Is This............Pearsall's 6b (Sherry Spinner)?

[daringduffer]

Ken...as I wrote, it's difficult to make comparisons from a screen. Especially since my screen isn't that trustworthy. You can check my reference collection here:

https://flytierspage.com/temp_pix/pears ... _chart.pdf

My 'educated guess' came from looking at that. Not the photo but the spools, IRL. But it was just a guess. I didn't have your spool to compare with. Still, on my screen your spool look closest to 6A amber/light orange. But I still don't know what you have.

dd

[hankaye]

PhilA, Howdy;

WOW! Looking at those spools says a lot. Thanks for posting it Phil.
Kinda looks almost as if they took 2 strands of 32 and a single stand
of 6A and made the 6B. But what do I know ...

hank

[daringduffer]

32 Classic Chestnut was made for the American market. I have never met mr 32. We have no relation at all. 30 Java Brown is his brother as is 31 Antique Gold and 35 Salmonberry. 191 is another fremdung. I only know 14 Claret.
None of these are found on Pearsall's classic colour charts.

Was it Payne or Young who used Java Brown? Mikael Modig who shot the photo of my collection had to buy Java Brown from Golden Witch since he could not find it here in Europe. I think it was for his Payne 101 but it could have been for one of his Young rods. Perfectionist may be...but I guess it was his Payne 101.

Classic Chestnut looks close to Ken's spool on my screen. Phil's 6A looks a lot more yellow on my screen than my 6A Light orange. Silk on white plastic spools look different than on wooden spools to my eye. The contrast is different. And lighting on photos is also different.

dd

[wsbailey]

Bill,

Unfortunately, Goldenwitch doesn't show Sherry Spinner as a color you can order

Tight Lines- Ken

It does show chestnut which I believe is what you have. Modern 6b was available for a short time but it wasn't easy to find.

[Old Hat]

The fish call it orange.

[PhilA]

Phil's 6A looks a lot more yellow on my screen than my 6A Light orange. Silk on white plastic spools look different than on wooden spools to my eye. The contrast is different. And lighting on photos is also different.
dd

Stefan,
You make a good point about color of No.6A in my photo. I took the photo to show *relative* colors of those spools and was not paying close attention to white balance and exposure. No.6A of that photo also looks more yellow on my screen than it should. The other colors are similarly "off" compared to the real deal.

Here is a new photo in which colors on my monitor appear pretty close to the real spools under the same lighting conditions. White balance was calibrated right before the shot, and I didn't overexpose the photo.

[FlyFisherMann1955]

Gentlemen,

Excellent exchange of info and learning experience. I appreciate all of you sharing your thoughts, knowledge, and experience. In the 10 months I've been active on this Forum, I've learned a lot and met some great people. It was Jim Payne who used Java Brown and Yellow (Lemon) for wrapping his rods, at least later in his career. I think other rod builders copied those colors.

Phil,

Thanks for weighing in on this discussion. Based on your earlier (wet/dry) chart, I thought I had found the Pearsall's unicorn (Sherry Spinner, #6b); however, based on your latest pictures, I'm 95% sure I have a spool of Classic Chestnut, #32). I would gladly mail you a 6-inch piece for DNA verification.

Thanks- Ken

Either way, I've added a new color to my Pearsall's stash. This all started when I bought 8 spools (7 Gossamer and 1 Naples) for $37.91. I kept this spool (#32 or 6b), a spool of Scarlet (11a), and a spool of light Orange/Gold (6a). I sold the other 5 spools: Highlander Green (#18), Brown (#17), Antique Gold (#31), Jasper (Gossamer) and Jasper (Naples) for $35.00. So, for $2.91, I acquired 3 spools--including 1 new (to me) color. Who said there are no bargains left to be found!

Tight Lines- Ken

[daringduffer]

Phil's 6A looks a lot more yellow on my screen than my 6A Light orange. Silk on white plastic spools look different than on wooden spools to my eye. The contrast is different. And lighting on photos is also different.
dd

Stefan,
You make a good point about color of No.6A in my photo. I took the photo to show *relative* colors of those spools and was not paying close attention to white balance and exposure. No.6A of that photo also looks more yellow on my screen than it should. The other colors are similarly "off" compared to the real deal.

Here is a new photo in which colors on my monitor appear pretty close to the real spools under the same lighting conditions. White balance was calibrated right before the shot, and I didn't overexpose the photo.

Phil,
You are getting closer to my spools. Much better now, even on my screen. The difference I now see is that both my 6A and 6B have a more coppery tone compared to how your spools come out on my screen. I know that Langley Silks tried to recreate the old shades and maybe some of the results was sold on some of those plastic spools. I would need to have a reference collection on plastic spools in order to make a comparison but I haven't. I have no need for it either. I put together this collection when I found this old stash at Flyhookfiller and I wrote about it then, in order for other interested to take advantage of that stash. I have mentioned it several times, maybe too often. This is more interesting to those attracted to silk and history than to fishing, I'm aware of that.

I have also had some colours who seemed to have the same shade but different 'sheen'. I wonder if this is due to different silk used, if this sheen is inherent in the silk itself. I had a spool of 19 Hot Orange that was absolutely wonderful, you could almost see it in complete darkness. I used it and never found another like it again. It was very old when I bought it about forty years ago. I have had several different yellow shades, more than there are room for on Pearsall's Colour Reference Chart. A couple of these had that sheen too. So there are different shades that at some time have been right, or correct. Dyeing is tricky business. I sent some of this silk to Phil Holding at Fly Tying Boutique who co-operated with the people at Langley Silks to revive some of the old shades. I have heard or read that some of the dyeing agents previously used turned out to be carcinogenic and thus not allowed to be used anymore. That could explain some of the differences. Another explanation is that separate dyeing baths are never exactly the same. That might apply to silk too.

dd

[PhilA]

I would gladly mail you a 6-inch piece for DNA verification.
Thanks- Ken

Ken,
I have a better idea. Send me your mailing address via a board message, and I'll send you a length of both my No.6b and my No.32.

Cheers,
Phil

[daringduffer]

And, not to be misunderstood, I don't mean to imply that silk on plastic spools aren't original shades or something like that. Pearsall silk has been sold on plastic spools for many years. I have two different shades of brown, slightly but clearly, on plastic spools that are meant to be no 14, brown. The difference is obvious when I compare them side by side. And Carl, I am pretty sure the fish won't see orange . I will have to wax them and compare two Black Spiders and let the fish pick their choice.
( If you compare no 6, Amber and no 11, Golden Olive on this chart: https://flytierspage.com/temp_pix/pears ... _chart.pdf you see a slight difference of a magnitude similar to those brown spools).

dd