I have heard it said that limbs of black glass are faster than clear. Wondered if there is anything to that.Gonna order a new set of limbs for my Schafer and wondered if there is anything to this. Thanks,Gary.  

Gary, just had a set of black glass limbs made for my Schafer,I can't tell any difference speed wise ,compared to my other schafers of simular weight. Very happy with the black glass limbs.

Black glass supposedly yields a fps or two more speed.  Insignificant.  Small variations in other components, even the amount of sanding on the limbs to bring them to weight can have a greater effect.  That being said, I like black.  With a satin finish, no need to camo the limbs.

No clouds, no streaks that you don't need.

I had a set made for my Tip and I'm very pleased with the black glass. Mine have wedges that match my riser, Dave did a nice job. I had a post about black glass limbs about a year ago when I had mine made, maybe you can do a search and check it out!

When building these things the colored glass, both black and brown always come in a wee bit heavier. So for two identical bows using clear as a comparison, the colored glass is a bit quicker if you keep the same glass to core ratio....

Kirk; How does S glass compare to other Clear or Coloured glass?

Thanks for the info guys. I think I will go with the black glass,love my Schafer!Thanks again,Gary.  

QuoteOriginally posted by Kirkll:
When building these things the colored glass, both black and brown always come in a wee bit heavier. So for two identical bows using clear as a comparison, the colored glass is a bit quicker if you keep the same glass to core ratio....

Forgive my pea brain when it comes to bow building but notwithstanding the thicker colored glass, if you wind up with the same poundage out of a pair of colored glass limbs and clear glass limbs wouldn't they shoot the same fps?

From what I have read ,you can build 2 bow exactly the same specs and one will be a better performer than the other......don't ask me why.

Kirk can correct me if I am wrong. I believe he said the coloured glass was quicker than the clear with the limb thickness being the same and i assume that there had to be a slight difference in the Bow weights for the 2 , with the coloured glass being heavier in draw weight!??
       Jack howard always said that his limbs glued up with urac glue were heavier in draw weight than the same limbs glued up with smooth on glue and using the same stack measurements. The real difference was in the thickness of the glue lines between the 2 bows. If you look at older Bows built with urac glue you can see how much thicker the lines are, hence a thicker limb which equates to a higher draw weight.

QuoteOriginally posted by SERGIO VENNERI:
Kirk; How does S glass compare to other Clear or Coloured glass?

S glass is a different animal all together. i haven't played with it enough to give you an honest answer to your question....

QuoteOriginally posted by reddogge:
 

QuoteOriginally posted by Kirkll:
When building these things the colored glass, both black and brown always come in a wee bit heavier. So for two identical bows using clear as a comparison, the colored glass is a bit quicker if you keep the same glass to core ratio....

Forgive my pea brain when it comes to bow building but notwithstanding the thicker colored glass, if you wind up with the same poundage out of a pair of colored glass limbs and clear glass limbs wouldn't they shoot the same fps? [/b]

Nope.... there is a difference in the mass weight of the limb using .037 colored glass that has the same deflection as .040 clear glass.....  but these differences are small.... you can see significant differences just using different wedge material,  or even different core materials too.... lots of factors effect these limbs...

Thanks for your honesty kirk. i expected nothing less.  

I don't like black glass at all for the looks... I also don't believe in a difference of speed... There might be a difference, but I think we are talking like 2 fps here..
Put that against hand-made custom bows... I really think it is a non-issue in regards of speed.

Correct me if I am wrong.

In a year long dialogue with Kirk, I can tell you that he tests EVERY thing... and shared the same data with me on my bow-build.

In the end, the reality of 2fps or so, I opted to have the pretty veneers I wanted and the clear glass to see them.

Kirk is wise enough to just thin them both down to the point where they didn't interfere with the performance...and what he said about "wedges" is ever so "spot on".

My 47# sassy lady, spits an arrow... R/D with XX carbon / Foam core... plus veneers and clear glass.

As with incontinence issues "it Depends"

Could it be that Kirk is the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" of all bows???

QuoteOriginally posted by Flying Dutchman:
I don't like black glass at all for the looks...

I agree with you 100 percent on the looks this came up before and my remark was "Black Glass Has No Class" and I realy got hammered just like this horse.  

That's a funny one.... My very first bow had black glass limbs though....

i've heard from more than a few good bowyers than colored glass is just a better quality than clear, and clear can have its issues with streaks and dull spots, etc.  

i think a classic howard hill afl or mild r/d longbow with black glass and a darkish coco riser is pretty thing, indeed.