The violin bow we know today descended from the Italian counterpart of the German bow that was used during Bach's day. When one looks at the partitas and sonatas that Bach has composed, one wonders, Why are there so many chords to be played ON THE VIOLIN?! Well, actually, the GERMAN BAROQUE BOW was able to play true chords due to it's large curve. Here's a pic:

http://www.baroquemusic.org/bachbogen.jpg

So, when one plays a song that involved 3 or more notes to be played at the same time, one can play true chords rather than whipping the bottom note and playing only the top two notes of the chord.

Baroque bows are anywhere from $150-500 US.

Isn't that weird?!

*well might-as-well post*
that would be difficult to play with mainly because of it being curved.

Yeah, but I'm sure it'd be beneficial in the long run while playing German Baroque music... I'm sure it'd be useful/get easier w/ time.