FLYMPH FORUM

So here is 3 different silks and their primrose comparisons. I compared Kimono's 100 and Ephemera's closest offering to Pearsall's primrose.

Initial appearances -
The Kimono #301 is as close to primrose as one can get from Kimono. It appears to be a little lighter in color than the Pearsall's. The thread is a 2-ply and noticeably a smaller diameter than Pearsall's. It is plenty strong and felt nice to tie with. I am used to tying with Griffith 14/0 so this wasn't uncomfortable for me at all. It had that nice silky slip that I was used to with the Pearsall's. One issue with the Kimono is the size of the spool. It's big. I could not fit it into any of my bobbin holders.

The Ephemera F15 is a 3-ply like Pearsall's and appears nearly the same diameter as Pearsall's. The Ephemera initially appears to be a little more olive the Pearsall's. Very similar to what you would expect waxed Pearsall's to look like. It tied a little rough. It does not have that real silky feel that the Kimono and Pearsall's have. You can feel the difference when you run your fingers along it as well. The spool is wooden and had no problem fitting into a standard bobbin holder.

This first photo is of the three tied with straight from the spool. Dry and no wax. The Kimono is on the left, Pearsall's in the middle and Ephemera on the right. You can see the differences noted above pretty clearly.
In this photo, I soaked the thread bodies in water to see what color they would take on. I was a bit surprised by the outcome to be honest. The Kimono became a very close almost identical match to the Pearsall's in color. The Ephemera took on a little darker olive and had a noticeable orange "halo" to it. This may have something to do with the rough feel noted above. This color change in the Ephemera separated its color from the Pearsall's. It may not be a good primrose replacement but it is certainly a nice viable color and effect for fishing which I find attractive. The Kimono 301 looks to be a good Pearsall's sub.

Carl,

Thank you for conducting a side-by-side comparison and sharing the results with us. I find this very helpful and interesting. I would also be interested to hear if there is any noticeable difference between the silks, for spun bodies. Specifically I am wondering if the thinner denier of the Kimono silk changes the way spun bodies behave.

Both of these silks look like good alternative to Pearsalls.

Carl, thanks for the post, we should all be on the lookout for a alternative to Pearsall’s. I’m wondering if you could show us the color difference when the silk is wet or preferably waxed?
Thanks
Barry

The last pick is when the silk is soaked through although I suppose that I could get submerged photos. They may tell a different story.

Hi Old Hat
New guy here and just had to register to share something I recently found.
Superior Threads carries Kimono 100 silk thread and they have a color card set
made with the actual threads for comparison. There are two cards and run
$6.60 each plus postage. Way more economical than spools when you're trying to compare several colors
to the discontinued Pearsalls.

Search Amazon or I'll post a link if you want.

Oh yeah, You guys are amazing tyers!

Rick

The Tire 50 wt is slightly larger than gossamer but comes in a good range of colors. The picture is 50 wt Tire thread with some gossamer along side.

https://www.weircrafts.com/kumihimo/kum ... hread.html

ForumGhillie wrote: ↑Fri Dec 28, 2018 10:20 am Carl, are all three on the same color hook? They look different in the photo. What about YLI silk?

Thanks for starting this.

John

Same hook. I don't have any YLI at the moment.

RickA wrote: ↑Fri Dec 28, 2018 11:14 am Hi Old Hat
New guy here and just had to register to share something I recently found.
Superior Threads carries Kimono 100 silk thread and they have a color card set
made with the actual threads for comparison. There are two cards and run
$6.60 each plus postage. Way more economical than spools when you're trying to compare several colors
to the discontinued Pearsalls.

Search Amazon or I'll post a link if you want.

Oh yeah, You guys are amazing tyers!

Rick

Welcome to the forum Rick. That is actually where I got them from. Superior and Red Rock seem to have the biggest selection. I saw the cards and I thought I could get close being there wan't a huge selection of colors similar to the Pearsall's but you are right that is probably the best way to go.

I don't know if anyone mentioned this brand but I just now found it.

http://www.semperfli.net/pure-silk-4-da ... mrose.html

https://semperfli.us/shades-of-silk-sem ... -released/

The Semper Fli Pure Silks that Bill posted are for sale at a few places in the US. Average price is $5.25 to $5.50 a spool. May have to try a few just to see what it's like. Colors seem to be close to Pearsall's.