The worst I ever saw was done with a gold Sharpie and looked like my 3yr old granddaughter did it. One of the best is on my Brackenbury, beautiful addition to a beautiful bow.

I've heard of bowyers with poor handwriting getting their wives to do it for them.

Hey, if you write like slop you already know it.  You shouldn't be offended if a customer requests you not scribble on your new bow.

I don't know...an Owl bow, by Ed Scott, for example...a work of art three ways from Sunday, but the signatures and specs, while primitive, really fit.Never seen one of his unsigned, either.
My 2cents is spent.

I would think most bowyers wouldn't mind leaving off some of their standard script or even put specs where you'd like to have them.

I can only think of one bow I've owned that had a lot of sloppy writing on it though.  

I don't like the Truck Dealerships logo on my tailgate!

I like art work on self bows and that is it.   Mike Yancey does some really cool work as do others.  

There are bows that I do not own because of the poor attention to finish.  I classify this issue in that category.

I don't think the question you are asking is an insult, but I think there are plenty who would take it that way.

To me the bowyers script is like his signiture.  Each is differnt but represents an artist's work. But an artists work is very subjective and you are the customer so they should be able to "try' to accomodate you.  I say "try" because they may not come up with exactly what you want.

If you had a custom guitar made from Martin you could never get them to change their script.  Just the way it is with some artists. In most cases the bow will be around a lot longer than we will and it will pass through many hands.  Just something to think about.

Two of my favorites are Toelke (Montanabows) and Great Northern.  You can spot them a mile away by the writing on the bow.

Can't hurt to ask.I Don't like alot of writing on my bows either. I used to have my name put on the bow,but the last few,I've picked a name for the bow and had that put on. My last bow was "Blackwood" I've passed on used bows before because they had long personal inscriptions on them that didn't mean anything to me.

If a bowyer loses his cool after a simple question, it raises a new question......

I think most bowyers are decent people and fine craftsmen.  

If you cant find one,build your own bows and write as little or as much as you want  

QuoteOriginally posted by Cyclic-Rivers:
If a bowyer loses his cool after a simple question, it raises a new question......

I think most bowyers are decent people and fine craftsmen.  

If you cant find one,build your own bows and write as little or as much as you want      

Really more than cool.  They are some of the finest gentlemen I have met.  True nice guys, and outdoorsmen.