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So your streamer has a nice formed head and you've applied head cement...hard as hull...or whatever...it hasn't quite cured...sometimes even if it has. You want to clean out the eye without damaging that nice shiny head... yeah I know the tooth pick trick...no sweat...heat up your bodkin and burn the finish out with zero damage to head finish.
If this is an old trick...it was an unintentional tips and tricks infringement on my part. :lol:
nam
i keep a partridge feather on my bench with 1/4 inch of the lower portion stripped. one pull through the hook eye after applying head cement and no problems.
mike
It's another AMERICAN ANGLER conspriacy.... :lol: !
Seriously ...good tip grumps!
A piece of peacock herl drawn through the hook eye also works great.
When I get ready to cement the heads on my flies, I loop a short piece of copper wire through the eye and leave it until the cement dries. wiggle the wire a little, then pull it out.
Kirk
OK...so how bout combing out underfur?
If you're a shooter ....a .22 cal bore brush works great to a point. On occasion, burning the brush clean is a slight but necessary inconvenience. 8)
I use the round type of toothpicks, I stick them thru the eye then mount them in a piece of styrofoam to dry . By the time my next fly or two is done the head is dry . I then put the fly in the flybox and re-use the toothpick on the next one. I also use the toothpick as a bodkin.
i just use a leftover piece of hackle stem and stick it through the eye and cement then pull it out
What's wrong with using a sewing needle? I have a pin on the end of my clippers and a tailors "T" pin in my flytrap. I insert the pin into the eye and rotate it in circles to open up the eye and bore out the glue.
Regarding combing out underfur--get a piece of velcro--the pile stuff (not the fuzzy stuff)--any fabric store has it or an old pair of kids sneakers--just touch it to the dubbing and instant bugginess