The Westbury Octagonal Brazilwood Viola Bow is a very well crafted bow designed to offer higher quality for both the student and intermediate player.

This Westbury is a step up from a standard hardwood bow. Whilst hardwood is cheap, easy to source and mass-produced, Brazilwood is a strong and dense wood that offers similar qualities to Pernambuco, the finest wood used in the bow making industry, but at a fraction of the price.

Octagonal viola bows such as this Westbury are often preferred by those who like a little bit of weight in their bow.
All viola and violin bows infact start off octagonal, and the archetier (bow maker) will then keep some sticks octagonal, whilst rounding the others off.

There is no proven advantage or disadvantage to using an octagonal bow, it really comes down to personal preference, but octagonal bows will often be ever so slightly heavier than round stick bows.

This Westbury bow includes a fully mounted fine ebony frog with a Parisian eye, and the Brazilwood stick features imitation whalebone lapping.

A fine choice for violists working through their grades, this bow is available in full-size only, yet is slightly shorter and heavier than a violin bow.
For smaller viola's, you can either use a fractional size viola bow or an appropriate size violin bow in line with the guide below:

Viola Bow Size Guide