Synthetic raffia
By Agostino Roncallo

Synthetic raffia rope

  Some year ago, I discovered two types of synthetic raffia indeed interesting. One, sold in the supermarkets like “Nylon rope”, is opaque and has the characteristic that don’t absorb the water, the other possesses the same characteristic, but it is bright of the all similar to the ”Zing” a synthetic film that the French fly tyer Jean Luis Teyssié made known in the years ninety.

Parachute synthetic raffia

  I found this in a shop of materials of chancellery for office, but, of recent, I have know that the synthetic raffia similar to the Zing could be in the shops that furnish products for the agriculture and the gardening. For use the two types of raffia we must unroll for to get of the sheets and this is a delicate operation because they also being resistant taut for the length, if they are thrown for the breadth, the sheets break easily, drawback that is also compared in the Zing. Of this drawback we must remember when we use the material for build the wings.

Zing substitute

  We must take a strip of raffia that has the width of the wings that we want to get, fix it on the hook to half, lift the two sections of the strip and we cut the wings only in the extreme part of the strips. We must act in this way for don’t interrupt the continuity of the fibers of the raffia, otherwise the part of the wing where the fibers would result interrupted from the cut would detach out. The raffia “rope” has sold in the red, green and pale yellow colors and the similar one to the “Zing” in the red, white, green, blue and yellow colors. I don’t know if this material could be in your Country, but, having noticed that its produced in China, I think that is possible find it in all European Countries. You could use these materials like good you believe, I, in this occasion, propose the imitation of an ephemeral extended body employing two strips of raffia.

  Phase assemblage

1) I superimpose two strips of raffia.
2) I fix her on a grub hook in way to get the wings toward the eye.
3) In the same point fixed two nylon tails.
4) Holding slightly in tension the nylon tails and the excesses of the strips of raffia, I wind the thread of assemblage to ample coils up the reach of the length of the extended body.
5) I return back with the coils of the thread of assemblage to arrive at close to the wings. I chop off the excesses of raffia of the body.
6) I fixed a hackle of the rooster to the base of the wings and winds it around the wings and the excesses of the nylon tails.
7) To happened wrapping, I cut the excesses of the hackle, down with excesses of the tails and fix her close to the eye of the hook. With this operation I confer to the assemblage parachute better sturdiness.
8) I cut the excesses of the tails and I shape the wings.
9) I do the final knot and the fly has finished.

  This fly has equipped with an excellent buoyancy, built on small hooks it could be used with profit also for fishing the graylings. The synthetic raffia could be transformed in as many thin strips using a comb adjust to comb the hair of the cats and the rabbits. The strips of thin raffia are proper for build soft wings that don’t hinder the casting of voluminous artificial flies like, for example, the dragon flies. In this occasion I am me limited to show you an example of use the synthetic raffia, but, his possibility of employment is so much.

Dragon flies

Parachute synthetic raffia

Parachute synthetic raffia

Parachute synthetic raffia

Text and photos by Agostino Roncallo © 2010