have you ever stripped.....

[flytire 0]

....a cape/neck or saddle entirely clean of its feathers leaving just the skin?

 

ive never done it in 35+ years of tying

 

the micro hackles down by the eye end do not count

[SBPatt 0]

Years ago, I took a grizzly cape down to the 10 line when I was recovering from knee surgery; never got any farther. Haven't done it since although if I were tying for a living, I'd consider it.

 

Regards,

Scott

[RogueFlies 0]

Only on weekends, just till I'm done with school.... oh your talking about tying haha I have yet too do so, but then again, I've only been tying a year now so I got a while before I get down that far

[Bryon Anderson 0]

I used to do that when I got a new cape--I'd strip all the hackles off, size them, and sort them by size and color into one of those plastic organizer dealies with all the little drawers. Of course, I tie few enough dries that I'm still using the hackles from capes that I bought in the late 1990's... :-D

[essequamvideri 0]

I've come close on a grizzly and a coachman cape. Maybe a couple of three dozen feathers left. I have however, stripped one deer hide and I am working on the second. I've been at it for 39 years... HOLY CRAP I'm getting older. <);-D

 

Michael

[flytyer62 0]

I do it every so often, it is not fun, but makes it easier when the hackles are already sized. I only do a med. dun colored, grizzly and brown. other colors stay on the neck. those three seem to be the most used for my tying. it is a pain and time consuming but makes it much quicker to bang out a batch of flies all the same size. I started to do the same kind of thing for saddle hackles for streamers, I try to get them sized for ghosts streamers and deceivers by hook size.

 

steve

[Fisherboy0301 0]

[tidewaterfly 0]

I've been tying for 48 years & have never done it. Have only stripped sections of any one cape or saddle, but never the whole thing, even with tying commercially.

[vicrider 0]

I have a couple of skins I swear I've ripped hundreds of feathers off and still look full. I have taken some hen patches and used them up but that was maybe a 4" patch, not a skin.

[whatfly 0]

Sure. Is there an award or something?