And while you're in those shops that sell fly-tying equipment and supplies, don't overlook the swivel hackle pliers which are a god-send when you break a thread!! I commissioned Richard Worthen to put the end of one into a broken bobbin, and since then he has sold hundreds and hundreds of these jewels!! (I didn't get a dime for the idea, but oh well...). Anyway, you can get the plain, unadorned (and obviously not spangled) version of the "Swivel hackle plier" at these shops for a reasonable price (not that Richard's price isn't reasonable...) The idea is that when you break a thread, you can clamp the "bitter end" with the hackle plier, and either exchange it immediately, or if you have enough thread on the plier, then you can work to a place where the exchange won't be so obvious.

These shops also have an interesting array of "tinsel" for flys, which - interestingly enough - fit very nicely into those antique bobbins which we call "Fairings", which have lost their wire and tinsel. According to my best information, it's OK to restore a bobbin to its former elegance as long as whatever you do can be reversed - that is, undone. It is a simple thing to put new tinsel and new wire on an antique bobbin and see the glorious version!! It quickly ages to a nice patina, and is very usable. You have not reduced the value of this bobbin by this gentle "restoration". You can easily remove the modern additions, leaving it as it was when you found it. If, years later, someone examines the bobbin, they will observe less wear on the wire than expected, and declare that it is a restored bobbin. If an unscrupulous dealer "renovates" a bobbin in this manner and tries to sell it, then the pristine condition of the wire/beads/tinsel is a dead give-away, and should be avoided unless you can get it for a bargain price.

Happy Hunting!

Clay

Clay Blackwell
Lynchburg, VA, USA


Margot Walker wrote:
I've found interesting silk threads in a shop in Halifax that sells supplies for tying flies (for fishing). I've also fallen for some of the wonderful feathers that they sell, although I haven't figured out what to use them for yet!

Margot Walker in Halifax on the east coast of Canada
Visit the Seaspray Guild of Lacemakers web site:
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/quinbot

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