Making your own materials?

[silverbullet32 0]

Hey Guys,

 

I am a fisherman but i am also a hunter. i hunt for deer, bear, cougar, and birds like grouse, ducks, and geese. How hard would it be to dye and prepare any of these feathers and fur to use for fly tying? Is it worth it? Please let me know. Thanks

 

Loren

[flykid 0]

Yes I would definitely use all of that stuff. You could dye some stuff, mostly the deer but the rest I would just use natural. You'll have to tan or preserve the hides of fur, and I would skin the birds if possible, but if not it's fine to pluck feathers too. Make sure you wash the feathers and fur, and stick them in a sealed bag with moth balls to get rid of bugs. Grouse have good feathers for soft hackled flies, ducks have all kind of useful flank feathers and other stuff, and goose can be died and used for wings and what ever else you can think of. It's worth it if you don't mind the preparation time.

[Arkansas Mike 0]

Loren, I'm not a hunter, but I have some friends who are. I've gotten buck tails and enough deer hide to last me virtually forever. Also lots of turkey feathers. I haven't dyed any, but it shouldn't be hard. Check this link out. Hope it helps.

 

 

Mike

 

 

[silverbullet32 0]

thanks guys, i have never tanned hide before, so this will be an expirement. it will be cool though because i have found that deer hair bass bugs are my favorite and i will then have an abundance of deer hair. thanks again.

 

Loren

[flyderaght 0]

Koolaid is used by many-cheap and works great as a dye.

marc

[Guest Tony P]

Pretty much everything you'll ever want to know about Dyeing materials is in A.K. Best's book "Dyeing and Bleaching, Second Edition: Natural Fly-Tying Materials".

 

Tony

[smallieFanatic 0]

Koolaid is used by many-cheap and works great as a dye.

marc

 

 

 

Which tells you something of its nutritional value <_<

[silverbullet32 0]

^^^^^^lol

 

i want to know if photobucket works on here and also to share a pic of a grouse my dad shot this past season, that about average size. and those are what mountains look like. yes i am surrounded by them, and since my dad is a logger, he has the key to any gate we need to get through. if anyone wants more pics, i will give you my photobucket url.

 

thanks

 

 

Loren

[smalltownfisherman 0]

Koolaid is used by many-cheap and works great as a dye.

marc

 

 

 

Which tells you something of its nutritional value <_<

:lol2:

[silverbullet32 0]

yeah thats funny,

 

Loren

[bad fish rising 0]

i own dyeing and bleaching and if you buy everything to do just that ,you spend so much money you might as well have bought flytying materials

 

kool aid dyes come off and bleed on other materials

rit dyes can do wonders on wools and yarns even birds but are no good for hair

onion skin tea is the best for white or very light feathers it makes a very nice lemon woodduck

also works very well on wool,yarn,or chenille

 

as for tanning or preserveing skins

wash extremely well with dawn dish soap or shampoo for oily hair

scrap all fats and meat from the skins

the better you scrap ,the better the material will be

wash again then comb hair or smooth feathers down

next i use a 50/50 mix of borax and salt on the skin

let dry on to the skins until all moisture is soaked up

scrap of mixture off wash lightly if you have to and comb again

let dry naturally if you lightly washed

with greasy skins like bear or raccoon the washing and preserveing should be done more than once because oils spoil

[ashley 0]

For the preserving of materials, I can recommend 'From Field to Fly' by Scott Seymour.

 

I cann't add to the dying advice but would say to try veniard dyes or other fly tying dyes (not sure what is available in the States.

 

Ashley

[flykid 0]

I've used fly-dye and it is pretty easy to use, and gets some good colors. It's really not too difficult if you don't mind the putz work.

[tidewaterfly 0]

If you only intend to cut the hair from a hide, then tanning isn't necessary. Tanning, to do it so the hide can be used wet, like for Zonker strips, is expensive and the chemicals involved should be disposed of properly, as they're nasty stuff. Garment type tanning is what you want if you go that route. If you intend to dye the hair, it needs to be done before you tan, otherwise the dyeing process removes the tanning chemicals & the hide will usually get hard & brittle. I learned this the hard way. If you have enough hides it would be cheaper to send them to a professional tannery. Less worry about the nasty chemicals too!

 

BTW, the chemicals used are not some that you would want in your drinking water, or local streams. Don't dump them down the sink, or out on the ground! Besides it's illegal to not dispose of them properly! Like I said, nasty stuff!

 

As has been mentioned, hair & feathers should be cleaned before storing. Dawn dish detergent works well for both. I store a lot of my tying materials in zip lock bags, in a freezer, which kills insects that may be in them, and keeps them out. Moth crystals work too, as long as you keep them sealed.

 

Jacquard Acid dye is another good one to use for both hair & feathers. It can be found in some arts & crafts shops, or online. It's a powder & a little goes a long way, but some colors take more dye than others to get the finished color just right. It sells for about $5 for a 1/2 oz bottle, or it can be purchased in larger quantities.

[silverbullet32 0]

wow, sound slike alot of work but worth while when you get good at it. i hope i get a deer this year so i can try it out

 

thanks

 

Loren