Silk Thead

[Phideaux]

I've been looking around for silk thread (mainly for sea trout and salmon flies) and found the usual Pearsalls, but I've also come across various embroidery silks and I was wondering if the twisted and floss silks were satisfactory for tying?

See floss silk, floss silk thread, silk embroidery floss

I suspect that the bobbins that they come on would require modification of standard fly-tying bobbin holders, or possibly making new ones.

Also I can't find any information on the actual thickness of 2/20, 4/20, 6/20 etc, so if anyone could guide me I'd appreciate the help.

[harveyangling]

These are sold in denier, this is the weight of the item over a given length, 1 denier = 1 gram over 900 metres.

You would need to buy a few different deniers to compare with what we are used to.

[arkle]

I've used it on some salmon flies, not bad stuff - better than the Pearsall's stout but a lot finer. It's also smoother & has quite a high sheen to it. It was supplied to me on small cardboard cylinders which I rewound onto traditional ones & then used direct rather than cutting off a length & winding it. A lot of salmon tiers use hwite silk gloves to handle floss, but I prefer to go "off the bobbin". One of the most pospular silk floss's is the J.E.C. stuff sold through various suppliers in the U.S. including Feathersmc.com: Home

Another one is the Lagartun silk, but the some of the colours & general texture aren't so popular, like all their other products this is made in France but re-wound in the U.S.

Sorry, but can't offer any help with the sizes.

[Phideaux]

Originally Posted by harveyangling

These are sold in denier, this is the weight of the item over a given length, 1 denier = 1 gram over 900 metres.

You would need to buy a few different deniers to compare with what we are used to.

OK, so for the twisted silks:
2/20 = 30 denier
4/20 = 60 denier
6/20 = 90 denier

The floss silks are all 90 denier.

From the reply by arkle the standard Lagartun and Ultra threads are about 70 denier.

I also note that Feathersmc (referred to above) also uses embroidery silk floss as a preference.

At a cost of about £1.10 for 80 meters (floss) or 100 meters (twisted thread) it looks like good value especially with very cheap postage costs. Anyway I've ordered a batch of primary colours in different weights to try out.

[fredaevans]

I'm more than a bit 'eddgie' about recommending the folks at the link above, but these folks have a Gold Standard Rep with fly tiers here in the US.

JS Fly Fishing: Rod Building, Fly Tying: Pearsall Gossamer Silk Thread

[Phideaux]

Originally Posted by fredaevans

I'm more than a bit 'eddgie' about recommending the folks at the link above, but these folks have a Gold Standard Rep with fly tiers here in the US.

JS Fly Fishing: Rod Building, Fly Tying: Pearsall Gossamer Silk Thread

So the Pearsalls 'Gossamer' silks are 126 denier (blimey, I wonder what the 30 denier 2/20 thread is going to be like).

[donaldtn]

Try this section on my web-site, all these silks can be obtained in the UK.
I don't bother with denier myself, I find that i judge silks in relation to Pearsalls.
The YLI silk is obtainable the on-line sewing/tapestry suppliers.
The Seata-Reale can be found in local sewing shops, as can Gutermann.
http://donaldnicolson.webplus.net/page250.html

[flytire]

Fishermen's Silks | Split-cane fishing rods | rod builders | whipping | flies for fly-fishing | rod restoration | rod building | Pipers Silks

[donaldtn]

Here is a useful site here in the UK that sells YLI silk and gives colour
names, I don't know what denier it is but I have used it for Spiders.
It is not so cheap, but what is, but the spools are large and will last a long time, and fit a standard bobbin-holder.
YLI SILK 100

[noeyedeer]

For what it’s worth:

Denier - Td– is a direct count system and as such can be easily converted to the standard international yarn count -Tex or Decitex (as opposed to indirect such as Yorkshire skein woollen – Ny or Cotton Count - Ne).

Denier is defined as the weight in grams of 9,000m (i.e 9 Kilometres!) of yarn.
Typical denier examples:
For pantyhose and tights, 10 denier or less means ultra-sheer
10 to 20 denier is semi-sheer
25 to 35 denier is semi-opaque
40 denier or more is opaque.

For sturdy luggage, 600 to 1800 denier
ballistic nylon - 1800 to 2500 denier.

Folded Yarns (direct system):
Folded yarns are described by their resultant count.
e.g 3 fold 300 denier is designated 3/900 etc etc
…and so you will get a yarn twisted from 3 separate ply! (useful for splitting)

Pipers Silks
I don’t know Pipers Silks but I would guess the people they know what they are doing when it comes to silk throwing…..
They are just down the road from one of my customers, Glemsford Silk Mills. The website says the current owners father, Jack Piper used to be manager of the mill and silk throwing seems to run in the family!. (Glemsford Mill use our electronic Dye machine controls and we also monitor the evenness & count (denier) of the silk yarns produced using an optical sensor on the winding machines.)
This may be useful: https://sites.google.com/site/flyona...-tying/threads