Do any tying materials ever go "bad"?

Hi folks, I've been lurking here for awhile now, and finally getting around to posting. I've also just gotten back into tying.
Back when I graduated college, one of my roomates was an avid tyer, and got me into it. Well, after school, I started moving around so much I put most of my stuff in storage, for going on almost 7 years now (yikes!). Recently becoming a new homeowner, I finally have room to spread out, and have gotten back into tying. So far, so good, however I'm finding that I'm breaking off a lot of peacock herl, various hackles, etc.
Granted, a lot of it is probably due to me losing my "touch", and will improve, but can materials "go bad", dry out, etc? I thought I had stuff properly stored, sealed bags and plastic containers, mothballs, etc., but I'm wondering if I need to just dump a lot of this stuff and start over.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Brian

Brian-

Welcome aboard and welcome back to the tying bench.
Your question is a good one. I have had experiences with herl drying out and have some hackles that I picked up that were very brittle. Unfortunately, I think the only way you are going to be able to figure it out is to use it, if it is continually giving you problems then I would say toss it. Give your hands a chance to get back into tying shape. You could be snapping off a lot because of too much pressure, etc.

Yup Peacock gets funny with age, but the hackle shouldnt if kept sealed..

Actually you are more likely to have problems with some of the synthetics than natural.
I have a great deal of material that l have owned for over 30 years, and that is pretty much ok. Whole ornamental pheasant skins and classic Salmon fly materials.

In the case of Pcock, its so cheap its not worth worrying about.
Hackles, subject them to some steam, often as not that will help to hydrate them.

Davy

I agree with Davy. Just watch the humidity, materials can dry and become a bit brittle.

Thanks for the input. Sounds like the best approach is for me to just get back at it, see what I can work with, and what I can't, and decide for myself what I need to replace as I go along. Makes sense to me.

I actually don't have much synthetic material, outside of all the nylon thread, but why would synthetic material be more of a problem than the naturals?
All you ever hear on the news is how plastics last forever in our landfills. I figure my polar fibre will still be around long after I'm gone...


-Brian

Natural furs can be infested with moth larva. Store them with mothballs.

-

Brian.

Many of the synthetic materials we use in the tying industry are obtained white and there after dyed. This process doe's many things due to that process, water temperature and chemical nature of the dye ware used. It changes the molecular structure.
They do have a shelf life.

We also use many materials that do deteriorate over time, particularly those of a latex type base, such as scud back, spandex, silly legs and others that have a elasticated structure.
Many threads we use to day are same, they will deteriorate after time.

I can tell you a funny story here regarding this.

I had at one time spent a great deal of time some years ago tying a bunch of what we call to day Czech style bugs (caddis larva ) and stonefly nymphs with latex. Which l had stored ready for use.
Not to be for when l opened the box the latex had rotted.

Davy

I have natural fly tying materials I have been using for 30 years now. The only problem I have had was the moths got to my feathers about 10 years ago and damaged a lot of my hackles that were in open sandwich bags. The best thing you could do is keep everything in a sealed Ziplock bag with the air squeezed out of it and labeled. Also keep everything in a cool dry place. Heat dries out the materials and moisture can cause mold and mildew. You can also spray some of your natural coarse furs with WD40 to condition them (a trick I learned from a taxidermist). I imagine this trick would also work on some feathers and stiff hackles. As far as peacock, you should always pull the tips off the herl before tying them onto the hook. The first inch or so is very weak and shouldn't be used. I pinch with slight pressure and pull off small pieces until I get to a stronger stem. I also save the silica gel packs that come with some packages and put them in my hook and fly boxes to absorb moisture that can make the hooks rust.