feather harvesting

[Norman Beats 0]

I recently purchased my first gp head. I was wondering if it was better to snip the feathers as needed or if it was better to just match them up at once such as gp tippet size,left, right? It sems overwhelming to try to pick the right one while still on the hide, but that still leaves me in how to organize it to the right size wh Idon't even know exactly what size goes on what size hook exept by sight.

[Voodoo 0]

are you talking about selecting the right size of hackle feather from the cape? if so they run left to right ie. the feathers in either side of a size #14 should be about the same. I have a hackle checker on my vice so i can double check. i would NOT recomend you pull all the feathers off teh hide.

[perchjerker 0]

He is talking about the golden crest feathers from the head of a Golden Pheasant head.

 

First off, you DO NOT cut them; you pluck them. Beyond that, you do whatever is most convenient for you.

[Norman Beats 0]

actually I an not really having a problem with the crests, I can eyeball those right out of the head it was the tippets that were perplexing me the are too stiff and close together to really look through them without worrying about breaking. I'll try by organizing the tippets in sets for rangers,use the not so perfect tippets for tails. I think I saew a post somewhere about using straws with slits in them to organize streamer/matuka wings, maybe that will work to keep the more organized. Someone warn me quick if I am doing it wrong before I get too far into skin.