scorman1

bighornbuster, thanks for the response and would it be possible for you to scan that wing maker page from the '65 Herter's catalog and post it here or send it to me in an email?? Stew [email protected]

thanks to all who contributed to this thread hopefully some of you will get a chance to use some of dad's collection from 50 years ago I just recently posted tools and material on eBay do a search on "vintage Herter's fly tying", then click on "see other items" or click on the photo for album hopefully this post isn't in any violation of forum rules and I appreciate any comments/feedback Stew

Peter, Thank you for your post as every day is a learning experience I stand corrected ...all the four spools are marked "vernie" and when googled : so you gave me some work to do ...took the widest gold tinsel and 5x magifier and x-acto knife and scrapped the surface, drawing it under a flat blade ... could NOT determine that any coating exists, so it must be very tough and extremely thin.....that said, I accept the correction you provided I find it hard to believe tho that the newer stock of today "flakes off" ?? Funny that you made this reference, as I had found them two days ago and was about to email them some questions pertinent to this discussion such as length of material, depth of spool and possibly with the photos linked here Stew

OK, I'll concede a few old points and add a few. The gold color material is still in question, since only metallic gold looks that yellow ....gold was only $35/oz back then and 10kt is only 37% gold The "silver" is probably some sort of aluminum alloy, since real metallic silver would have tarnished after 50 years. Neither the silver nor gold tinsel have any varnish or laquer on them to peel off . I cannot understand why Herter's would have sold a 400yd spool of tinsel, since that is quite a lot. It is quite possible that the finer tinsel have a wooden spool that is shallower than the medium tinsel spool?? that said, I cannot determine exactly how deep my spools really are since they are fairly full..I simply took the number 1/4 inch HOWEVER, I did find a listing of the same Herter's "vernie" spool that was only partially full and I conclude that 1/4inch is reasonable: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-f-uZyIsgRPo/UzXEFdIxOuI/AAAAAAAAAmE/2SLsdv5zlXE/s800/wooden%2520spool.jpg here is my photo of the 1 spool for comparison: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W4e9fHvLRWE/UzSKmQsTl0I/AAAAAAAAAlE/yY9i7rgLsW4/s800/IMGP1519.JPG all four spools are here: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F31AmVybBcA/UzSJ-QotU0I/AAAAAAAAAk0/uAwmNFCLDRE/s800/IMGP1516.JPG Many here speculate that I only have 15 yds or so on each spool which I don't believe, and I see the new generation varnished metal tinsel going for about $1/yd, so if I get sufficient interest, I will entertain the project of hand carding 15yds of each of the four that I have for $20 + $1.93 shipping (real cost of USPS FC envelope) If I run out fast, then the naysayers were right! yup, that's what 400yds means ...I have a spool of 12# trilene that started at 4700yds ..that's 2.6 miles (and is mostly gone) King salmon really tear off the line every fall season. Stew

I have posted photos of the four spools of Herter's tinsel that we were discussing. For some reason, I can't attach the photos to this thread, but I did load them into a picasa web album: https://picasaweb.google.com/113529890332423159392/Flytying?authuser=0&feat=directlink above should open with captions and NOT be in google+ format let me know if it dosn't open for you Stew

correction to calculation before ...medium tinsel spool is approx 400yds there is no laquer coating ...scraped it between tweezers a dozen times measured "thin" tinsel ...only 1/2 mil thick (.0005in) and 17mils wide = >1000yds Stew

Steve, OK, took out my digital calipers here's some math for you: the spool tinsel is 1.1 in diam and 0.92in high the medium tinsel is 1.5 mils thick and 35 mils wide so just the layer on the ouside is 26wraps X 3.4in each = 2.5yds I'll guestimate it goes 1/4 deep which is 166 layers, so approx 400yds the fine tinsel is a lot smaller, the embossed is a much bigger spool but similar weight conclusion: you were in the not ballpark "old tinsel tarnished easily" ...this stuff is 50+ years old and looks as shiny as the day it was made Stew my bad ...moved the decimal over 1 digit ...1.5mils thick = .0015in

