Banshu Flies Revisited

I really want to try my hand at tying authentic Banshu Ayu flies but the resin type and gold flake process is a mystery to me. Does anyone know what kind of resin is used and gold flake? Thank you in advance!

@todoroki34, maybe you can help me.

Regards, JA.

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Yes. I have seen this. I appreciate it. What I need are product names for the mixed resin and the type of gold leaf.

I miss David Walker. I’m sure you’ve seen his thread on Banshu kebari, but I’ll post it here again, so we can all remember how amazing he was.

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I believe there is only one type of gold leaf. It is just 24k gold pounded extremely thin. I don’t know what type of resin is used.

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Found this resource. Now to see about some of these materials.

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David is greatly missed.

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I was just thinking about him a couple of days ago. I miss him too.

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@tvdavisid Tom, I’ve been thinking the same thing. David Walker would know the answer or he would be able to find out the info. in a very short time. He was an amazing man that had so much information to share with us. I really wish he was alive.

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I also miss David and his contributions very much…Karl.

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Agreed. David Walker was a Power house.

@Jonathan_Antunez
Johnathan. Sorry for the delayed response. You might want to reach out to Misako Ishimura. @CM_Stewart might be able to get you connected. A few years back I went to the Catskill Fly fishing museum and she did a presentation on Kebari. @Peder was there too. I think they were largely flies that @todoroki34 tied, but it was a few years ago, my memory might be inacurate. I know he gifted participants with flies he tied. https://10colorstenkara.com/t/catskill-fly-fishing-center-and-museum-fishing-show

Anyway. Here is a snapshot I took of what I think are Banshu flies. When we asked details of these flies, they were flies of the wealthy who would fish. The gold is largely a status thing and the bead itself really has no weight, so although it looks like a bead head, it is not weighed, the gold ornamentation is just ornamentation and status. Or at least that is how I remember the explanation.

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Thank you for the picture, they are amazing looking.

Have to thank Bansho Sideplan on Instagram for the hookup on this link. It’s exhaustive in detail about the construction of the rudimentary simple vise and the tying of these ornate flies. Cheers everyone.

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Wow. Just wow. That step by step is incredible. I don’t think I’d have the patience, but I’m in awe at it… all the way down to the gold leaf.

Awesome. @Jonathan_Antunez can you talk about your motivation to tie this pattern?

Mostly curiousity and also learning old ways of doing things. Overall, its just me being nosey and fascinated with old flies and tying techniques.

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If you tie a handful up and want to do an experiment it might be interesting to put a couple aside sans gold leaf. That red lacquer might make for a super hotspot.

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Awesome idea Gressak!! This looks amazing.