Curing capes for fly fishing??

[CuzChickens]

Ok, so I have parts of Silver Laced Wyandotte capes. Not the whole capes. Just part of it. My mom slaughtered them, and this was what she saved:

Here is how big they are. That is not an adult pinkie finger.

So I stretched them on a board, and mixed up about 3 tablespoons of Borax and 3 tablespoons of salt. I have been changing the mixture once a day, and they have been curing for 3 days, they are getting dryer and stiffer. Somebody is buying both of them for $15.00.

So. Am I doing anything wrong? Are they worth $15.00? Thank you for your input!

 

[Huntress78]

The salt/Borax should work fine.
My steps for preserving a light bird skin like that is to remove the meat and fat, wash well to get any blood out of the feathers...then rinse, rinse, rinse. Dry feathers completely and cover the skin side with borax mixture till dry.

If you trim the edges of the skin with a scissors (remove any extra skin, membrane and fat) it will dry faster and give a longer shelf life by removing excess bug food.

Seems there are many different sizes and quality of hackle...and prices reflect that. If your 'customer' is willing to pay $15 then it must be worth it to him/her.

 

[CuzChickens]

Thanks for the input! The capes were washed as soon as the bird was killed so the fresh blood washed off easily. I have noticed a few patches where the skin was cut sloppily, so I'll cut those off when I check on them in the morning. I showed the capes to a seasoned fly fisher and told him what I was selling them for. He just whistled and said I should have charged $25, but I wanted to know what you guys thought.

 

[Hackle Master]

Well i would say it depends on the quality of the hackles and length also if do any dying different colors then all that should change ur price. I tie flies for fishing my self and I no for prime tying hackles you can pay a pretty penny