experiment with peacock herl

[flytire]

gonna let the sun turn some peacock herl bronze

i dont know if it will work but some tyers say it does

 

[mcnerney]

Norm

That is an interesting experiment, I'd like to know if it turns out.

 

[kentuckysteve]

I hope it works for you norm.I tried for almost a month and could not see any difference.I too would like to know how it turns out.

 

[dennyk]

Haven't heard of that process Norm. When I want bronze colored peacock herl I lay a few strands out and go over them with a red Sharpie.

Denny

 

[spm]

Never heard this, but I am also interested in the result. Keep us posted, Norm.

Thanks,
steve

 

[sparsegraystubble]

At one time I had a source for really good peacock tail feathers that were a pleasure to tie with. The stuff I buy in a shop these days is so bad that I have gone to peacock dubbing. I am not completely satisfied with it, but the commercial stuff is just unacceptable.

I just tied a bunch of Griffith’s gnats using the dubbing. A pain in the butt, but better than the herl you get these days. I need to tie a bunch of Prince nymphs and I will use a different dubbing for those.

I would gladly pay more for decent peacock with strong stems and heavy flue, but unless I find another farmer who raises the birds it looks like the dubbing is my best choice.

And, yes I know that it isn’t the same. You would think that really good peacock would be available at a premium price, but the **** they string for fly shop packets is not worth using.

I can remember tying great plump fly bodies using just one or two herls. And they were strong enough that they didn’t break and unwind after just one decent sized fish.

Oh well, stop your whining old fart.

Don

 

[flav]

I would think the sun would dry out the fibers and make it brittle long before the color changed.

I've mostly gone to dubbing too, and the nice thing is you can mix in other colors to get whatever shade you want.

 

[planettrout]

Come on man ...It works better with peacock eyes that can be turned over. Those strung herls are in too much of a pile, blocking sunlight to portions of the fibers...


PT/TB

 

[bumble54]

Come on man ...It works better with peacock eyes that can be turned over. Those strung herls are in too much of a pile, blocking sunlight to portions of the fibers...


PT/TB

I was led to believe that Peacock feathers only turn a bronze colour on the living bird and then only when the moult was imminent.
Worth experimenting though.

 

[midge1]

Don't forget to turn it so the herl in the back gets equal sun.

 

[flytire]

I was led to believe that Peacock feathers only turn a bronze colour on the living bird and then only when the moult was imminent.
Worth experimenting though.

i dont know? everywhere ive read says to put them in direct sunlight

Don't forget to turn it so the herl in the back gets equal sun.

ok. already planned for that :thumbsupu

Come on man ...It works better with peacock eyes that can be turned over. Those strung herls are in too much of a pile, blocking sunlight to portions of the fibers...

PT/TB

thanks. i'm waiting for a slow boat from ali express to deliver them

 

[silver creek]

gonna let the sun turn some peacock herl bronze

i dont know if it will work but some tyers say it does

I'd be interested in the results of the experiment as well.

However, it may not work. The iridescent colors of a peacock feather are not produced in the same way as say the color of a hackle feather. A hackle feather reflects the color of the feather so the feather IS the color and the color can fade.

The colors of a peacock feather ARE not an actual reflected color. The colors are produced by crystalline structures that reflect light at varying angles. The waves of light then interact with each other to create interference bands that cancel, amplify, or add to each other. So the feathers are NOT a color at all. It is this angular reflectance that cause us to see different colors as we move the feather. We are moving the angle of reflectance from the crystals that creates the color we see much like the colors of a prism are refracted land in different locations.

When you dye a peacock feather then you superimpose the dye on the feathers so they RELECT that color.

"Researchers found that the feathers' bright colors are produced not by pigments, but rather by tiny, intricate two-dimensional crystal-like structures. Slight alterations in the spacing of these microscopic structures cause different wavelengths of light to be filtered and reflected, creating the feathers' many different iridescent hues."

Peacock Plumage Secrets Uncovered

"In fact, most often colors in nature are caused by pigments, like the pigments in paint. When light shines on a pigment, the pigment produces the color red, for example, by absorbing all the light except for the red light. That light is reflected back to the eye, which then sees a red color.

In contrast, in peacock feathers, it is the precise structural array of melanin rods in keratin that creates different colors, with one array reflecting back yellow light, for example, and a slightly different arrangement reflecting back blue light.

Such so-called structural colors are more akin to the way that colorless water droplets reflect light to produce the colors of the rainbow, as opposed to pigments that would produce the colors in a painting of a rainbow.."

Scientists Uncover the Peacock's Most Colorful Secrets - The New York Times

Since peacock feathers are NOT a color, this fact leads me to ask how would putting the feathers out in the sun change the reflectance angle or spacing of the crystalline structure of the feathers to change the color we see? It cannot but it may bleach the melanin. But will that result in bronze???

What Are the Colors in a Peacock's Feathers? | Sciencing

 

[flytire]

really, its just a little experiment te see if peacock herl really does change color from being exposed to sunlight like everybody says it does

i snipped of about 3/4 of the herl to make it easier for turning over to the back side

 

[silver creek]

really, its just a little experiment te see if peacock herl really does change color from being exposed to sunlight like everybody says it does

i snipped of about 3/4 of the herl to make it easier for turning over to the back side

You should keep some in a zip lock sandwich bag an put it away to compare to the sun exposed color.

 

[flytire]

yes

all of my feathers are kept in zip lock bags

 

[flav]

This makes me wonder if feathers from birds raised somwehere like arizona would already be sun bleached?

 

[spm]

really, its just a little experiment te see if peacock herl really does change color from being exposed to sunlight like everybody says it does

i snipped of about 3/4 of the herl to make it easier for turning over to the back side

Regardless, of the ongoing discussion of whether or not it will work, I am still interested in the results of your experiment. Please post them, Norm.

Thanks,
steve

 

[weiliwen]

I've not done it nor have I heard it done, but I wonder what dropping herl into a weak hydrogen peroxide solution for a short time would do toward bronzing the herl...

 

[flytire]

i dont know but try it and let us know the results

 

[silver creek]

gonna let the sun turn some peacock herl bronze

i dont know if it will work but some tyers say it does

It has been 3 months. Has the peacock herl faded?