Fly Floatant

"Charlie Wilson" wrote in message
...

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote:
I no longer use floatant at all, I use Frog Fanny and an Amadou.
I'm still using the Frog Fanny I bought two years ago but I'm
down to my last Amadou. I've not been able to find genuine Amadou
here in the states. The fly shops sell a synthetic version called
Samadou that doesn't work nearly as well.

Me too. The local fly shops still have amadou in stock, but I find
myself carrying only one piece of it. After a couple of hours of good
catching, the amadou is pretty soaked and I usually resort to using my
shirttail.

Charlie,
planning to get rich marketing amadou shirts.

Go with the cotton-amadou blend......wears well and, in a pinch, you can
make soup.

Wolfgang
friend of the american.....and french.....farmer.

"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
m...
Wolfgang wrote:
...
Oh my, what a clever little device. And just who do you think you've
fooled
this time? ...

Time for me to end my participation in this thread gone bad and remind
you that you're probably gonna want to cover your keyboard in Saran Wrap.
You're just jacking off with your right hand while posting to roff with
your left at this point and fly floatant is but a distant memory.

Surrender accepted, Dorothy.

Wolfgang
it's like andy jackson and the injuns all over again......and
again.......and again.......and again......
and yes, it IS as easy as it looks.

"Tim J." wrote in message
...

The minimum order is three sheets at $50.25 CHF + $30 CHF for shipping
(about
$62 USD total). I've never used the stuff before, mainly because of the
$20
Orvis price for a tiny patch you mention in another post. If 1/3 of a
sheet is a
year or greater supply, this would be about a 10 year supply. How long
does this
stuff keep its properties?

Another option would be for 3 or more of us to chip in for a sheet apiece.
I'd
like to try it for myself and would be willing to do it that way.
--
TL,
Tim
who will gladly pay you Tuesday for some amadou today.
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj



Amadou retains its properties until it falls apart. This depends entirely on
how often you use it. It must be soaked before use, kept wet ( damp)in
use,and properly dried before storing, as it will otherwise go mouldy.
It also tends to oxidize in time, and simply crumbles. Under "normal"
conditions, ( properly prepared and dried, and then stored in a zip lock
bag), it will last a very long time indeed. I have some which I prepared
over twenty years ago, and it is still OK.

If kept dry when not in use, it will last a very long time. The last piece I
had "in operation", lasted about four seasons of heavy use before it fell
apart.

It is still quite readily available in Europe, although it is expensive. I
make my own, as the woods around my house have a large supply of the fungus.
When properly prepared, it is the best drying agent bar none. I have tried
lots of things, and nothing comes even close to it for effectiveness.

If you want to go cheap, then 3ply paper towels work as well as anything
else I have tried ( barring Amadou).

Amadou was once prepared extensively on a commercial basis as a styptic (
for stilling blood), and also, when treated with nitrates, ( concentrated
urine was often used for this, doubtless the cause of many ****ing contests)
as an igniter for various purposes, one of which was firing flintlocks and
the like.

I prepare mine using caustic soda. The fungus is placed in a strong caustic
solution, allowed to stand for at least two weeks, stirring occasionally.
The result is poured through a fine flat(PLASTIC! I use plastic net curtain
material over a square wooden frame) sieve,spreading the material as one
pours, washed thoroughly in the sieve, and allowed to dry until it looks
like thick yellow parchment. One may hammer this, add water again, and then
repeat the sieving procedure, but I only tried this a couple of times, as
the first result works perfectly.

The surface is smooth at first, roughens with use, and eventually
disintegrates.

The main reason for the extreme absorbent properties are the fibres of the
fungus, which have extremely long capillaries, and these are capable of
absorbing very large quatities of water and other substances ( i.e. Slime).
Amadou is the only substance I know of which will actually remove fish slime
almost completely. ( Without extensive washing with detergent etc). How
this functions exactly, I do not know, but it does. Probably also a
function of the capillaries in the fungus fibres.

TL
MC

"Tim J." wrote in message
...

The minimum order is three sheets at $50.25 CHF + $30 CHF for shipping
(about
$62 USD total). I've never used the stuff before, mainly because of the
$20
Orvis price for a tiny patch you mention in another post. If 1/3 of a
sheet is a
year or greater supply, this would be about a 10 year supply. How long
does this
stuff keep its properties?

Another option would be for 3 or more of us to chip in for a sheet apiece.
I'd
like to try it for myself and would be willing to do it that way.
--
TL,
Tim
who will gladly pay you Tuesday for some amadou today.
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj



Amadou retains its properties until it falls apart. This depends entirely on
how often you use it. It must be soaked before use, kept wet ( damp)in
use,and properly dried before storing, as it will otherwise go mouldy.
It also tends to oxidize in time, and simply crumbles. Under "normal"
conditions, ( properly prepared and dried, and then stored in a zip lock
bag), it will last a very long time indeed. I have some which I prepared
over twenty years ago, and it is still OK.

