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Post by spence on Jun 21, 2019 18:35:23 GMT -7
I carry a simple primitive fishing kit on some of my treks, and am interested in making some of the gear. I've heard about fishing line made from horsehair for a long time, and recently found a very neat YouTube video about making them. It is by Steve Davis, Stillwater Woodcraft. I decided to give it a try and asked my son to collect some hair from his bay mare for me. I made my first line tonight. Steve's instructions were clear, easy to follow, and worked exactly as he said. I made 10 feet just to learn the technique, and if I ever use it it will be on a pole cut at the bank or as a hand line. It took me less than an hour to do the 10 feet. It's really neat stuff, and a clever technique.  The video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTHLtoJqjgUSpence |
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Post by Sicilianhunter on Jun 21, 2019 22:03:02 GMT -7
Spence, Great thread! I saw this video and I always got a lot out of Steve Davis's videos. I'm on the look out for some white gelding horse hair but I haven't had any donated yet from likely sources. I may just buy some from the fellow that Steve Davis learned from: www.historicanglingenterprises.com/ I keep asking what happened to Steve Davis and can't get a straight answer. He had excellent, detailed how-to videos that inspired me early on. He had a great demeanor, wouldn't have minded giving him a swig from my flask at the campfire and swapping stories... |
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Post by spence on Jun 22, 2019 9:39:31 GMT -7
The finished 3-strand line is fairly stiff, about like most 15 lb. monofilament, I guess. I had some concern that it would be difficult to attach to a hook, so I made another section and tried it. I was right, it is a bit stiff to work with, but not really a problem. I snelled the section to a bluegill hook and it made a small, tight, strong attachment.  You can see that the line is twisted. Yes, if I were going to put this line into service, I would get some white gelding hair, but for my purposes as a training exercise this worked very well. I was able to see that the old boys were right, the tails of mares do get peed on. This mare's tail is black, but quite a few of the hairs I got are bleached out to pale brown on the ends, and definitely are not as strong there. Those old boys knew stuff. Spence |
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Post by Sicilianhunter on Jun 22, 2019 9:53:53 GMT -7
Spence,
Thanks for the field research and results!
Well, done
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Post by spence on Jun 22, 2019 13:13:47 GMT -7
It's a small world. That link you provided to Historic Angling Enterprises is familiar to me, but I hadn't thought about it for a long time. The honcho there is Paul Jones, and I'm familiar with him. Back in the 1990s I moderated a forum (they were email mailing list then), and Paul was a member. We had some interesting conversations about period fishing, and Paul sent me a copy of a receipt for fishing tackle sold to and signed by Meriwether Lewis in 1803 in Philadelphia while preparing for the Voyage of Discovery. Paul has done an excellent job of expanding his interest into a very good company, and I'm glad to see it.
Spence
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Post by brokennock on Jun 22, 2019 15:21:47 GMT -7
Steve did great vids for his channel. I too have wondered what became of him. He did some for some other people's channels, but they were modern bushcraft oriented.
Has anyone done a break strength test using a spring scale on a piece of the hair?
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Post by Sicilianhunter on Jun 22, 2019 17:14:29 GMT -7
It's a small world. That link you provided to Historic Angling Enterprises is familiar to me, but I hadn't thought about it for a long time. The honcho there is Paul Jones, and I'm familiar with him. Back in the 1990s I moderated a forum (they were email mailing list then), and Paul was a member. We had some interesting conversations about period fishing, and Paul sent me a copy of a receipt for fishing tackle sold to and signed by Meriwether Lewis in 1803 in Philadelphia while preparing for the Voyage of Discovery. Paul has done an excellent job of expanding his interest into a very good company, and I'm glad to see it. Spence I would love to sit in on one of his tutorials. Steve Davis from still water woodcraft learned what he taught in his video from him! |
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Post by spence on Jun 22, 2019 17:29:36 GMT -7
Has anyone done a break strength test using a spring scale on a piece of the hair? I did a casual test on one of the 3-strand pieces I made. My hair was definitely of lesser quality, well worn and some strands bleached with urine. I simply tied it in a loop and used a fishing scale with all pressure points well padded. That piece tested to 6 pounds. Spence |
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Post by brokennock on Jun 22, 2019 21:52:47 GMT -7
Has anyone done a break strength test using a spring scale on a piece of the hair? I did a casual test on one of the 3-strand pieces I made. My hair was definitely of lesser quality, well worn and some strands bleached with urine. I simply tied it in a loop and used a fishing scale with all pressure points well padded. That piece tested to 6 pounds. Spence Wow! Much stronger than I expected. I usually fish with 2 or 4 pound test, but haven't tested the actual break strength on a scale. |
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Post by Sicilianhunter on Jun 23, 2019 8:16:10 GMT -7
That's my go-to test weight for monofilament for most fishing so that works for me!
Thanks again Spence!
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