Silk question

[chase creek]

Has anyone tied with the Japanese or Italian silks? How do they compare with Pearsall's? Number of strands? Are they usable for split thread patterns? Looking for a substitute.

[tie2fish]

Here's one recent forum discussion on this topic ... viewtopic.php?f=22&t=8237

Here's another ... viewtopic.php?f=22&t=8192

[wsbailey]

This is a brand of silk thread that might have potential. I've never seen it mentioned.

https://pipers-silks.com/buying-guide/s ... -restorers

[Bazzer69]

Wow, these Piper silks have a extensive range and the prices are very good. Maybe someone in the UK could check them out even with a visit if the don’t live to far apart

[wsbailey]

Here"s is everything you ever wanted to know about silk thread and more.

https://www.needlenthread.com/2017/03/h ... -silk.html

https://www.needlenthread.com/2007/07/e ... on-of.html

[Bazzer69]

Thanks for the links, it might explain why some of the Pearsall’s is glossy and some matt, in fact I have two spools of the same shade one is glossy and one isn’t. Could it be that Pearsall’s has to buy whatever was available at the time when importing from China was prohibited although I read that most silk comes from India. I think we all would just like to find a alternative to Pearsall’s that doesn’t cost to much and is readily available.
Cheers
B

[PhilA]

This is a brand of silk thread that might have potential. I've never seen it mentioned.
https://pipers-silks.com/buying-guide/s ... -restorers

I've used Pipers Silks, and my opinion is a bit mixed. They offer a wide range of silk threads, and I've only tied with smaller sizes of Pipers twisted silks. My interest was in finding a silk thread smaller in diameter than Pearsall's Gossamer. I fish some pretty small flies in Wisconsin's spring creeks (#18 and smaller), and Gossamer, which is 126 denier, is often too big. Pipers 2/20 twisted silk is 30 denier, 4/20 twisted is 60 denier, and 6/20 twisted is 90 denier.

The 2/20 twisted silk breaks too easily for general fly tying, but the 4/20 twisted silk is workable. It breaks pretty easily, and a soft hand is needed. The 6/20 twisted silk would probably be OK, but I didn't buy any, because the color range is quite limited. I've also not tried Pipers floss silks or any of their spun silks.

The silk itself is beautiful. It has a beautiful sheen and comes in a wide range of colors. I did not attempt to match closely the Pipers colors with Pearsall's colors, but a decent match should be possible for many of the Pearsall's popular colors (yellows, oranges, clarets, olives, purple, etc.). For example, Pipers "pale cream" (4th from the left in the photo) is a pretty good match for Pearsall's No.3 (Primrose).

A significant issue is that Pipers silks come on long paper spoons like this:


I had to re-spool with an electric drill each Pipers thread onto small sewing machine bobbins like the one shown at the bottom of the photo. The sewing machine bobbins don't fit many of my fly tying bobbins even after bending the ears. The spool holes are too small. If I did this over again, I would look for different empty spools onto which to spool the Pipers threads. Even then, re-spooling everything is required.

Another negative is that the threads took over 3 weeks from order to shipping, plus another week to arrive. That's pretty slow.

I'm happy with the silks, though. I bought them for tying small flies like this size #20 Skuesian Iron Blue:


I'm also playing around with making spun bodies with 2/20 or 4/20 twisted Pipers, but then tying the final fly with Gossamer. That makes for some interesting combinations where the spun body not only applies a veneer of dubbing but also adds a contrasting thread color as might a thread rib. The resulting body then looks segmented. I'm not satisfied with the results so far, and more fiddling is in order.

It's dipping to about -30 degrees(F) tonight in my neighborhood, so it's a good time to tie flies.

Phil

[wsbailey]

Thanks for the informative report Phil!

[Bazzer69]

Phil, thanks for the report on Pipers. It sounds promising. I wonder where Pearsall’s obtained there silk from. It obviously a great pity they’v quit the business
Sorry about the cold, here in far north california the temperature today was 72! I’m wear a short sleeved T-shirt, I’m thinking about shorts as well!
Barry

[daringduffer]

Phil, thanks for the report on Pipers. It sounds promising. I wonder where Pearsall’s obtained there silk from. It obviously a great pity they’v quit the business
Sorry about the cold, here in far north california the temperature today was 72! I’m wear a short sleeved T-shirt, I’m thinking about shorts as well!
Barry

Barry, life ain't fair; the Pearsall dyer expert died from cancer (work related?), Phil and I suffer from a cold winter climate and you are wearing a T-shirt and thinking of shorts. I was thinking of offering you a small, simple, coch-y- bondduhuhuhu rooster cape but now I'm not so sure anymore. Oh well, it is pretty lousy, more lousy than pretty, so PM your address and I send it anyway...

dd