If kept dry when not in use, it will last a very long time. The last piece I
had "in operation", lasted about four seasons of heavy use before it fell
apart.

It is still quite readily available in Europe, although it is expensive. I
make my own, as the woods around my house have a large supply of the fungus.
When properly prepared, it is the best drying agent bar none. I have tried
lots of things, and nothing comes even close to it for effectiveness.

If you want to go cheap, then 3ply paper towels work as well as anything
else I have tried ( barring Amadou).

Amadou was once prepared extensively on a commercial basis as a styptic (
for stilling blood), and also, when treated with nitrates, ( concentrated
urine was often used for this, doubtless the cause of many ****ing contests)
as an igniter for various purposes, one of which was firing flintlocks and
the like.

I prepare mine using caustic soda. The fungus is placed in a strong caustic
solution, allowed to stand for at least two weeks, stirring occasionally.
The result is poured through a fine flat(PLASTIC! I use plastic net curtain
material over a square wooden frame) sieve,spreading the material as one
pours, washed thoroughly in the sieve, and allowed to dry until it looks
like thick yellow parchment. One may hammer this, add water again, and then
repeat the sieving procedure, but I only tried this a couple of times, as
the first result works perfectly.

The surface is smooth at first, roughens with use, and eventually
disintegrates.

The main reason for the extreme absorbent properties are the fibres of the
fungus, which have extremely long capillaries, and these are capable of
absorbing very large quatities of water and other substances ( i.e. Slime).
Amadou is the only substance I know of which will actually remove fish slime
almost completely. ( Without extensive washing with detergent etc). How
this functions exactly, I do not know, but it does. Probably also a
function of the capillaries in the fungus fibres.

TL
MC

Ken,

What is "top posting"?

You forget, I have a reading handicap and an old generation brain.

--
Bill Kiene



Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com


"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
...
Bill Kiene wrote:

Hi Ken,

I think the wily Amadou is now on the endangered species list?

(bad joke)

PS: I think you are right on with the Frogs Fanny and Amadou though.

Yeah, it works really well, better than floatant I think.

There's a marketing opportunity for you and Waldo. Nobody wants to
pay Orvis $20 for fifty cents worth of Amadou attached to a $19.50
piece of leather and a d-ring. Especially since the leather and
d-ring are useless when the Amadou wears out.

(You're top posting BTW, keep it up and you'll grow nose warts. ;-)

--
Ken Fortenberry

Ken,

What is "top posting"?

You forget, I have a reading handicap and an old generation brain.

--
Bill Kiene



Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com


"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
...
Bill Kiene wrote:

Hi Ken,

I think the wily Amadou is now on the endangered species list?

(bad joke)

PS: I think you are right on with the Frogs Fanny and Amadou though.

Yeah, it works really well, better than floatant I think.

There's a marketing opportunity for you and Waldo. Nobody wants to
pay Orvis $20 for fifty cents worth of Amadou attached to a $19.50
piece of leather and a d-ring. Especially since the leather and
d-ring are useless when the Amadou wears out.

(You're top posting BTW, keep it up and you'll grow nose warts. ;-)

--
Ken Fortenberry

Wolfgang wrote:

Wolfgang
who hastens to add that the damned thing caught it THIS time!

It couldn't possibly have been your fault. No way. It must have been
your nondeterministic spell checker.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

Wolfgang wrote:

Wolfgang
who hastens to add that the damned thing caught it THIS time!

It couldn't possibly have been your fault. No way. It must have been
your nondeterministic spell checker.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 21:00:34 -0400, vincent p. norris
wrote:

Buy a little bottle of silicone water-proofer made for shoes.
Cavalier' is one brand name, available at Walmart. When you finish
tying a batch of dry flies, dip them in it, or paint them with it
using a small brush, and let them dry overnight.

I've used the silicon spray shoe water proofer on some of my flies.
Seems to work fairly well. I'll have to try it on all of them. And
I've got some silica gel that I bought at the flower shop / nursery /
hobby shop (used to dry flowers for arrangements) that I can use to be
sure they're dry first or after some use.

Cyli
http://www.visi.com/~cyli

On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 21:00:34 -0400, vincent p. norris
wrote:

Buy a little bottle of silicone water-proofer made for shoes.
Cavalier' is one brand name, available at Walmart. When you finish
tying a batch of dry flies, dip them in it, or paint them with it
using a small brush, and let them dry overnight.

I've used the silicon spray shoe water proofer on some of my flies.
Seems to work fairly well. I'll have to try it on all of them. And
I've got some silica gel that I bought at the flower shop / nursery /
hobby shop (used to dry flowers for arrangements) that I can use to be
sure they're dry first or after some use.

Cyli
http://www.visi.com/~cyli