I agree, FTD is a great resource for quality synthetics I have used them for years
Mike

Think outside of store-bought for more fun and a less expensive experience.

• Pets. Just brushing your own dogs and cats might cover you . . . and then there are the pets of friends, family, and neighbours.
  
  
• Carpet and rug fibers. You may find many of these to be quite similar to the ". . . tron"s.
  
  
• Game birds and other animals. Superb materials�including bucktail�are routinely discarded. Squirrel season is year-round in many Texas counties, and rabbits are not even considered game, (thus, no closed season or limits).
  
  
• Wool. Anyone raising alpacas, llamas, or sheep in your area?
  
  
• Repurposed wool garment. (Straight to the washer, though, if it comes from a thrift store, or segregate from your own wool clothes.) Even an old sock or beanie hat you already have could yield a lot of material.
  
  
• Mama's knitting kit. All manner of useful yarns await here.
  
  
• Stuffing. This is the synthetic material found inside cushions, furnishings, and pillows. I've seen it blowing around the city as an urban tumbleweed. It has a lot of loft, often some flash, and can be added to your dubbing mixes.

Reasonable hygiene�soap and water, freezer times, and/or salt and borax�make good sense for your wild finds.

There's nothing magically transforming about tiny portions in commercial plastic packaging, so find and tie . . . and have fun.

Great post - don't forget wig hair....
G/

Thank you.

And costume mask "hair". One full of silver/gray (baitfish) fiber was discarded on the sidewalk after Halloween.

As if on cue, masses of that "urban tumbleweed" synthetic were blown against the fence this afternoon. (The golden retriever/shredder next door must've run a Teddy bear through the chipper.)



Buggy brown; usually, it's white and sometimes light green. This could be coarse-dubbed as-is, or better yet, mixed with some fluffy binder like cottontail and maybe a little spiky fox squirrel.

FTD is awesome, way cheaper than the name brand materials and exactly the same. I love paying 1.50 for Congo hair instead of 7.99 for ep fibers

The next time Honey-do runs those ugly green carpet bath mats thru the wash cycle, claim the lint out of the dryer. Put it in a zippie bag, and you have insect green Antron dubbing.

Kirk

Ive got a cuople of deer skins and some feathers from my chickens and ducks ive killed this winter.
Sounds like I could make some cool custom flies once I get all my materials. couple cheap kits looked good online, just something to get me started.

I would suggest that the vise and scissors are two places where one ought not be too cheap. A good vise and a good pair of scissors can make the difference in a good tying experience vs. a hassle.

I agree with Robin about the scissors. I caught a sale on Dr. Slick scissors one time. Night and Day difference.
As long as a vice will hold a hook securely, everything else is fluff. You still have to know how to put the material on the hook. Don't misunderstand me, I like my full rotary Danvise, but I have just as much fun tying on the Thompson "A" knock-off in my portable kit. I bought the Deluxe Kit on sale at Cabela's. It's all quality stuff. (I still replaced the Scissors.) I wouldn't buy a $5, made in China/Pakistan/Kuala Lampur vice off of Ebay, but a $20 one from a reputable dealer will work.

Kirk
EDIT: In the interest of full disclosure, I have been lusting after a Renzetti Saltwater Traveler for years. Can't see spending that kinda scratch for a vise.

table top vise or clamp on?

If you're using the kitchen table, I would recommend a tabletop, just to keep the peace. You don't want to tighten a clamp on anything that belongs to Mamma. Don't ask. I prefer the clamp for stability if I have a material I have to really torque on like flaring dear hair, but proper technique (pull straight down) can make that unnecessary. I have never tipped my tabletop travel vice tying nymphs and spiders EDIT: and streamers.

Kirk