Thanks for the kind words. For softhackles, a lot of the shoulders are tied in by the tip and the feathers need a bit of persuasion to lay down properly (mallard flank being an exception; I haven’t found any way to get consistent results. I just cross my fingers and if it doesn’t behave, I’ll take a hairdryer to it). For folding hackle, I’ve found Jay Nicholas method, using scissors to break down the hackle barbs, works well. I grab the tip of the feather in my hackle pliers and do it before I tie it in, but the process is the same; it really helps with stuff like chukar, waterfowl flank, pheasant rump, etc. I give Ms. Hansen all the credit for the heads.
When it comes to videos, even if I was set up properly, which I’m not (all the photos are hand held) I’ve watched enough of Davie McPhail, Hans Weilenmann, Ryan Houston, Scott Jackson, Michael Jensen, and others, to know it’s best left to them. It’s not easy for me to get it right first time, every time and YouTube is already full of stuff that is painful to watch. If I was adding something to the conversation it might be worth a try, but you’ve seen this all before.
Regards,
Scott
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