boar, i have seen you flies here, and also on reel-time. they are beautiful !! i am very interested in tying the flat-wing style...i picked up a C grade jungle cock for $30 at the show this past weekend....i looked at the RLS feathers Ken was selling, for $30 each....but wasn't sure that was the best deal i could find. where do you get your feathers? i want to get a few colors to start, not sure which, hoping you could advise...i don't need anything special, i was hoping you knew of a relatively cheap place to buy them from......also, whats the feather underneath your jungle cock on the blue squid pic ?
Ken's saddles are great , however,there are different saddles that work well. Cabelas sells saddles under their name by whiting for $14.99.
Metz saddles aren't bad, but the feathers tend to be 9-10" at the longest.
Whatever saddles you look at make sure the feathers are long and thin.
As I said many times, I dye my own saddles. I split them in two and dye different colors.
The basic colors I would suggest are white, yellow, olive and pink or lt purple. If you dye your own you can get alot more colors for your buck.
The feather in the blue squid is a black laced white hen saddle feather.
Mike.
Hi Mike,
You mention that you dye your own colors...can you provide some tips on dying hackles for those of us just looking into this?
Maybe a quick step by step "how to" if you have the time. Also, what you use to dye with i.e. RIT or Veniard dyes or or a host of other things I have heard mentioned like Cool Aid or Food Colors etc.
Matt,
I use both that you mentioned. All you do is mix according to the instructions , wash the cape in dish soap, rinse out clean, and put in the dye bath, usually for about 5 minutes. The stem of the feather will tell you the true color. Rinse out and blow dry. That's it, easy. Cool aid, to me, just dosen't give the brightness I like.
Veniard is my preferance, Rit second.
Mike B.
Hmm . . . Maybe I'll try dying some of my own hackles. I'd rather not have to buy a whole cape if I just need a few feathers of a particular color.
I have a couple more questions if you don't mind: Are there certain colors that are better to buy than dye yourself? That is, are some colors difficult to get good results with when you dye your own? Also, does it work to re-dye feathers that are already dyed in order to change the color slightly or create special colors?
I haven't found any that are "better" to buy than to do your self.
And yes , you can re-dye feathers to acheive different colors. Just make sure you know your colors,ie; what colors mix to make a certain color.
Mike
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the info. I also checked out www.ritdye.com and they actually have some tips on dying feathers (for crafts I assume)
I noticed you have some really vibrant colors in your flies (pinks, blues, greens etc.) I tried some RIT dye tonite in "Rose Pink". I mixed half a pack of powder to 1 qt water and dyed them for about 20 mins at about 140F (I washed and pre-wet the hackles as well). Nice color but not what I wanted looks a little washed out more like wine stained pink than brite pink pink...gotta experiment some more I guess.
Do you use the standard colors mix your own or both? What about dye to water mixtures and times? Am I close or do you have some special tips?
Wow - this is fun. (well, I think so at least. The wife just thinks I'm a nut and gonna stain the whole house pink, blue and purple!!!)
I mix it stonger, about 1/2 pack to 16oz of water and add a little white vinager. Bring to boil, turn down to simmer, add feathers.Leave in for 5-10 minutes, stirring them to make sure the dye reaches all the feathers.Should give you a "bubble gum pink" color, like this.
For the lilac , get purple , mix it weak , and don't keep the feathers in to long.
this is there royal blue, all left in different amounts of time. If you want a brighter blue go with veniard"silver doctor blue"
Hi Mike,
...two colors done and a third in the pot now.
What color dye do you use for the blue in the Razzle Dazzle flies?
It's not too hard to do. I find I just have to take my time and be VERY careful of the dye and powder so as not to get it on anything during mixing, dying, rinsing or drying stages.
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