FLYMPH FORUM

DEAR GENTLEMEN,
I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD OF FLYTYING HAS EVER HAD THE PROBLEM OF STORING FLYTYING MATERIALS OVER LONG PERIODS OF TIME? TWO FACTORS COME TO MIND. THE FIRST IS INSECTS. PANTRY MOTHS, FEATHER LICE, ETC. THE SECOND IS SIMPLY LONGEVITY. FEATHERS ESPECIALLY SEEM TO "BREAK DOWN" AFTER A FEW YEARS ALONG THE STEM AND THE FLUE AS WELL. FURS SEEM TO LAST A LONG TIME WITHOUT MUCH WEAR AND TEAR. AND MY GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN WILL PROB. BE ABLE TO USE MOST OF THE SYNTHETHICS THAT ARE STORED AWAY IN THE DEN CLOSET.
THIS ALL CAME ABOUT AFTER LOOKING THRU SOME OF MY MATERIALS AND NOTICING THE DATES ON THE PACKAGES. (I STARTED DOING THAT A LONG TIME AGO TOO). SOME ARE NEARLY TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OLD AND STILL VERY USABLE! I GUESS I HAVE BEEN TYING AND FISHING LONGER THAN I THOUGHT. OR AM I GETTING OLDER....FASTER THAN I USED TO?
POULTRY AND GAME BIRD SKINS SEEM TO DRY OUT AND GET PAPER THIN EVEN THOUGH THE FEATHERS ON THEM STAY GOOD. WHAT'S YOUR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS?
I WOULD BE CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF CONTAINERS YOU STORE YOUR MATERIALS IN?
FROM THE DEN,
DOUGSDEN

Heh. I've got feathers and furs going back to when I started tying 35 odd years ago, and some older stuff I got given and it's all still good to go.

For longer term storage I get airtight bins that do not let the light in. The materials go in there in snap lock bags. Get some of the flea collars from a pet store and cut them up and place the bits in the bins. (Or even in the bags of the more valuable stuff) Moth balls repel but the flea collar stuff kills... To that end I also sprinkle a bit of that stuff around the feathers and furs anyway. Rather have the smell of moth balls than a container full of eaten out skins. (I kinda like that smell anyway. Reminds me of museum visits when I was a kid. Loved museums - still do)

I guess if you wanted to go the organic route, cedar boxes might be the thing. At least I think its cedar.. ?

I have heard of pples who keep skins fresh by putting in the bag a bit of orange peel. The theory being the oils in the peel keep the skins in condition, but I have no idea if it works or not. To my mind all you'd end up with is a skin in a bag with a bit of dried orange peel at the bottom....

I asked Charlie Collins (of Collins Hackle Farm) about keeping bird skins "safe", and he suggested closed plastic bags or bins with pieces of a product called Enoz Moth Ice in cake form (paradichlorobenzene). I don't know if this stuff is any different from regular moth balls or not.

MIKE,
WOW! THANK YOU! THERE IS ALOT OF USEFUL DATA IN THAT REPLY! I'D LIKE TO MEET YOU SOMEDAY!
DOUGSDEN