Leisenring’s Wax and Keene’s Varnish
Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:57 am
In his book “The Art of the Wet Fly”, Leisenring gives a wax formula for which he credits J. Harrington Keene. The same recipe can be found in “Ogden on Fly Tying”. The odd thing is that either there is a typo or Leisenring changed the formula. Not only did he double the amounts (he must have had massive hands) but he used more beeswax than lard, contrary to Keene’s original.
Some years ago I made several of the head cements that can be found in the literature, including Keene’s book. I sent samples to feathersMC. He never found any use for them so he sent them to a well known classic salmon fly tyer. Back came the word that he really liked the Keene formula and wanted more. Neither John nor I originally thought much of the cement. It dried slowly and stayed soft. Apparently, all it needed was time to age.
Some years ago I made several of the head cements that can be found in the literature, including Keene’s book. I sent samples to feathersMC. He never found any use for them so he sent them to a well known classic salmon fly tyer. Back came the word that he really liked the Keene formula and wanted more. Neither John nor I originally thought much of the cement. It dried slowly and stayed soft. Apparently, all it needed was time to age.