Waterhen and Quill 1550

[William Anderson]

No explanation required. Only that the thorax is the fluff from the waterhen feather. I just really can't wait to get back on some water and mangle a couple of these.



w

[kanutripr]

Still haven't tried the quill body. I need to get on that. You done a nice job with the quill. Are you gluing or reinforcing it?



Vicki

[michaelgmcgraw]

I was thinking the same question Vicki.

[letumgo]

William - Wow...Exceptionally crisp tying!

[willowhead]

That's BEAUTIFUL William.......really supurb.......what quill is that?

[William Anderson]

Peacock quill. I hadn't tied with them in a while. A few years ago when I first started tying I tried them out, like all good beginners, snapped most of them right away or store them with 6/0 tying thread on #12 hooks. Then I discovered turkey biots and never picked these up again, until now. I just can't get past how much the gradation and width of these matches so many mayfly bodies. It's like peacocks were genetically destined over thousands of years to serve the purpose of fly tyers who prefer natural materials. I have tied some using SHHAN over the body and they are just too, shiny. So I put SHHAN on the shank and wrapped the quill over it, then ran my finger over the quill to remove/smooth the stuff that squeezes up between the turns. I hope that will hold them. If they get chewed on, and don't hold up, I just have a good reason to tie more. If they don't work, I'll never know how good the body is. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. These didn't come out perfectly clean either. I know there are about 15 ways to clean them. These were cleaned using an eraser and then a thumbnail.

w

[William Anderson]

And now that I'm thinking about it, if you really wanted to get persnickety, the gradiant should be in reverse with the dark edge near the eye, fading to pale toward the bend on each turn. Good lord, this will never work.

w

[hankaye]

dub-ya, Howdy;

Sometimes being an arch-e-tech has it's drawbacks.....

That's a beautiful fly.................


Just the way it is...



something to be said for NOT being a perfectionist

hank

[kanutripr]

And now that I'm thinking about it, if you really wanted to get persnickety, the gradiant should be in reverse with the dark edge near the eye, fading to pale toward the bend on each turn. Good lord, this will never work.

w

I wasn't going to say it!

Beautiful job!!



Vicki

[willowhead]

William, you right, there are many different ways of stripping a quill........i usuaully just use my finger nails or an eraser.............forget the bleech method, and the wax methd is a mess as well. One thing you can do is soak the guils before you wrap them. Just use luck warm water and perhaps one drop of hair conditioner to a couple cups of water. Let 'em soak for an hour or so first. So only do that (just what you need), if your gonna type up a dozen or whatever.
You don't wanna have 50 quills soaking for days on end while they wait to be used. They're protein, and prolonged soaking will ruin them. Voice of experience.
Your method of coating the threaded shank is a good one. THINNED Dave's Flexament works great. It also works well after they've been wraped. It's not to shinny.