JC,

Guess I can't agree with you about age and brittleness. Some of the necks I have are from the late 60s, early 70s. I hardly use them because todays hackle is so much better but they've remained pliable. I think Mary Dette said her parents simply hung hackle necks in a closet and they stayed 'fresh'.

You write, "That one breeder only sells feathers less than two years old also played into my reasoning." No doubt, but allow me to take a stab at why that is done. Bear in mind I fully expect to be corrected if I am wrong.

Since good breeding yields visual changes in the product, perhaps the breeder always wants his current best on the market.

Hypothetical conversation between 2 tyers at a conclave:

tyer A) Hey, how come the CWCMK #1 necks I just bought are smaller and less full than the CWCMK #1s that you have?

tyer B) Those look like the necks CWCMK bred about 10 years ago. How much did you pay for them?

tyer A) Oh, that shop over there was selling them at a 20% discount so I bought 5 of them.

tyer B) Well, I hate to burst your bubble but, look at the difference between yours and this recently bred neck I have. See how much longer the hackle is, how many more barbs there are per feather, how many more feathers there are, the sheen of the color, and how much less there is of webbing?

tyer A) But the shop said it's a #1 and the breeder stamp says #1.

tyer B) It was a #1, 10 years ago.

tyer A) Damn! I got ripped. Never gonna buy from that shop or any CWCMK hackle, for that matter, again.

Latter that day at the conclave:

tyer A to tyer C: Hey, here's a heads-up. Don't buy anything from that shop and stay away from CWCMK necks.

Allan

[This message has been edited by tyeflies (edited 13 October 2005).]