I have been wanting to tie some Kenbane Kebari and was having a hard time getting my hands on alula feathers locally. Eventually, someone from our generous community was willing to share some with me. However, during my search I came across these:
I wonder if they still have their alula feathers and if the quality is any good. If so, it would be a relatively cheap source at roughly $1 per feather after shipping costs. Are there any hunters here that use these to train their dogs? I may order a 2 pack just to test the theory.
Talking with a friend of mine who belongs to a hunting club, he told me to ask him in October and he can get me hundreds. If that happens I will share.
Huh, that’s a really great idea @TenkaraOdyssey. We don’t have pheasant here where I live, so hunting isn’t an option.
I actually just wrote something elsewhere that I’ve now run out of kenbane and have been experimenting with other feathers from that area of the wing. I don’t suspect they’re going to be much less of a quality than any other pheasant skin for fly tying. It’s not like they’re breeding genetic pheasant hackle. I also wouldn’t suspect that someone is going to pluck out the kenbane from these. They are from the US after all and western FF don’t use them.
I should also issue a correction to my original post as my first grade math skills must not be all that great. They will be about $2 per feather not $1. They do sell larger pack that would bring the cost down slightly. Still less expensive than ordering from Japan.
I finally had some time to take a look at the feathers I ordered. It took me a while, and I was about to give up, but I think it was a success. I am no expert, as this was my first time trying to locate one, but when compared to alula feathers that were sent to me by a friend it looks right.
I just bought the six pack to test the theory. the site I got them from sells up to a 24 pack. I saw a 32 pack somewhere. My local Cabela’s has them in stock but they are more expensive, however I wouldn’t have to pay shipping. Wherever you get them from the price is pretty good considering you get lots of other useful feathers on the wings as well.
Anyway, just thought some of you might be interested. Once I find some time at the fly bench I will see what the quality is compared to my “good” ones.
Tied my first two kenbane style kebari tonight. The’re not pretty but hey, it was my first try. I’m not the best fly tyer to begin with. The hardest part was splitting the feather. I have seen video but trust me, it isn’t as easy as it looks. The quill didn’t split down the middle. I had one half with a thick quill and half with almost no quill. If anybody has any tips I am all ears. I used orange silk thread with silk dubbing.
While I was at the bench I tied a couple of zenmai kebari and an experiment using seal dubbing on a sakasa style kebari. Then one north country spider inspired fly. I am hoping to get out tomorrow morning for a couple of hours. I guess the fish will let me know how I did.
