Quills...

All about flies Fly Tying
1

Ok heres what I got, peacock eyes soked in bleach then put in baking sodawater to stop effects, everythings cool thus far, I like the effect and is alot easier than using an eraser. Heres the Q, should I keep them soaking in water till I use them? Can I just leave them dry until I use them, or C, do I wet them just b-4 using them? If there’s a D lol i havent thought of it yet or don’t know about it…:slight_smile:

Thanks for your help…

2

If your not going to use them let them dry. Then give them a good soak when you are ready.

3

I like to put quills and biots in a damp paper towel for a few minutes before I use them.

Regards,
Scott

4

What Scott said…I soak 'em in wet paper towels for at least 20 minutes.

5

Thanks folks, I used the wet paper towel thing, now I have Quill Gordans…:wink:

6

Grubb … I’ve got quite a few of the stripped peacock eyes using the method you mention. I’m sure there are many ideas floating around regarding keeping the stripped quill more supple. After I rinse mine off real good I apply hair conditioner (coconut scented, no less) let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse it off. I also use this same method when dying/bleaching moose mane.

7

Dick Talluer said in one of his videos that he soaks stripped quills in hair conditioner (like gquals says) only he uses a a water solution with conditioner in it. I don’t remember the ratio.

8

I’ll second the hair conditioner trick. I also use the paper towel method of dampening quills.

REE

9

Grubb or anyone else, what ratio of bleach to water do you use when bleaching the peacock?

Rodney

10

I used straight clorox, not off brand, and read to leave it in there for a short period of time so as to not make the quills brittle. It took only like a min or two at the most to bleach them clean. Soooooo much easier than using an eraser to erase the stuff off… Move straight from bleach to about 1 table spoon bakeing soda mixed in a small bowl of water to stop the effect of the bleach.

:slight_smile:

11

Thanks Grubb, I’m going to give that a try and see what happens.

Rodney

12

Just remember when working with chlorine; ventilation, ventilation, ventilation.

Ed