Scottp
Legend
A lot of the hen saddle/back feathers I have are a bit too “sticky” for me to get the effects I’m looking for, especially as a sub for my dwindling supply of hen capes; really don’t want to buy any more and hate to let material on hand go to waste. Found some articles on the Spey forums about burning (chemically) goose shoulder to create a heron substitute, in lieu of shelling out $$ for blue eared pheasant, and thought I’d try it on some hen.
No pics on the process but it’s pretty simple
1. Soak feathers in water for about 5 minutes (longer if they’re real greasy) with a few drops of Dawn.
2. Swish the substrate in a 50/50 solution of bleach and water (gloves recommended); time varies based on the feathers - longest immersion, in a very limited sample size, was about 45 seconds
3. Rinse with water, then in a solution of 1 cup water and 2 TBS white vinegar to stop the burn (some forums mention using baking soda, which make no sense since it’s a base, like bleach, and won’t counteract the effect); final rinse in water and let dry
Here’s results of the first effort; could have left the grizzly saddle in a bit longer (easy enough to remedy)
Burned Crippler
hook - WFC Model 6 #10
thread - SemperFli 8/0 brown
tag - medium tinsel gold
rib - small wire gold
body - hare’s ear
hackle - Cree
1st shoulder - pheasant rump dyed orange
2nd shoulder - mottled hen back (burned)
Over-hackled the hen back but I just wanted to get an idea of the effect; shows promise, more to follow. Dyeing burnt white hen red or golden yellow could work as a replacement for increasingly scarce (and expensive) golden pheasant body feathers.
Regards,
Scott
No pics on the process but it’s pretty simple
1. Soak feathers in water for about 5 minutes (longer if they’re real greasy) with a few drops of Dawn.
2. Swish the substrate in a 50/50 solution of bleach and water (gloves recommended); time varies based on the feathers - longest immersion, in a very limited sample size, was about 45 seconds
3. Rinse with water, then in a solution of 1 cup water and 2 TBS white vinegar to stop the burn (some forums mention using baking soda, which make no sense since it’s a base, like bleach, and won’t counteract the effect); final rinse in water and let dry
Here’s results of the first effort; could have left the grizzly saddle in a bit longer (easy enough to remedy)
Burned Crippler
hook - WFC Model 6 #10
thread - SemperFli 8/0 brown
tag - medium tinsel gold
rib - small wire gold
body - hare’s ear
hackle - Cree
1st shoulder - pheasant rump dyed orange
2nd shoulder - mottled hen back (burned)
Over-hackled the hen back but I just wanted to get an idea of the effect; shows promise, more to follow. Dyeing burnt white hen red or golden yellow could work as a replacement for increasingly scarce (and expensive) golden pheasant body feathers.
Regards,
Scott
