Sweet!

Thanks, Ray. Now it's clear.

I may have to give it a try.

letumgo wrote: Take up the quill stripper tool now and press it firmly down on the peacock herl quill near the hackle pliers, being careful to hold the needle squarely across the quill, not at an angle.

Does this mean that the tool is parallel to the table? I'm not quite visualizing this somehow.

Pencil eraser, back of a single edged razor blade, your thumb nail. I second pencil eraser. Note that there's a direction to the flue on the herl; rubbing only works in one direction. I used my thumb nail until the first time the herl broke and inserted itself under my thumb nail. Not quite as bad ...

Sweet!

I've got to agree with Mike; that one's even better than the first.

About half the Snipe and Purples currently in my fly box are actually snipe; the rest are starling. I can't tell which is which, and neither can the fish.
Or did you have another application in mind for snipe?

Very nice!

Hans Weilenmann wrote:Touch and go whether I can get away with calling this a wingless wet, but what the heck

It's certainly wingless.

I suspect it would be deadly anywhere.