Silk Options For Soft Hackles -- Post-Pearsall

[Sandan 0]

11 hours ago, terp said:

Moshup, I looked at Morus and it was pretty pricy and not availabe in US (well, most colors were out of stock).  Can you tell me where you got yours?  Thanks.

Here Gunpowder but the stock is very low. These guys have some too Successful Angler

[terp 0]

1 hour ago, Sandan said:

Here Gunpowder but the stock is very low. These guys have some too Successful Angler

Gunpowder is the only US distributor and Successful Angler is the only Canadian.  They're both very low or completely sold out.  Nothing on eBay, Amazon or Etsy.  But you can buy directly from Morus here (select 'Fishing' on the bottom) and shipping's not bad: https://morus-silk.com/silk-filament/?v=7516fd43adaa  Is that how you bought yours?

[Sandan 0]

23 minutes ago, terp said:

Gunpowder is the only US distributor and Successful Angler is the only Canadian.  They're both very low or completely sold out.  Nothing on eBay, Amazon or Etsy.  But you can buy directly from Morus here (select 'Fishing' on the bottom) and shipping's not bad: https://morus-silk.com/silk-filament/?v=7516fd43adaa  Is that how you bought yours?

I got mine from Gunpowder at a fly fishing show. I think I got some of his "personal" stock. Thanks for that link to buy direct from Morus. Yep $4.90 shipping isn't bad at all

[Moshup 0]

15 hours ago, terp said:

Moshup, I looked at Morus and it was pretty pricy and not availabe in US (well, most colors were out of stock).  Can you tell me where you got yours?  Thanks.

Terp

After reading your post I sent a msg to Gunpowder and Eric told me they have a shipment ordered and presently waiting . He mentioned 

that Morus might be having a problem with the dyes.  Maybe goggle Mike Hague of Eftyer . He use to carry Morus I believe and he may have some spools. The cost I’m not sure about . 
 

good luck

 

[terp 0]

3 hours ago, Moshup said:

 Maybe goggle Mike Hague of Eftyer . He use to carry Morus I believe and he may have some spools.

 

I looked on Etsy where he has his main store and didn't find anything.  But I'll keep him on my radar. Thanks.

[Sandan 0]

5 hours ago, Moshup said:

Terp

After reading your post I sent a msg to Gunpowder and Eric told me they have a shipment ordered and presently waiting . He mentioned 

that Morus might be having a problem with the dyes.  Maybe goggle Mike Hague of Eftyer . He use to carry Morus I believe and he may have some spools. The cost I’m not sure about . 
 

good luck

 

Eric at gunpowder is a great guy

[Moshup 0]

4 hours ago, terp said:

I looked on Etsy where he has his main store and didn't find anything.  But I'll keep him on my radar. Thanks.

I’d give him a call as he has a lot of stuff he doesn’t post and he’s a big soft hackle guy.  A ornery though.

[niveker 0]

7 hours ago, Moshup said:

I’d give him a call as he has a lot of stuff he doesn’t post and he’s a big soft hackle guy.  A ornery though.

and he's quick to respond to emails, IME.  

[terp 0]

UPDATE: My replacement spool of orange Ephemera silk (from a different seller) was also more fragile than it should be.  The other colors all seem to be fine.  I wonder if the orange dye is somehow corroding the silk.

[mvendon 0]

How strong does it have to be ?  After reading your post, I spun elk and deer hair onto an old Mustad #5 wet fly hook. I used YLI 100 silk thread and left it on the end. The color is 231 which is pretty close to Pearsall's 6A. There are two bunches each  of elk, X-caddis deer, and yellow deer body hair towards the eye in that order. It's spun and tied half assed, but the point being that I didn't break the YLI thread to flare and spin the body. The pic is below to compare how close Pearsall's is to YLI 100. I have YLI 100 as a back up to Pearsall's if I ever run out of it.

[Moshup 0]

mvendon 👍

[Ron Eagle Elk 0]

Old Hat did a great comparison of the colors of Pearsalls to Kimono 100 silk threads over on the Flymph Forum ( http://www.flymphforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=8845&hilit=kimono ).  I've been using the Kimono and YLI silks for several years and have found them to have about the same smooth finish as Pearsalls, though ever so slightly thinner.  Breaking thread doesn't seem to be a problem with either the Kimono 100 or YLI 100.  The color shift when wet, along with the translucency is about the same as Pearsalls and they both take waxes well.  Your mileage may vary.  Oh, last I bought any, it was around $7 for 100 yards of silk thread and lots of sewing shops carry it.  I get mine at Joannes Fabrics.