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SpokaneDude

How to work with Ostrich herl

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I found a pattern for a maggot; so I started winding the herl around the hook and it continuously breaks... is this normal, or are my fat fingers causing problems? Anybody have any hints or suggestions for working with this fragile herl?

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A couple suggestions are, if tying in by the tip, either cut some material back until you get to a thicker part of the stem, or tying in by the butt instead, although you still may need to trim back a bit from the butt, because the section closest to the stem has a tendency to be too thick. If the stuff you are using is so thin, it breaks both ways, you can either use a dubbing loop to reinforce the herl, or find yourself a better feather.

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put it in a dubbing loop and wrap forward

 

wrap it around your tying thread to reinforce it and wrap forward

 

tie it in by the butts and wrap forward

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One additional technique for brittle feather stems.

Soak the feather in warm water with a few drops of hair conditioner.

This will soften the stem and allow easy wrap, I also use tying thread to reinforce.

 

Regards,

FK

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One additional technique for brittle feather stems.

Soak the feather in warm water with a few drops of hair conditioner.

This will soften the stem and allow easy wrap, I also use tying thread to reinforce.

 

Regards,

FK

It'll also give you volume and a healthy shine without frizz or split ends!

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