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This is the best knife for scraping small animals that I have found. The fine serrations prevent damage to the skin(the thinner the skin the lighter the touch) but cut away the fat etc. Bill
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Hi Jerry,
I wish I could make it but I work second shift now. I miss you guys! Bill

Mike and I are familiar with each others work. Bill

Here is some helpful information on using RIT dyes: http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/allpurposedye.shtml AK Best's book on dye gives instructions on using RIT from a fly tyer's perspective. These next...

Hi REE,
I'm glad you like my stuff. I bought "Wild Color" when it first came on the market. Now I wish I had bought five of them. Jenny Dean has a new book on dyeing which I have. It focuses more...

The best time to gather leaves for dyeing is early summer when they are at their peak. One of the best books on the subject is "Wild Color". It's out of print right now and so the price is very high....

Hi REE,
I dyed the pig's wool, Berlin wool and mohair. John dyed everything else. I use mostly natural dyes and John now uses mostly Jacquard acid dyes. Thanks for the ups. Bill

Jeff,
Go ahead and write your article. Most everyone starts where you did including me. In the meantime; here is an article on dyeing which might help someone get started.
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Here is a picture of some of my plant/bug dyed mohair. Bill
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b220/wsbailey/IMG_0020.jpg
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Jeff,
Here's a book you should look for when you get back to NZ. The native plants are for Australia and NZ but the book also includes onion skins under Miscellaneous and beets under Roots. Bill
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I hope this won't be considered a shameless plug. I use pine pitch in the cobblers wax which gives the color on silk thread. What Pryce-Tannatt says about white wax isn't true of mine. I make it...

It appears that there is a brown sub species of tawny owl.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawny_Owl

This article gives brown owl as a synonym of tawny owl.
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More info on the history of the tup's indispensable fly. In the article the author mentions a couple of old references to the use of ram's wool in fly tying. Bill

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Having had an opportunity to compare; I would choose a feather from a bobwhite quail. The color is close and the wings are readily available. Bill

Here is more information about Austin's mix:

http://www.flyleaves.dk/tup%27s_indispensable.htm

Bill

REE,
Here is a link to a dealer that has straw. I have an old Pearsall's color card with samples of the original gossamer colors. When Alec Jackson wanted to have straw reproduced;a mutual friend...

I wish they would do 6B but it is nice to have 11 back. I wonder why they don't have 02 Straw which is available in the US. Bill

The best substitute that I have found for Pearsall's Gossamer is Tire Machine Twist 50 weight. It's basically the same and comes in 171 colors.
They also have Buttonhole twist of excellent quality....

Bamboozle,

Well, not according to Thomas Wolfe anyway. I'm sure you'll like the wax though. The durability issue is relative. After investing so much in time and materials; someone like...

Here is a source for cobbler's wax:

http://www.feathersmc.com/products/show/Bill+Bailey%27s+Tying+Wax

I've formulated it to be sticky without being messy from pine pitch and rosin. The white...

Here is a source for Drennan Specimen hooks:
http://www.swiftys-fishing-tackle.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=19_21_54_95&products_id=794

Bill

I made some dubbing wax and the resultant mess looked beyond hope. I saw some Goof Off -The Ultimate Goo Remover at the hardware store and decided to give it a try. It did an unbelievable job of...

Most of the pigs raised today are bred to be relatively hairless because nowadays it's a waste product. Most just have a thin coat of bristles which nevertheless can be used for fly tying especially...

Maybe these would work.

http://www.feathersmc.com/materials/fea ... brandID=99

Bill

I have had great luck with Synthrapol. It's a detergent that's a great degreaser. I once soaked a raw mink hide in some water with a small amount of Sythrapol added. I couldn't believe how well it...