Have gotten away from fly fishing for a numbr of years. Want to get back into it. I had given most of my tying materials to a friends grandson. Kept alot of tools etc.
While looking to order some materials to see if my old eyes can still tie I keep running into..."not suitable for hair extensions."
What does this mean....and boy the prices have gone up.

About a year or two ago it was a fad for women to put like 3-5 strands of hackle in their hair. No clue how that was interpreted as attractive.

Eh, I guess that is why they always say, "dont get into fly tying to save money". However, when I was in college last year I used to tie walt's worms almost exclusively for spring creek, so that was a money saver.

Irish,
Interesting - I haven't seen the postings about not suitable for hair. Maybe they're trying to discourage hair styling shops from continuing to buy the materials(?).

Anyway, as PWK pointed out, this was (or still is) a women's hair fad although my understanding is that Steven Tyler started the fad a couple years ago(?). I'm still seeing some girls with feathers although I've been told the fad is fading. As far as prices go, I don't think it has effected them much except for slender saddle hackles which have been very much in demand since this fad started.

Was talking to the owner of the Evening Hatch last week. We were discussing how the feather craze is over. He was telling me how the hair salons are now trying to sell the feathers back to the shops and suppliers, for the same crazy price they paid for them. Obviously they are being laughed at when doing this. I love it!

LOL women. Feathers reasonable prices this year. Profit for jay.

largest increase in pricing was keough with a tyres grade going from 35 to 55 whiting did around a 4 or 5 bump in the lower grades metz didnt really change much neither did conranch or collins(though charlie has been laid up for the last few weeks ) imho best values are whiting heberts bronze and collins* as for the not suitable for hair those were the shops that were selling the most to the fashion industry (with every right and im glad that someone got to make some money off it) they started doing that to metz capes and any type of saddle that was short ie hen american ect so that they didnt have people trying to return the stuff .or they changed there return policy to no return on hackle . though i did get one shop to take back a cape and trade me even (they sent me a golden badger i wanted sliver )

Could not be happier about news like this. Maybe I should hold off on paying $85 for a second rate cree saddle? Maybe for a while anyway.

ahh cree when i see it i buy it (it its real cree)

That hair extension thing made me sick for last two years.

I think we should all beware it is still going on. I still see it mentioned on tv shows every now and then. I don't remember the site but I went on a site the other day from a guy that sold to both salons and fly tiers separately on the same site. This a was charging over $600 minimum per skin. To think we used to shudder at a price tag of $125-$150 for a grade A Whiting skin. Overall I am shocked at how much the cost of fly tying has increased in the last 20+ years. Up to $26 for a box of 100 dry hooks #14!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I used to get them for $0.02 each. Thankfully I spent my 20's collecting materials, not that its ever enough.

I'd kill to find some reasonably priced cree. Even just a half dozen feathers.

Saddle or neck?

I prefer saddles.

I have been using CDC lately much more for my ties. Getting away from hackles whenever I can... they are just too expensive and I tried to buy some cheaper hackles and the quality was really lacking.

I was surprised to see a woman in her forties with hackle in her hair at a business meeting last Friday. She is a physician and has a pretty high up job at a pharmaceutical company. She is from California though, so that may explain it...