Feather pith..?

[paulc]

Afternoon, all. Trying to strip some turkey feathers and I keep getting pith stuck to the peel. And when I pick off the pith I end up damaging the strip and end up w pieces of fletch that are too short to do anything with...

Any advice?  Paul

[Pat B]

You might try re-hydrating the feathers first before stripping. Place them in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel inside and give them a few days and try one.

[Buckskinner]

I just run it some sandpaper over it to smooth it out or thin it a bit although I use a belt sander if I'm doing a bunch of them.

[Pat B]

I do the same when grinding feather but not for stripping.

[BowEd]

Ideally when stripping you end up with just the skin of the quill and no pith.

[JW_Halverson]

Ideally when stripping you end up with just the skin of the quill and no pith.

And having fresh feathers is ideal. When they have dried out for over a year or so, they are in need of a little "refreshment". Pat suggests a plastic bag and a damp towel for a day or so, I recommend something faster: A hot teakettle on the stove blowing a steady stream of live steam. Slowly draw the feather through the steam and watch the feather barbules plump up. Concentrate the steam on the central spine both on top and on the bottom of the feather.

After steaming, they will strip much, much cleaner and often with fewer of them breaking off prematurely.

Oh, and for those that believe that a split and ground feather is stronger than a stripped one without any pith, just remember that BOTH end up with the same stiffness - namely whatever spine the arrow shaft hasa after they are glued down! 

[gutpile]

when I strip mine there is no pith just skin.. try starting with a razor blade if having issues..gut

[paulc]

Thanks all, these feathers have been sitting around for years so definitely dry....Paul

[Pat B]

Re-hydrate! However you do it.   

[JW_Halverson]

Re-hydrate! However you do it.   

Applies to the fletcher as well as the fletchings!  (Going thru a very hot and humid spell up here and it is a struggle for me to stay hydrated properly)

[Pat B]

Same here John.

[paulc]

The other issue I am having is the fletch won't sit square on the shaft. I generally can get 1 , if I'm lucky 2, fletch sitting properly but there is always at least one that when wrapped w sinew it lays at some angle other than 90 to the shaft...make sense?
Every video I have watched shows a dude peel the fletch and mount it perfectly to the shaft....not so in my experience.
Would hydrated feathers peel better and so mount square?

Thanks, Paul

[Pat B]

I'd say yes to your question. How are you mounting the fletching, by hand or with a jig?

[paulc]

By hand...

[paulc]

Hopefully the pic attaches.

Paul