Has anyone actually bent a hook because they attached a strap to it? I was looking at Earl Scruggs' strap that is for sale and it appears to me, looking at other pictures, that's how he did it. I just wonder if people are using cradle straps to save their hooks or just because they like that balance.
In 52 years of playing banjo, I have never bent a hook because of the strap attachment. I have never used a cradle strap. I attach one end of the strap to the bracket above the neck and the other end to the bracket below the tailpiece.
My oldest strap has been on my oldest banjo for 52 years and no hooks are bent because of it.
I attach non-cradle straps to the first or second hook below the neck (first string side) so that it supports the heel. Cradle or conventional, my straps are all leather, so their ends and are tied with laces.
I concur with Mark and Ken. All my banjos over time (except for one period) had straps attached to the hooks. I have recently modified a Neotech strap to attach to hooks.
On the subject of hooks and straps --
Just a reminder that many prewar Mastertones had bracket hooks made of brass that can crack and break at the upper hook with potentially disastrous results. I have found these that show evidence of plating in the break indicating existence of the crack before plating. Never hang the banjo on a brass strap. Use a magnet to identify (it won't stick to brass) replace that hook with steel and you'll be safe.
Just from a mechanical / geometry standpoint it seems to me that a cradle strap provides a more secure and stable strap attachment.
A cradle strap would seem to distribute the weight of the banjo across a broad surface, vs. focusing all the weight on 2 hooks.
Having said that, clearly a lot of folks are having success with attaching a strap to hooks--and yet I also wonder whether that additional force on those hooks might change the head tension in those areas...
(And to be fair I don't currently own a strap--I'm a "sit down" player exclusively--so...)
60 years, no bent hooks.
