Necks are a different deal altogether from saddles as far as grading and tying. Since we're doing a comparison, I have to limit the comparison to high-grade materials, as low grade have various faults that would take a book to explain.
The quality of neck dry fly feathers surpass saddle feathers, but the difference is noticeable only in slight nuances in looks and tying. The neck feathers are stiffer overall, the barbs straighter, and the stem thinner and stronger. The overall visual effect is a more gossamer appearance against a light background. The feel is stiffer and the feathers may be a bit shinier in some varieties. The stems may have more of a tendency to twist during spinning, but most of that had been bred out. The newer gentetic necks have much more tyer-friendly qualities than the old necks, but one must still adhere to a wrapping pattern to get the correct hackle spread. Prepping the feather is still a must, too, to avoid the 'turbine twist'. The general appearance of the newer necks is different because the neck hackles are so small and tight that they look 'wet', and kinda stuck together to the stems. The older rooster's hackles were more splayed out and overlapped each other. Now it takes a closer examination for the buyer to select a neck, especially for dry flies. The feathers must be individually examined and splayed out or rolled, to examine size the length of the 'sweet spot'. The farther down the neck the dry fly feathers range- size 10 & smaller, and the longer the sweet spot on each hackle, the higher the grade of neck will be. This is how the graders grade each neck. Midge hackle had been of prime concern on necks until Whiting introduced the midge saddles. Now midge saddle hackles are quite common down to the Tiemco #32 (=Mustad 28) and I've found actual Mustad #32 saddle hackles that look like a piece of flat mono thread. I also personally find the tiny size midge saddle feathers much easier to work with than a midge neck feather- say size 22 and smaller. So now the neck's chief uses are hi-end dry flies in a broad range of sizes, and the streamer and spade feathers that come in the bargain. Floatability is not an issue between necks and saddles, as the barbs are too close in quality and floatants negate any slight differences. Again, these are my observations and experience, some opinions may vary. DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2002 10:02 PM Subject: [VFB] Saddle vs Neck Hackle > I think we could all agree that a high quality Whiting Saddle is both > convienent and economical to use, while a whiting neck provides a greater > variety of feather sizes... but beyond that are there any clear advantages of > one over the other? My gut feeling is that a neck hackle has the edge in > stiffness and straightness, and perhaps floatablility. What do you guys > think, and which do you prefer to use?
