Tapering synthetic tails on saltwater patterns?

[whatfly]

Can any of you saltwater tiers share some tips on the best way to taper the tails of a pattern when using synthetic materials? For example, let's say you were using slinky fiber or similar to tie a sea habit or even clouser and you wanted to get a nice tapered tail. What's the best way of achieving the right effect? Are tapering scissors the answer or is there a simple method?

This is for a donation fly box, so it really is a cosmetic question, more than a practical one, but this is an annoying problem I've had since I started tying larger striper patters. It is easy enough to get the right look with bucktail, but I find the synthetics quite puzzling.

Thanks in advance.

[ducksterman]

No experience but I've read and seen on YouTube to pull/break the fibers by hand.

[Bamboozle]

I use thinning shears.

[peregrines]

As duckster mentioned, you can just stagger it by hand and kind of pick it out before you tie it in to avoid a paintbrush look. I usually do this with each layer of thin flexible material, but have the layers longer than the one beneath it if you're tying in separate bunches (or outer layers a bit longer than the inside layers if you're tying a round (from side to side) pattern like a mullet. Doing it this way the fly compresses into a nice oval fish shaped profile, and I try and keep them on the sparse side for easier casting and better action in the water.

Mark

[TxEngr]

On some fibers like Puglisi, you can pull the fibers tight and with no cutting motion or very light cutting move the scissors toward the back of the fly cutting just a few fibers along the way (this is really hard to describe properly). You're really just using the V of the scissors to trim the hairs and need some moderately sharp scissors to do this. If I haven't explained it well enough, let me know. This can also be used on flash to give it a taper after you tie it in.

TxEngr

[ducksterman]

You know I'm getting a picture of a barber "blending" with a straight edge....maybe something to consider.

[JohnScott]

Can any of you ... share some tips on the best way to taper the tails of a pattern when using synthetic materials? For example, let's say you were using slinky fiber or similar to tie a sea habit or even clouser and you wanted to get a nice tapered tail. What's the best way of achieving the right effect? Are tapering scissors the answer or is there a simple method....

I don't do much with synthetics, but the fellows I see at fly tying demos usually trim / taper the tails not by clipping the material with the scissors, but by holding the material out behind the fly and using open scissors to cut the materials as they work it from the front of the taper out to the end of the finished tail.

John

[RACfromALA]

Just hold the synthetic material bundle for your tail in one hand and then with the fingers of your other hand grasp some fibers from the center of the bundle and pull to get those fibers longer than the others of the bundle. You may have to do this operation more than once to get the taper you desire. Basically you are trying to create a tailing bundle similar to what you get when you cut of a bundle of bucktail from the tail. Trimming with scissors may be required to clean up some uncooperative fibers.

[RACfromALA]

Just hold the synthetic material bundle for your tail in one hand and then with the fingers of your other hand grasp some fibers from the center of the bundle and pull to get those fibers longer than the others of the bundle. You may have to do this operation more than once to get the taper you desire. Basically you are trying to create a tailing bundle similar to what you get when you cut of a bundle of bucktail from the tail. Trimming with scissors may be required to clean up some uncooperative fibers.

[Uncle Barry]

Good afternoon.
The only way is,

to use serrated edged siscissors
Because
this stops the material from sliding when you are cutting it.

Kind regards
UB