Quality Dubbing?

[sbr 0]

Does anyone have any suggestions for high quality hare, squirrel and rabbit dubbing? Either brand or shop I can find it?

Seems most of the Wapsi, Hareline, Sprit River stuff can be pretty poor depending on the bag

 

Thanks,

[williamhj 0]

I've enjoyed making my own from skins and a coffee grinder. Mix colors and flash. When I use premade stuff I tend to use hareline.

[Piker20 0]

What properties are you hoping for that the mass market bags cannot satisfy?
There appears to be a supply issue on fox squirrel skins, I would look for one of those and scrape your own. Other than that a winter skin of mammals will be thicker than a skin harvested in warmer months.
Steve at Cookshill is able to discuss your needs and can supply quality items.

[JSzymczyk 0]

Shoot some rabbits and squirrels. The best feathers and furs come from the animals which you kill yourself. Doesn't do you any good now, but keep it in mind when hunting season rolls around again.

[sunsignarcher 0]

Hares masks are readily avilable everywhere.

 

Clip the different hair from mask, cheeks, n ears, place in a seperate baggies w/a few small holes in the bottom, stick the straw from a can of compressed air in the top, seal and shoot some short blasts into the Baggie.

 

The hair spins in the bags and your left with some QUALITY dubbing perfectly blended. Coffee grinder does the job too.

 

The very first time I dubbed a fly I read not to buy it packaged and to make ur own. That was sound advice.

[sbr 0]

Actually what I am looking for is a source for high quality natural rubbings, hare, squirrel, rabbit seal etc. I am not interested in making my own.

What I find in most shop brands is wildly inconsistent bags and many local shop have very little selection. It's really something you need to find online since shop have very little on the shelf.

[Piker20 0]

I'm still a little unsure what is inconsistent with hareline for example? It is a natural product so the mix of guard hairs and undercut will naturally vary.

I have brought selection boxes of dubbing from lathkill (UK) and have been happy with his wool and seal.

[JohnP 0]

Whitlock SLF dubbing is very high quality, but I have also been satisfied with most of my purchases of Hareline and Wapsi dubbing. Not sure what your issue is. I also make my own dubbing from various skins and yarn, using the coffee grinder method. Good luck in your search.

[the.atmos 0]

The best tying materials I've come across (better than average across the board) is Nature's Spirit tying materials. Whatever it is; pelts, dubbing, tailings, all things natural... simply the best.

 

Hareline is always a hit or miss to me. In a bag of dubbing from Hareline you get varying amount of guard hairs and under-fur so consistency in your finished flies won't be there. Except to pay about .25 more per bag of dubbing from Nature's Spirit but it's the best out there.

[the.atmos 0]

I'm still a little unsure what is inconsistent with hareline for example? It is a natural product so the mix of guard hairs and undercut will naturally vary.

I have brought selection boxes of dubbing from lathkill (UK) and have been happy with his wool and seal.

What you say is true. But when other companies seem to be able to get consistent mixes, Hareline's quality becomes suspect. Ive had bags of hare's ear dubbing from Hareline that I don't use or have given away due to all the underfur.

[Piker20 0]

I can see where that is an issue. I haven't used hareline stuff myself but have seen bags (cheap normally) in stores that are all underfur.

[planettrout 0]

I use a lot of Nature's Spirit products and would have to agree that their dubbings are some of the best I have come across... unfortunately,some of their other stuff - like dyed Peacock eyes, are awful...

 

http://www.naturesspiritflytying.com/

 

I recently had a discussion with one of the guys at my local shop, who is also a designer for Solitude, in which he agreed that a lot of the dubbings from Hareline are headed downhill...they carry Nature's Spirit...

 

 

PT/TB

[JSzymczyk 0]

What I find in most shop brands is wildly inconsistent bags and many local shop have very little selection. It's really something you need to find online since shop have very little on the shelf.

 

That is the situation with nearly ALL natural tying materials. The exceptions being selectively bred hackle (Whiting, etc) and some quills such as duck primaries and goose biots, and even those vary somewhat, other than the hackle. If you look through a selection of bucktails on the pegboards of your local shop, you will find a variance of quality which is almost difficult to believe. Buying natural materials online is is even more of a gamble than going to a shop! The only way around that is to know someone where you are ordering, and trust them to hand select exactly what you are looking for. Good luck with it.

[shoebop 0]

The best tying materials I've come across (better than average across the board) is Nature's Spirit tying materials. Whatever it is; pelts, dubbing, tailings, all things natural... simply the best.

 

Hareline is always a hit or miss to me. In a bag of dubbing from Hareline you get varying amount of guard hairs and under-fur so consistency in your finished flies won't be there. Except to pay about .25 more per bag of dubbing from Nature's Spirit but it's the best out there.

You sound like a rep for Nature's Spirit to me.

[oldtrout58 0]

Actually what I am looking for is a source for high quality natural rubbings, hare, squirrel, rabbit seal etc. I am not interested in making my own.

What I find in most shop brands is wildly inconsistent bags and many local shop have very little selection. It's really something you need to find online since shop have very little on the shelf.

For seal, a couple of the legal places it can be purchased and shipped to the US is Cookshill and Fly Tyer's Boutique (both are in the UK).