Silk question
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Silk question
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.
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beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise"
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beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise"
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Re: Silk question
Here's one recent forum discussion on this topic ... viewtopic.php?f=22&t=8237
Here's another ... viewtopic.php?f=22&t=8192
Here's another ... viewtopic.php?f=22&t=8192
Some of the same morons who throw their trash around in National parks also vote. That alone would explain the state of American politics. ~ John Gierach, "Still Life with Brook Trout"
Re: Silk question
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
https://pipers-silks.com/buying-guide/s ... -restorers
Re: Silk question
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
Love both fly fishing and fly tying, been doing it for a while
But not much good at either
But not much good at either
Re: Silk question
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
https://www.needlenthread.com/2017/03/h ... -silk.html
https://www.needlenthread.com/2007/07/e ... on-of.html
Re: Silk question
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
Cheers
B
Love both fly fishing and fly tying, been doing it for a while
But not much good at either
But not much good at either
Re: Silk question
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.wsbailey wrote: ↑Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:19 pm 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
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
Re: Silk question
Thanks for the informative report Phil!
Re: Silk question
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
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
Love both fly fishing and fly tying, been doing it for a while
But not much good at either
But not much good at either
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- Posts: 2195
- Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:11 am
Re: Silk question
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...Bazzer69 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 30, 2019 12:13 am 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
dd