Wetting materials...

All about flies Fly Tying
1

For me, lots of materials handle better when wet, or at least damp.

Marabou is one of them, but I like to ‘wet’ a few other feathers and furs: saddle hackles for decievers and bass bug tails, artic fox, craft fur, etc. to keep them more manageable when using them.

I know that lots of other folks do this as well.

In another thread, there was link to a video where a tyer was ‘licking’ the materials or runing them through his mouth to wet them.

I’m not so sure that this is a good idea…

A week or so ago, I was tying up a prototype for a fly that has been circulating in the brain for while, and I wanted to get it onto a hook before I lost the concept.

I usually keep a wet sponge in a container on my bench when working wth marabou or any material that needs wetting…

But, here in Arizona, things dry out rather quickly this time of year and the sponge was dry.

I was only going to tie one fly, and I’m basically lazy, so I just figured I could could use my mouth to ‘wet’ the marabou…

Worked as far as the wetting went…tasted terrible when I ran the feathers through my mouth. A few minutes later, tip of tongue and inside of lips went kind of numb.

Lasted more than a day. Couldn’t taste my food (those who know me know how much I love to eat)…coffee tasted like water. Unfortunitely for my family and friends, I could still talk…

I have no clue what was in the dye on the feathers I used. Which is pretty much the point here. I know tyers do this, some routinely. But we have absolutley zero control over the chemicals used in producing, or the environment from which they come, on any materials we purchase.

Sticking things like that into your mouth might not be the wisest course of action.

You can still buy a ‘stamp sponge’ in some places (pretty much going away with self stick stamps) which has it’s own nice little container that seals well and helps keep the water from drying out too quickly. Or, you can cut a piece of sponge to fit into a small plastic food container with a lid so that you can reseal it after use. Neither of these options will cost more than a couple of dollars and will work well. So will just putting some water in a small bowl before each tying session where you’ll need it.

Up to each of you, of course.

Buddy

2

thank you for informing us o:…
and i believe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_suygCdgUXQ&NR=1 is the link(?)
i learned how to tie deceivers from him :stuck_out_tongue:
but never thought about licking anything in my fly box…
i use a spare piece of a dish cleaning sponge to do this (.99cent store, 6x for 99cents :D)
also have a small bottle spray but the sponge is more accurate~

hope your tongue feels better!

3

i’ve watched lefty kreh wet the hackles for his deceivers with his mouth and he isnt dead. maybe numb but not dead :smiley:

yet! :smiley:

4

I use spit on a lot of flies, especially full dress salmon flies. I guess a sponge would be more sanitary, but spit is all natural. It’s not chlorinated, and is organic. Green if you will (not that my spit is green, that would be awful).
Eric

5

I learned a long time ago to keep an old lidded jar full of water next to my vise. I was teaching my nephew to tie & he copied me in running marabou thru his lips & he got ill that night. I don’t know if the marabou got him or it was my wife’s cooking but I figure I won’t take chances with the materials. Not too much I can do about the cooking.

6

Try Sortkwik, found in every office supply store/department. 1 container (if kept closed between uses) will likely last the average tyer a lifetime. This stuff is good for dubbing too. Wipe your finger tips it it before twisting dubbing on the thread.

http://static.www.odcdn.com/pictures/us/od/sk/lg/458554_sk_lg.jpg

7

Eric,

I’m not opposed to spit, as such…but…

If you just put the spit on your fingers and then onto the materials, I doubt you’d have problems like I had…I’m just not going to stick any more of this stuff into my mouth.

As far as spit being ‘organic’, so are a lot of things I wouldn’t want on my flies…how the spit effects the materials is one thing, but what’s ‘in it’ is another…it really depends on what you consume…nicotine is a poison that lingers in bodily fluids…alcohol is another that can secrete itself into your saliva…if you eat stuff that has preservatives, odd chemicals, etc., some of all that can be found in your ‘spit’…

Luckily, most of the worst of these will disipate over time…still, while I don’t smoke or drink, I’ll use tap water (the clorine evaporates out quickly…ask anyone that has a pool) :).

Buddy

8

…all this and no mention of the origins of the marabou feather! Yuk!

9

I have found that moistening my fingertips with my tongue helps a great deal with some materials, for holding errant hackle back while building a head, holding floss together while wrapping a body, twisting stubborn dubbing on the thread, stuff like that. I do it as a matter of course, without thinking, anymore.

10

when you consider all the stuff we put on our feathers to make them poisonous to bugs, do we really want that stuff in our mouths.

I keep a glass of Ice water next to me as I tie, if I need something wet I just run my fingers over the outside of the glass, If it is so dry in your house that this wont work you need to add some humidity.

Eric

11

Come on now! Don’t ruin Tying for me! I changed a baby’s diaper once and still can’t eat Guacamole.