I ever expected to see here). More power, dave

Danny go with 10-12 strands of D97 and pad the loops to 14.

thanks Dave and LeRoy!