Did a little more DD and determined that a few suppliers have metal tinsel, but the "spool" they are selling are marked " 5 YDS " at a cost of $5.95 + shipping .... these vintage wooden spools probably have hundreds of yards. Also read the label on an eBay offering where Herter's claims " The world's only genuine tarnishproof pure metal fly tying lamettas " ..... that last word has a definition of pure metal as in real silver or gold, but I'd like to see another confirmation before believing it ! So, I looked up what "pure metal" can look like gold, and I can't find anything ...check out this link: http://www.zales.com/jewelry101/index.jsp?page=preciousMetals Remember than in the '60s gold cost $35/oz and this tinsel could be 5% plated?? Guess my next trip is to a jewelry store with a few inches of gold and silver tinsel and ask them to check it out. I'll report back with findings. Stew BTW, is there a built in spell checker on this forum??

I have been reviewing eBay sales in the last two weeks on "Vintage Verdura metal fly tying tinsel" exclusively imported by Herter's from France back in the 60s. I have a few in my inventory on wooden spools that weigh about 1.2oz (fairly full spools). I cannot understand why they have been bidded up to $35 per spool ....what is so special about this material? they are going as tho they were gold or silver plated, which I don't think is the case ....doesn't anyone sell the equivalent anymore?? I saw one thread here that said one spool is "a lifetime" supply I am clueless here ...any coments would be appreciated Stew Corman

actually, upon looking, the number is 40: BTW, looking thru the rules, I don't see anything w/r to polar bear fur. That said, I would want to do such a transaction privately through email communication, not in public.

Thanks to all the replies so far. AH, you are a smart person ...yes, these combs are similar to the "Thompson wing cutter" but w/o the fixture So, I searched through the four paper boxes of storage and found a wooden platten that fits the combs. To be quite honest, I don't remember it at all ! So now I attempted to add a few photos of above to this thread, a Herter's hackle plier and a whip finisher w/orig documentation and cannot figure how to attach a file. Could be that only the first post has that option?? The "use full editor" option is not present, so you can't see a thumbnail, nor is preview an option. Still can't figure the "image" edit tool, it doesn't like my "URL" ? , so I have attempted to link to my Picasa web album with a bunch of photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/113529890332423159392/Flytying?authuser=0&feat=directlink If the above link works, I can post more photos of specific items which may become available. I do NOT understand the protocol used here on this forum to offer items for sale and I do NOT want to create a zoo, if you know what I mean. Perhaps, experienced posters here can give me a clue? thanks again, Stew Corman [email protected]

Second post here. I am in the process of clearing out most of the collection that dad and I used back in the 60's, mostly obtained from Herter's. Did my DD on google and eBay to find out what is out there and what is currently used for tools and materials. Came across two tools that I don't see anywhere and was wondering what is currently being used in it's place. First is a Herter's W31 winging plier, which was sold in 1972 for $0.69 ( we probably paid less in '65). Second is a set of five "feather combs" used to separate a large feather, such as the quill stripped dyed turkey feather shown in photo. BTW, don't see these feathers available anywhere either. BTW, the above photos are a thumbnail created by using file attach...click to get full frame photo. Can someone please explain how you use the "image" edit tool, since it did not like my link to a Picasaweb album. Thx Stew Corman

I am a nubbie here, and after doing my DD on google, I thought I'd ask for verification of samples of Polar bear fur before I make any stupid mistakes. I am liquidating the tools and stock that my dad and I used back in the early 60's. Have a local coming over from Craigslist's mid NY, in a day or two to see what I have in stock, but I have no commitments either side to buy or sell. I have both deer body hair and bucktails for comparison, and a collection of swatches of Polar bear hair, both dyed and natural. Dad only had those two sources available. All the deer hair are fairly uniform and long (up to 4") and the hair stems go right to the skin. They are NOT translucent. The natural polar bear is much softer and has "fuzz" or dander next to the skin unlike the deer....some but not all are very dark at the skin and the hairs are only 2 1/2" max and look translucent. The problem comes with the dyed pieces which are not necessarily translucent and the color of the skin is irrelevant on the darker colors. Show I go with the dander as the relevant ID? If I am correct, dealers in US are getting about $6/ sqin for the polar bear, and I don't want to go on eBay with something that is questionable, since I have no way to qualify that the pieces were obtained prior to 1972. Doesn't keep me from posting on eCrater tho, although I'd rather do a local barter. TIA for any comments/recommendations, Stew Corman