peacock herl

[m2mga]

Has anybody got an easy way of stripping peacoch herl , currently using a pencil rubber , but find it less than perfect, for a clean stripped quill.

[arkle]

Are you trying to strip natural or dyed eyes, as methods can vary. For naturals a lot of people (!) use hair removing creams, but it can be messy. Bleach is another popular method, as can the good old thumbnail or razor blade and sheet of glass which are better for dyed ones.

There are several threads on this forum about this subject, have you tried using the search facility ?

[IanD]

The problem with bleach is that it can lighten the dark edge to the herl, and it's the contrast between this and the rest of the herl that, for me at least, distinguishes the best stripped quill.
A method I've read about but never used is the paraffin wax method.
You melt paraffin (candle) wax in a pan of hot water, and dip the herl in the so it gets a thin coating of wax. Leave to cool then just strip of the herl. It's supposed to come away easily and leave the quill supple.

Personally I just use an eraser - or buy it ready stripped.

[troutheaven]

I soften the quill and flue in my mouth for about 60 seconds. The saliva seems to loosen the flue which is stripped off with the thumbnail, and reduce brittleness in the quill.

I've found that its best to have the flue-edge on the lower side of the quill when stripping. Never run your thumbnail over already stripped quill as this is likely to cause the quill to break up. Simply work small stretches until clean and then move on.