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AlaskaMoParMan

Dying Polar Bear Hair

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Hello all

 

Wanted some advise on the proper technique to dye polar bear hair. I don't want to do alot of experimenting, I want to get it right the first time. Any and all advise would be great!

 

Thanks

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Hello all

 

Wanted some advise on the proper technique to dye polar bear hair. I don't want to do alot of experimenting, I want to get it right the first time. Any and all advise would be great!

 

Thanks

I would purchase AK Best's book Bleaching and Dying. You can mess around with kool-aid or ritt dye works very well.

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It is your material and can sure do with it what you want but I personally would not dye it. I love it in it's natural state. Good luck :rolleyes:

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What you don't want to do is allow the tips of the hair to come in contact with the vessel you are dying in. Polar bear hair is very sensitive to heat and will curl. Choose a dye like Jacquards that will allow you to dye at lower temperatures.

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Well if you don't know much about dying, I would get yourself a dozen bucktails and practice on them. A.K. book is good but is dated and know you can get better dies besides Rite and Jacquards. To "Get it right" the first time" might happen, but more likely not. I am not saying dying is hard and complicated, but to get the exact color you are looking for the first time dying is a long shot. Take a lot of notes on the amount of water, how much dye, weight of materials, water temp and such so when it is show time you will have a good chance at getting close to what you want. I would watch the bath the whole time and keep on checking the color every few minutes and dont turn down or throwout the dye bath until you have gotten the color. Best of luck..

Brad

PS - Some of the harder colors for me is golden olive because of the color and black because of the time and sometimes having to over dye it and not ruin the hide or material.

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For some years now it's been legal to export/import very controlled amounts of polar bear fur. Legal stocks come from both Canada (someone correct me if I'm wrong about Canada...) and Alaska (but you'll sure pay for them....). Years and years ago the only way to get your hands on any was to buy trimmings from old rugs (or buy an old rug and piece it out). As a commercial tyer I very carefully never did any flies for shops with polar hair (this was learned when it was still illegal to import the stuff). I started out as a commercial tyer in 1979 to give you a time frame. I figured that life was complicated enough without having some kind of "endangered problem".

 

Many years later I did a new pattern using bear hair and submitted it to the folks I have a contract with, Umpqua Feather Merchants. The hair involved was just black bear, pretty commonly available in small pieces all the way up to full sized hides. They quickly declined and advised that the hassles with any kind of bear hair moving into and out of the country were just too great to consider using that particular material. Imagine having to buy everything your tyers in another country need to produce your patterns, ship it out to them as an export item, then import the finished product back into the States with black bear hair when it's going to get close scrutiny at every point in the process....

 

While I'm on the topic of bear hair, if you're ever up in Alaska they have an open sale every year of skins, furs, etc that anyone can participate in called (if memory serves) the Fur Rende (for Rendevous). I'm sure some tier from Alaska will chime in with the specifics. At any rate that's the best opportunity to purchase legal polar bear hair that I know of (Polar items come from roadkill, and legal Native takings).

 

One other thought about polar hair - I long ago quit dyeing it and just used bucktail or other brightly dyed hairs to accent the natural polar hair. That technique works quite well if you use a very small quantity of bucktail (polar goes translucent when it gets wet). Down here in south Florida the main use we have for it is when making barracuda patterns. Sharp toothed fish ('cudas, mackeral, bluefish) don't seem to be able to cut polar bear hair -the bucktail cuts easily but the polar survives very nicely....

 

Tight lines

Bob LeMay

(954) 435-5666

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I am new to fly tying.

 

I fish Atlantic Salmon up her in Newfoundland.

 

I don't think it is illegal to own Polar Bear hide here.

 

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone out there might know of Salmon Wet flies that would use Polar Bear Hair.

It was interesting to read Bob's comment that Polar Bear hair goes translucent when wet.

There must be an advantage in that fact when tying flies.

 

Thanks,

Brian B.

Newfoundland, Canada

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Hi Brian, look to find Chris Manns book Flies for Salmon hairwing and tube. Lots of great salmon and steelhead patterns. Many use polar bear. The bernies comet is one. I just posted a version but I use arctic fox as easier to source.

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The positive or unique thing about Polar bear hair is that light passes through it . It is transluscent which allows infra red light, from the sun, to reach the bears skin and help to keep it warmer than would seem possible if the hair was an opaque white. It really is a quite unique natural material. Nothing that I know of can really duplicate it as a fly material. Maybe baby seals fur but much shorter.

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There are some materials I just wouldn't dye and polar bear is on the top of the list. Coq-de-Leon is second. Both have a natural sheen that dying takes away. If I wanted colors I'd choose another material. If I couldn't, I'd use permanent markers. If I'd want too much for that, and I insisted... I'd follow AK Best's method as well. You know that AK stands for Always Kool, and he is the best in my opinion.

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I have dyed many polar bear colors. Its amazing at how easy it is to dye and the hair takes color well. I use Fly Dye brand dye in an acid bath just cool of boiling. I mix my dye and acid to manufactures suggestions and immerse the hair swatches for about 15 minutes. The hide will shrink a bit after you dye it but the hair will be perfectly intact and if you did it right, you will still have the original sheen. Just buy high quality industrial textile acid dyes like Fly Dye or Veniards. DO NOT USE RIT, it will dye to a dull flat sheen.

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