Harold Ray 0 Report post Posted December 7, 2015 I use horse mane for weaving frequently and has some horse tail hair on hand I had planned on using. This is my first try. I'm using my ipad camera, so my images are not up to th quality of Kimo or Lucian's but this is all I have at the moment. I always mean to buy a better camera, but other things come up, and I forget! A woven, horse tail hair nymph: Ray Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piker20 0 Report post Posted December 7, 2015 Are you soaking the hair before you start? I've lots of horse hair and love it for bodies but find it fragile at times. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harold Ray 0 Report post Posted December 7, 2015 I have never soaked horse hair, never thought about it. When I use it, it ties well but can be stiff at times, but certainly not unmanageable. On this fly, I used 5 or 6 strands per side; I was thinking about it this morning while working out. I think the next will be 3 or 4 strands to see how that works. On larger bodied flies, I have used more hair of course, and that, for me, is when it gets a little more difficult, harder to tie off, but it makes great bodies in my opinion. I haven't really found it fragile when I use it; for me, my description would be tough, hard to go wrong. Horse hair weaves well and is a pleasure to work with. Ray Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crackaig 0 Report post Posted December 7, 2015 Colin, what is your hair from a mare or stallion? If it is from a mare it will be brittle. They can't avoid peeing on their tail, the urine weakens the fibres. Cheers, C. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piker20 0 Report post Posted December 7, 2015 Could be it. I've had donations from both. Certainly notice some is worse than others. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverCreek 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2015 Here's a bit of history on horsehair woven flies. Franz Potts was one of the first to weave horsehair flies. He patented his Pott's Mite horsehair flies in 1934. http://missoulian.com/news/local/tying-tradition-hooked-on-art-to-feature-franz-pott-s/article_b637db9a-d738-5462-9ec5-9ced38c00b7a.html https://f80d9f304475d65a68a7990b87608748bf84fc79.googledrive.com/host/0B84x4MNw3KnrRVFYRzdyZHM0TVE/keep/articles/woven.html https://books.google.com/books?id=uUhYAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15&dq=potts+horsehair+woven+lfy&source=bl&ots=OvriK1XV0M&sig=7UYFECOKyLkKWk5qak7N61pxl6Y&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjgjtT_jcvJAhVCJh4KHQ4cBhwQ6AEINDAD#v=onepage&q=potts%20horsehair%20woven%20lfy&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=olNrQEpheMAC&pg=PA95&lpg=PA95&dq=potts+horsehair+woven+wet+fly&source=bl&ots=A1D54gr_6U&sig=G0QLt9T8XwUwLjeK5CbazWmDQCY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjrva_EjsvJAhVIWx4KHaPkACsQ6AEIKjAC#v=onepage&q=potts%20horsehair%20woven%20wet%20fly&f=false Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harold Ray 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2015 I have his books. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites