Nice! Your design?
The Kutling is a Danish Sea Trout pattern. Not sure who/where the Spider comes from.Nice! Your design?
Agreed; I can get woodduck flank to listen once in a while but rarely mallard.Those look great.
I wish I could get palmered mallard to look like that. Mine just never look good.
Anything you do special to get it to look so nice?
SF
Mallard and other Duck feathers can be a bit unruly sometimes. I know what you mean. It has a lot to do with the shape of the feather's shaft, I think.Those look great.
I wish I could get palmered mallard to look like that. Mine just never look good.
Anything you do special to get it to look so nice?
SF
Those look great.
I wish I could get palmered mallard to look like that. Mine just never look good.
Anything you do special to get it to look so nice?
SF
Mallard and other Duck feathers can be a bit unruly sometimes. I know what you mean. It has a lot to do with the shape of the feather's shaft, I think.
Pick a symmetrical feather to begin with and prepare it in the standard way. Choose a section of the feather where all the barbs are as close to the same length as possible. Tie in by the tip and constantly fold the barbs back as you wrap forward in slightly overlapping turns - about four or five turns in the case of the Cutthroat Spider. You can keep stroking the feather back after it is tied in. A little saliva helps the feather "memory".
Some remove the barbs from one side of the feather.
View attachment 35439
Mallard and other Duck feathers can be a bit unruly sometimes. I know what you mean. It has a lot to do with the shape of the feather's shaft, I think.
Pick a symmetrical feather to begin with and prepare it in the standard way. Choose a section of the feather where all the barbs are as close to the same length as possible. Tie in by the tip and constantly fold the barbs back as you wrap forward in slightly overlapping turns - about four or five turns in the case of the Cutthroat Spider. You can keep stroking the feather back after it is tied in. A little saliva helps the feather "memory".
Some remove the barbs from one side of the feather.
View attachment 35441
Oh yes, that works. Squeezing the barbs between index finger and thumb while folding back works too.Have you ever used your tying scissors to gently scrape the side of the stem a few times? The scraping helps fold the hackle fibers. I have also found the thinner stems palmer easier.