Synthetic Quill

[Wildfisher]

Anyone tried the synthetic quill Davie McPhail uses on this?  It looks pretty dandy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBXH3iQnro8 

[Clan Chief]

Fred! I bought some of that last week. I purchased the grey stuff. I liked it and tied a couple of buzzers with it and used my new resin on it too. Was going to use it on some cdc dries too. Will post pics when I tie em

[Clan Chief]

Not one of my best tyings but hopefully you can see the synth quill

[Harpo]

The quill looks good, think it'll work ok for wee parachute flies?
I take it doesn't break as easily as the natural?

[bibio1]

It does look good .....but I don't think you can beat the real McCoy

[Highlander]

 I am sure the quill is fine but I am in the camp with Paul in so far that I would stick to the natural. I would maybe question the weight for dries though but for nymphs it certainly looks the part.
If something "adds to the fly" then yes I might use it but just because it is there no.

More issues with "substitute" materials. My way of thinking is that if the "norm" is still available then why use a substitute
eg.  Raffene -Raffia
      Micro Fibbets- stripped hackle fibres
      SLF- Seal Fur
A good example of where one would use a substitute is say a feather from Corncrake,Swift Red Ibis or Indian Crow. These birds are protected so substitute is essential with that sort of thing. Not written in stone certainly & synthetics certainly now play a part in our game but more so for Salmon/Pike/Sea lures rather than Trout to my mind.
Others mileage may vary & as it should be.
Tight Lines

[east wind]

Micro Fibbets- stripped hackle fibres

Of the few very valuable traditional flies I tie now, I found the tails snapped too easily when using hackle fibres. Micro fibbets are a more durable substitute.

In general I agree that there is a huge range of materials available now to do no better a job than what went before. More interesting for the serious fly tyer I suppose.

[Highlander]

Micro fibbets are a more durable substitute.

granted, but for me I find them too stiff. Why not just buy a suitable nylon paint brush & get your tailing from that, lot cheaper than "Microfibbets".
cause basically that is all they are, just packaged with price to suit us  fishermen. If you get the right hackle & select accordingly you can get fibres that will not break easily. Have you tried Coq De Leon feathers for tailing, not the ones that Whiting sell but the Spanish ones, try them & you will not be disappointed. They are ideal for tailing, giving a most lifelike tail akin to the natural.
But as I say horses for courses.
Tight Lines

[Fishtales]

The hair from an old shaving brush is good for tails too.

[east wind]

granted, but for me I find them too stiff. Why not just buy a suitable nylon paint brush & get your tailing from that, lot cheaper than "Microfibbets".

To be honest I think the nylon bristles off a paint brush may be too coarse for me but you got me thinking, the wife's taken up painting by numbers and the bristles on her artist brushes are nice and soft and the right colour and taper or is that what you meant?

However the microfibbets I use have lasted years and there's a few more left in a patch costing just a few quid. Not a huge investment and the trout don't seem to mind.

The hair from an old shaving brush is good for tails too.

That's got me thinking again, received and old style shaving kit at Christmas that I'll never use, need to dig it out for a look.

Anyway back on to the original post, yes the quill on that pattern does look tasty.