Long time reader, first time poster.
Just curious about this material. I’ve done some experimenting stripping it by hand and it always comes out shiny and black, whereas the pictures i see of flies with stripped herl bodies always have alternating light/dark reddish bodies. Is this my technique or just the batch of feathers i have?
thanks.
for the best color use herl from the eye of the feather. that’ll give you the banded segmentation you’re looking for. these herls are usually quite delicate…
i have trouble stripping them without snaping the herl. i think i will try bleach soon.
Thank you for the speedy replies. Using the eye was the ticket. Looks nice and buggy, and yes, they are quite delicate.
I have soaked mine in VO5 hair conditioner, dried it and then keep them in a zip lock bag. Seems to work on the delicate ones from the eyes. Just a thought!
Try using an eraser for stripping herl. Just lay the herl on a hrd surface (a piece of notepad paper works well) pinch the butt end down with a thumbnail and rub the earaser towards the tip.dsaavedra
Oops! The following post is correct, reverse the above directions. Pinch down the tip and run the eraser tip to butt…
i thought you were supposed to rub against the direction of the fibers???
Best thing I have found is to buy them stripped. I think the last ones I bought I got from Hook and Hackle. Saves a bunch of time.
Dan
I strip a lot of Quill’s. The best way to do so is with Bleach. Take a number of Peacock Eye’s and place them in a shallow bowel with bleach in it. You have to stay with this all the time as it can go very fast. Move them around and watch them close you will see the flu start to desolve and it is close to being done. Move them around a bit more then take them out and place them in a Bowl of Backing Soda and water. A tea spoon is all the Backing Soda needed.
I do 20 or so eyes at a time but you can do just a few if that is all you have.
Make sure to soak them in warm water before using them. They will not break as easy. You will also see the two strips you are looking for. Real easy to do just stay with it or you will have no Quill’s. Good Tying Ron
yo i just tried bleach and it worked very nicely!!!
worth a try! just be shur to rub some hand lotion on the quils before u use them cuz they get brittle with bleach.
welcome to the FAOL BB. have fun, and we will all try to answer any questions the best we can