John, There are a few things to consider before trying to treat all of your hackles.
1. What climate do you live in? If you live high and dry, as I do in Wyoming, dryness is a problem. 2. The age of the hackles in question. 3. The quality of the hackles in question- the maker and whether or not from a cape or saddle. Also, dyed feathers can be more brittle that naturals, since natural oils are lost in the dying process. 4. The tying techniques used can alleviate a perceived problem. Brittle hackles can be restored by using the methods noted. But keeping them from becoming brittle is even better. One way is to always keep the cape or saddle bagged and make sure that the seals are closed. The moisture and oils left in the skin are usually more than enough to keep hackles soft for the long run. This also prevents moths from getting to them or from migrating between capes. The worst thing you can do is keep un-bagged capes in a wooden drawer, even if it is cedar. The dry wood (and any other dry materials) absorbs whatever moisture there is in the capes and they become brittle. Direct sunlight is another enemy of feathers, bagged or not. The newer genetic hackles have much finer and stronger stems, and after thousands of dry flies, I've had very few break-offs. But there are a couple of things I do to make sure they don't break, too. First, I make sure there is a sufficient amount of thread base, evenly laid down, around the wings, tapering down to the eye. This increases the diameter of the hook (especially 18's and smaller), so the hackle stem doesn't have so tight a turn to make. This also decreases the number of turns you need to make. Just don't over-do it. You mentioned that you were hackling on a bare shank. Is there a necessity for this? Second, I tie the hackle in so that the first wrap doesn't force a bend in the stem. This means tying the hackle down so that it is already going in the direction I'm going to wrap it. Most hackle snap-offs come when the hackle has to make that first hard turn to get started. Also, as you get close to the tips of super-long saddle hackles, there is a tendency to put more pressure on them than they can bear. Remember that the stem is tapering and is weaker compared to the middle and base of the feathers, so ease up a little. I've also noticed that the stem thickness on the midge saddles feathers is proportionately thicker than on the larger sizes. This probably has to be so, as a proportionately fine stem would have very little strength. Combine this with a size 22 hook's fine diameter (especially a fine wire hook) and the bend radius can be too tight for the stem to handle. Hope these tips help. DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Sanders" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2003 7:23 AM Subject: [VFB] Brittle Hackle > Time to crawl out from under my rock. > > does anyone have a solution to brittle dry fly hackles. They snap when > wrapped around a bare shank. I think I need some way to soften up the quill > without damaging the dry fly characteristics. I have some old saddles where > this problem is happening, but I also have a new whiting 100 (size 20) where > this is happening. > > Any suggestions would greatly be apprciated. > > Back under my rock with the othe nymphs. > > > -- > John Sanders > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >
