Life of Hackle and Fur?

[VERN-O 0]

Ok I was wondering if anyone had any experience using fur-skins and/or capes that have been stored for long periods of time.

 

For example if a Metz cape grade #1 or #2 is stored in it's original package unopened or very limited uses and kept in a dry/dark area will it's integrity be the same after say 10 years?

 

same for animal skins woodchuck, squirrel, etc

[flytire 0]

verno

 

i have some capes i bought in the eighties that are stored in the original zip lock bag and are still as good as when i bought them. and they never have been bug ridden. dont know how others get bugs in their feathers.

 

norm

[ashbourn 0]

I have alot of vintage material and none of it has ever gone bad and I am talking back to 1940. The only then that can truly destroy material are bugs, almost anything else can be cleaned off. I have found that when most old materials are unusable it is not age but the material was never good. I also have a growing mind set that if there is no use for it throw it out, if someone else has a use for it get it to them.

 

Joe Fox

[Linesides 0]

I learned the hard way to keep bucktail out of flourescennt light when your storing it.

[Grunt 0]

I'm using a thirty year old cape. I found a box of my old tying material and I thought it would all be bad. The feathers are not brittle and they wind just like they did thirty years ago. Only thing in the box that was unusable was some fur dubbing and some thread.

[jdmidwest 0]

I have feathers and furs that have been around for about 20 years now. I always keep some citronella sticks and cedar around them, just in case. The main thing is to keep them sealed and airtight. I had a container of duck feathers that was eaten up by bugs and ruined. Since then, I nuke or freeze any wild aquired materials and keep them airtight in ziplocks. Make sure you kill any eggs if you collect from the wild.

[troutguy 0]

Been tying for over 40 years...why is it bad to expose bucktail to fluorescent light?